Comments on: Horton Hears a Who

By: Samuel Clough

Samuel Clough — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:15:44 +0000

Perhaps, but I don’t think the author was going for that. However, along those lines it does nicely illustrate is that man, thinking he is so wise when looking at his immediately surroundings, can be totally ignorant of God and that which is greater than his own tiny speck in the universe.

By: dawn

dawn — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:08:08 +0000

Or…it could symbolize man’s struggle to prove existence of God.

By: Samuel Clough

Samuel Clough — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:30:57 +0000

Yes, God can amazingly use all sorts of things to draw men to repentance whether or not the thing was originally designed for that purpose. Eternity will be filled with the amazing stories of how God worked on the human heart is such a myriad of ways. Truly God’s creativity is on display in the way He speaks truth into the human heart.

By: Adam Floro

Adam Floro — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:26:45 +0000

It is possible to a film to have an unintentional Christian message. In some cases, people have been spiritually moved and and transformed (I don’t particularly like the term converted) because of something they have written, the most famous of which is Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.

By: Samuel Clough

Samuel Clough — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:57:36 +0000

I don’t necessarily know if the producers were or were not believers. My comment was to the effect that Horton was not a “Christian film” produced with a Christian message. It would be great if the producers were believers.

By: JohnnyWPB

JohnnyWPB — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 04:10:05 +0000

To the author: Just curious. How do you know that the producers are unbelievers?

By: Adam Floro

Adam Floro — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:58:55 +0000

Yes, they decided to make Horton into more of an accidental hero.

By: Samuel Clough

Samuel Clough — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:46:25 +0000

I agree that Dr. Suess did not write the book for the issue of abortion. In fact, it wasn’t much of a public issue at the time he wrote it, so I agree there are definitely other allegories that can be pulled from the book and so far they are all very positive ones.

I also noticed the god-like way Horton was presented, but I did not really see the filmakers go anywhere with it.

By: Adam Floro

Adam Floro — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:09:10 +0000

I’m a Christian (that is to say, I’m a follower of Christ, not just one who claims to be a Christian). However, when I saw the film, the whole time I was thinking about how Horton appeared to be God to the Who’s, and there was only one who believed, until the end. I couldn’t figure out what was happening with Horton though. I then read about how Dr. Seuss wrote it as an allegory, trying to convince the Japanese people to vote. In this case, the Who’s represent the Japanese people, and the people in the jungle represent the Government (not far off from the truth in most places, a lot of politicians are vicious beasts), and Horton was the one who actually listened. The fact that the Who’s weren’t heard until everyone made their voice heard really convinces me it’s more about voting. “A person is a person, no matter how small” makes perfect since in terms of voting as well.

This is what it means to Dr. Seuss, it still means to me that even though you may be ostracized, you still have to stand strong for what you believe. Many conclusions can be drawn. They all have relevance, that’s the beauty of symbolism, you make it what it means to you, and it’s different for everybody. If anyone wants to discuss pro-life, pro-choice, anti-choice, pro-death, anti-death, anti-life, or any of the various categories that get lumped into two, send me an email at adam.f.music(a)gmail.com

Just replace the (a) with an @ and it’s my real email, I do this to avoid spam programs from finding my email on websites.

By: patrick

patrick — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:48:35 +0000

Dr. Seuss is classic; after seeing Horton Hears a Who i was reminded how much that guy can pack into a simple storyline… they didn’t add much to the original story either except for the usual Jim Carreyisms.

By: Samuel Clough

Samuel Clough — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:38:11 +0000

An excellent point. Not only is a “person a person, no matter how small” in the sense of their intrinsic worth, it took every who is who-ville to make the who’s heard. In that sense, each one of us is a voice, no matter how small. Make your voice heard and you change the world. Giants can fall when David’s that are willing to sacrifice begin to speak up. Think of any major societal revolution and it’s always either the voice of one or the voice a small, passionate group that dares to bring change while the majority ignores their heart and assumes things can never change.

Don’t every forget, “A voice is a voice, no matter how small.”

By: sheena

sheena — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:09:10 +0000

I am a 12th grader and for my Avanced Placement English class we read Horton Hears a Who! initially i thought why would we read a childs story, but my teacher wanted us to find the deeper meaning. after pondering what could be the deeper meaning it amazed me to see that not only did dr. suess craft an enjoyable childs story, but he addressed the very controversial topic of abortion. i myself do not support abortion and when i watched the clip above i felt compelled to comment. Anyone who reads this comment i hope you feel as inspired to post a comment against abortion. “a person is a person no matter how small” was the theme of the story and when voices rise in unity expressing the same belief and pushing for change, change does happen, but we need to unite and raise our voices. By posting one simple blog here your voice will be heard. Try it.