So when Horton’s world of Who-ville was “saved by the Smallest of All,” Robert Short saw the savior of the Whos as a symbol for the Savior of all people. From Green Eggs and Ham to How the Grinch Stole Christmas , Short has reinterpreted many of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s stories as subtle messages of Christian doctrine in the new book, The Parables of Dr. Seuss.
Questions remain, however, about whether the original author intended such an interpretation or Short, a retired Presbyterian minister, is just seeing the stories through the lens of his own life.
“I was amazed at what I found when I started looking at it ”” all this Christian imagery was very carefully factored into his stories,” Short said in an interview from his home in Little Rock.
“And that’s what this book intends to do, is show how he has done this in a very carefully crafted way. It’s there, and you could make an argument for it being intentionally there, because it’s done with such great care.”
Authorial intent vs. reader response. Isn’t that the same problem we’re having with personal interpretations of the Bible? What does that passage mean to ME? Who cares? What did the author intend to convey to the audience at that time?