“Reading the un-bowdlerized classics of children's literature can help young people understand that racism is not anomalous. It is embedded in the culture, and defended by cultural gatekeepers.”
In his arguments, Nel contends that children's literature is mostly white-washed thus lack representation of minorities or the realities of race. He argues that Seuss’ literature as examples entail elements of structural racism that is embedded in our current society. He insists that children's literature plays a major role in how we perceive society in that our notions are molded at this stage. Henceforth the need to paint the world as it is in the books is an endeavor that should be taken seriously. The quotation, therefore, expresses that while the books do not represent the minorities they also censor the factual realities of racism in our culture. Thus, children's literature could play a significant role in properly handling the social construction that is race.
“Racial caricature’s overt and covert presence in Seuss’s work is key to understanding not just his moral and artistic legacies but the ways in which America’s past persists in its present.”
The title alludes to one of the literature material that Nel uses to make his arguments on children's books. The character Cat in Seuss’s works has been established as being molded from racial stereotypes and caricatures of black people. Through time, however, the character has been bowdlerized but still harbor the stereotypes that inspired it. The character’s personality is that of a relaxed and carefree individual with an outlandish way of dressing. Nel argues that these aspects are drawn from stereotypes held of African Americans which further fosters the structural racism in society. Nel aims to demonstrate this dynamic in literature for children's books to be made more inclusive and less-censored.
