Genre
Allegory, Children’s tale
Setting and Context
Island of Sala-ma-Sond
Narrator and Point of View
Unnamed third person narrator
Tone and Mood
Lighthearted, insightful
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Mack and the anatagonist is Yertle
Major Conflict
When Yertle the Turtle demands a bigger kingdom to overlook and makes the turtles form a nine-stack turtle throne he can sit on top of
Climax
When Mack burps and causes the entire turtle-throne to come collapsing down, thus freeing all the other turtles
Foreshadowing
When Mack protests against Yertle the Turtle’s mistreatment of him and the other frogs, it foreshadows the eventual collapse of Yertle’s power
Understatement
The content of the humble Island of Sala-ma-Sond is understated by Yertle – instead he seeks more and more land
Allusions
Yertle the Turtle has strong references to Adolf Hitler due to his tyrannical regime over the other turtles
Imagery
Mack is portrayed as being an underdog, who manages to overthrow Yertle the Turtle from his position of power
Paradox
Mack and Yertle the Turtle are complete opposites and have different values in the way they treat others.
Parallelism
There are parallels to Nazi Germany and the dictatorship of Hitler through Yertle the Turtle’s mistreatment of his people
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Here, as in many Dr. Seuss texts, animals are given human personalities and qualities, such as different moral values.
