‘And to think I saw it on Mulberry Street’ centers on a young boy named Marco, who, while walking on Mulberry Street finds himself imagining a fantastical world, creating an exciting reality for himself. His imagination transforms mundane objects, like a horse and carriage into a sled, and a horse into a zebra. He represents the playfulness and joy of a child’s mind, as well as its openness. When he first attempts to tell his father about his magical creation, he is met with sternness and is scolded for his apparent lies.
By the end of the text, when his father asks him again, Marco has realized the futility of his attempt, and resigns himself to the most literal answer. This is significant as here Marco makes a conscious decision to lie and conceal his imagination, and conform to the uniform mindset of adults. Seuss then creates a clear division between adults and children, suggesting that children are born with an innate sense of creativity, wonder, and imagination, while Adults cannot budge from their mundane reality.
Marco and his father both struggle to understand their differing world views. There is a tangible feeling of disconnect between the two. They cannot understand each other. Marco’s father is equally dissatisfied with Marco’s answers - whether he conforms to the mundane reality or expresses his imagination. For example, when Marco tells his father his imaginative story and describes his reaction, his response is blatantly discouraging:
"But when I tell him where I've been
And what I think I've seen,
He looks at me and sternly says,
Your eyesight's much too keen."
