The Butter Battle Book Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

The Butter Battle Book Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

The Wall

The wall is not only symbolic for its role in dividing the Yooks and Zooks but also because of the underlying reference to The Iron Wall. The USSR recruited many members as part of its frontier against the USA and this went on to create the Eastern and Western spheres of influence during the Cold War.

VanItch

VanItch is a symbol for the threat of the USSR. Indeed, Seuss named him in a deliberately foreign way so as to allow readers to deduce the difference between the Yooks and Zooks. Indeed, VanItch May also be a metaphor for the scientists involved in devising weapons in the arms race.

Butter bread

The Zooks and Yooks are shown to eat butter on different sides of the bread, which is what leads to the tension. In fact, this is a reference to the opposing political views of the US and USSR. Whilst one is a communist state, the other is a believer of capitalism.

The Weapons

The weapons are a symbol to represent the arms race between the USA and USSR. At one point, both sides have enough weapons to ensure mutual destruction, but still continue to make more bombs. It seems having more weapons is the ultimate source of power for each group.

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