Yertle the Turtle
Yertle the Turtle is a 1958 Dr.
Seuss picture book and its title character—a tyrannical turtle king who stacks his subjects into a throne to rule all he can see, until the bottom turtle burps and topples him.
The story functions as a parable about authoritarianism and the limits of power: He's gone full Yertle the Turtle with his corner office.
- SeussChildren's author pseudonym
- kingMale crowned ruler
- stackItems piled vertically
- pondSmall still body
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
tyrant · burp · topple · ruler · dictator · mud · shell · power · pride · rock · too far · pile · obey · fall · humble · moral lesson · tower · climb
- Dr. SeussCat in the Hat, the Grinch, Horton, Sam-I-Am, Thing One
literary archetype of tyrant vs. liberator
Yertle the TurtleMahatma Gandhi
Abraham Lincoln · George Washington · Nelson Mandela · freedom fighter · emancipator