Green Eggs and Ham
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| Green Eggs and Ham | |
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| Author | Dr. Seuss |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Publication date | 1960 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and paperback) |
| OCLC | 184476 |
| Preceded by | Happy Birthday to You! |
| Followed by | One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish |
Green Eggs and Ham is a best-selling and critically acclaimed book by Dr. Seuss, first published in 1960. As of 2001, according to Publishers Weekly, it was the fourth-bestselling children's book of all time.[1] It was also released in the Living Books series.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story is told wholly through quotes and images. There is no internal dialogue and no additional narrative analysis.
There are two main characters: The first is unnamed, and is morose and irritable. The second is named Sam-I-am, and he is filled with energy and enthusiasm.
The plot revolves around Sam-I-am's efforts to get his friend to try a dish known as "Green eggs and ham". The friend refuses to taste the dish, and only wants to be left in peace. Sam-I-am goes through an assortment of locations (house, car, tree) and dining partners (fox, goat, mouse) trying to persuade his friend to eat, but without success.
The triumphant conclusion of Seuss's tale occurs when Sam-I-am's pal, standing in shallow water after a boat sinks, surrounded by various people and beasts, finally agrees to try the delicacy and pronounces it quite tasty. The sudden turnaround in the nameless character's attitude is somewhat similar to that of the Grinch, whom Sam's friend physically resembles except in having floppy ears.
The story may be interpreted as a fable to encourage children to try new things in order to gain their benefits. Perhaps fear, pride or a feeling of superiority are making the main character grumpy and resistant to change and self-improvement.
[edit] Words
Green Eggs and Ham is one of Seuss's "Beginner Books", written in a very simple vocabulary for beginning readers. The vocabulary of the text consists of just fifty different words, of which 49 are monosyllabic (the one exception being "anywhere"). It averages 5.7 words per sentence and 1.02 syllables per word, with an exceptionally low Flesch-Kincaid grade level of -1.3.
A rumor has it that Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss's publisher, wagered $50 that Seuss could not write a book using only fifty different words.[2] The bet came after Seuss completed The Cat in the Hat, which contains a total of 236 words. Despite Seuss's success, it is unclear whether Cerf ever paid the bet.
The tale is in the form of a so-called "cumulative" story, with a list of circumstances which gradually increases as the story progresses. Thus, one of Sam's friend's refusals goes:
- I do not like them in a box.
- I do not like them with a fox.
- I do not like them in a house.
- I do not like them with a mouse.
- I do not like them here or there.
- I do not like them anywhere.
- I do not like green eggs and ham.
- I do not like them, Sam-I-am.
Cumulative stories are a traditional genre of English folklore, for instance in the tale "This is the House that Jack Built", the folk song "Green grow the rushes, O", or the Christmas song and nursery rhyme The Twelve Days of Christmas. (See also cumulative song.)
The fifty words used are: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you. 45 of the 50 words (all but box, car, Sam, train and try) are of Germanic origin.
The meter of Green Eggs and Ham is a combination of trochaic and iambic tetrameter; for details, see Dr. Seuss's meters.
[edit] Drawings
Like many of Seuss' characters, Sam-I-am and his friend are ambiguous animals; they are furry with large snouts, but stand upright, can speak, and have human facial expressions.
Sam-I-am's friend wears a tall black hat that imitates his body language: it startles, cringes, rises up indignant, etc. in synchrony with its owner.
The book also includes a number of Seuss's characteristic elaborate machines: there is a complex platter-presenting device, large artificial hands on poles to illustrate Here and There, a vehicle with a mysteriously-appearing door from which a goat emerges, and an astonishingly rickety railroad viaduct.
[edit] Reception
Green Eggs and Ham was published in 1960 and continues to be very popular. In fact, it is the fourth best selling children's hardcover book of all time.[3] In 1999, the National Education Association conducted an online survey of the 100 most popular children's books. On both the children's and the teachers' lists, Green Eggs and Ham was ranked third, just above another Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat.[4][5]
The book is most often read to or by young children (one reviewer recommends ages 4-8), but web data suggest that it is very popular among adults as well, many of whom fondly remember having encountered the book when they were little.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson gave a famous reading of Green Eggs and Ham on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" as a tribute to the death of Dr. Seuss.
The book has been translated into a number of languages including Latin (Virent Ova! Viret Perna!!). In 2006, The Food Network created a recipe for Green Eggs and Ham.[6] It was also featured in the children's program The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, the Oscar-nominated film I am Sam, and was one of the three parts in the 1974 animated special, Dr. Seuss on the Loose where it is shown in the credits that the name of Sam-I-am's friend is Joey.
The book has also been turned into the curtain call song for the stage production, "Seussical, the Musical". This upbeat song has many lines from the book, though does not distinguish the characters of Sam-I-am or his said "friend". Instead, it is sung by the full company.
[edit] Cited in judgment
On September 21, 2007, U.S. District Court Judge James Muirhead used Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" in his court ruling after receiving an egg in the mail from prisoner Charles Jay Wolff. Muirhead ordered the egg destroyed as he stated in his judgment: "I do not like eggs in the file. I do not like them in any style. I will not take them fried or boiled. I will not take them poached or broiled. I will not take them soft or scrambled/Despite an argument well-rambled. No fan I am/Of the egg at hand. Destroy that egg! Today! Today! Today I say! Without delay!"[7]
[edit] References
- ^ All-Time Bestselling Children's Books], 2001-12-17, Publishers Weekly.].
- ^ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Language (Green Eggs and Ham) and Snopes. Accessed on 26 November 2006.
- ^ A Critic at Large: Cat People The New Yorker. Issue of 23 December 2002.
- ^ Kids' top 100 books NEA: National Education Association. Accessed on 26 November 2006.
- ^ Teachers' Top 100 Books NEA: National Education Association. Accessed on 26 November 2006.
- ^ Recipes:Green Eggs and Ham. The Food Network. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
- ^ MSNBC, Judge makes 'Green Eggs and Ham' ruling.
[edit] External links
- Amazon.com's Search Inside The Book includes browsing Front Cover, Sample Pages 3-5, and Back Cover as well as doing searches of the entire book.
- Seussville: various Green Eggs and Ham items.
