Yertle the turtle who is mack

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. Despite everyone in the pond being happy with the way things were, Yerlte the Turtle wanted a larger kingdom. He decides that if he can see more land then it automatically falls under his kingdom and therefore, he has a bigger kingdom. As such, he demands a tall throne be built so he can overlook his great kingdom.

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Parents, if this reminds you of the kind of techniques Hitler and the Nazis used to dehumanize their victims, you're right on track.

Though to be fair, this is often how most people see other social classes, too. But this section is about that the horde, not Yertle, and we've got to ask a question here: why do all of those little turtles let Yertle boss them around?

Can't they see that he's just one turtle? That there are so very many of them? And that all they'd have to do is turn against him and he'd be through? But you know power structures. When turtles are the scum of the pond, they're scared about what the people way up high can do to them. The idea of questioning the way things are is scary. It might get them hurt, and would require a whole lot of change.

Do you like sudden change? Would you like it if you came home and everything about the place you lived was suddenly different? It's hard to question the way things are, because, well, that's the way things are. And then, suddenly, the faceless horde isn't so silent anymore. A "plain little turtle" with the very common name of "Mack" not only dares to sigh and look up to the great heights of Yertledom, but he also has the gall to speak:. I've pains in my back and my shoulders and knees.

How long must we stand here, Your Majesty, please? The masses are gaining a voice, and Yertle knows it. Sure, he's ultimately successful in reasserting his power, but he's still forced to acknowledge not just that someone else is speaking, but also that that turtle has a name: Mack. Yertle lets everyone know that it's not a big deal by saying, "You're only a turtle named Mack," but just having the name come out of his snarly mouth is big stuff Still, Mack isn't quite ready to throw off the great yoke that is Yertle yet, and nor are the other turtles, who look even more scared as they climb into an even greater stack.

Do you notice something about all of the non-Mack turtles? As miserable as they look, they're not exactly rushing to help Mack with the rebellion. And that's okay. It's not like Mack has done a good job of asking people to join in his crusade. Plus, not everybody has Mack's kind of courage. That just means we have to make sure there's always a Mack around to speak for all of the other turtles.

I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, But down at the bottom, we too, should have rights.