If the world were flat...

January 6th.
The project began by selecting a Dr. Seuss story, which will be analyzed throughly. The group decided on Yurtle the Turtle, already familiar with the lead characters relation to Adolf Hitler. Having never heard the story before today, Nina found it extremely odd to read a Dr. Seuss story, now aware that they key role was occupied by a metaphor to Hitler. Luckily, Maddie's fabulous expression while reading kept it lively and entertaining.
This is quite a twist on her belief of Dr. Seuss growing up; a man who wrote silly words in funny stories to entertain children. Or at least, that was Nina's previous perception of the author.

January 7th.
Today the research began. Nina began looking at the symbolism of a turtle, the animal used to potray the Hitler-like character in the story. She found a reference to ancient myths which described the world as resting on a turtle's back.
In a cartoon shown by teacher's while they teacher student's that the world is round, this myth is revisited breifly. A flat version of planet earth lies across a turtle's back, and a canoe is shown falling off the edge while the turtle watches.
In regards to the story Yurtle the Turtle, this ancient myth is quite fitting. Yertle builds himself a throne out of turtles, stack up by standing on each other's backs. His goal is to expand his own world, because he thinks that everything that he can see belongs to him. This sight relies now only on one turtle's back, but many, many turtles. Yertle builds a world on turtle's back, and, like the canoe in the cartoon, venturing to far results in falling.
The same website stated that "the turtle is always at home with himself." This is a vast contradiction to Yertle, who allows his home to be external, and is therefore unsatisfied.

-Nina Danielle