As is true with all Dr. Seuss books, the thematic fuel which powers the engine of the Fox in Socks is a celebration of the imagination. More than any other singular theme, this pervasive thematic concern is steeped so deeply in the stories of Seuss that it could be said they exist for no other purpose. Every individual theme which can be explored beneath the text by burrowing into the subtext is conveying to children not just the exuberant enjoyment that comes with developing one’s imagination, but the empowerment it instills.
When it comes to the curious case of Fox in Socks, Mr. Knox becomes the embodiment of this theme. Throughout the narrative, he has maintained an aloofness from Mr. Fox’s tongue-twisting rhymes by steadfastly insisting that his “tongue isn’t quick or slick, sir.” He makes claims to getting all mixed up in a cloud of confusion at the intricately imaginative verbal gymnastics which Mr. Fox spews forth with seemingly little effort at all. The seminal Seussian theme of celebrating the power of the imagination is cemented with the surprising revelation at the end that Mr. Knox is not actually what he seems to have been all along, but is actually every bit as powerfully imaginative as Mr. Fox.
The means by which Seuss delivers his lesson in the empowerment of imagination is through the creation of these increasingly complicated and confusing verbal gymnastics. Mr. Fox specifically refers to the tongue twisters he is creating as “an easy game to play.” Many Seuss books have a much deeper political or social theme hidden beneath the surface of the text that often require a bit of historical context to pry open and reveal. In this particular case, however, no experiential background related to the life of the author himself is required. At one point in the narrative, Mr. Fox casually but explicitly throws what deeper meaning this otherwise very slight Seuss book right out there for everyone to see.
The fox is, of course, an animal traditionally associated with craftiness. Games have evolved over time to take on not just defining aspect of leisure and entertainment, but a darker connotative undertone of subversive intention as expressed by the familiar phrase, “are you playing games with me?” The author may have settled on the title Fox in Socks because of its simple rhyme, but it almost certainly is not by accident that the animal he chose to engage his antagonist is the one most traditionally associated with subversive behavior. One of the subversive tactics Seuss adopts in this work to reveal the power that comes with developing and using the imagination is to display how that power can be used for positive and negative purposes. Seuss pits the crafty Mr. Fox against what proves to be the even craftier Mr. Knox to get across to his young readers early on that while language essential to communicating truths, it can also be—when used imaginatively—a vehicle for playing games which create exasperation and uncertainty.
