When looking at the children’s story, The Butter Battle Book, by Dr. Seuss, the alternative perspective suggests that the story is attempting to represent the conflicts between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War. To begin, there is clear evidence of tension between the Yooks and the Zooks due to their differences. The dispute between the two sides is that the Yooks eat their bread with the butter side up: “But we Yooks…honest way!” (Seuss. 6), while the Zooks consume their bread with butter side down: “It’s high time…side down!” (Seuss. 5). This relates to the tension built up between the US and USSR during the Cold War due to their different ideologies. The US was capitalist and had a democratic government, while the Soviet …show more content…
Next, both the Yooks and Zooks keep ensuring each other that they will retaliate with more advanced weapons if one of them were to attack the other. For instance, a Yook warns another Zook, “You may…a trigger!” (Seuss. 16). In response, the Zook exclaims “My wonderful…side up!” (Seuss 17). This concept of mutually assured destruction applied to the relationship between the US and USSR during the Cold War. Both sides were keen on development of nuclear weapons, and knew that the other was capable of retaliating with nuclear bombs of their own. Thus, neither side wanted to attack the other, as it would have led to mass destruction. Lastly, towards the end of the story, both the Yooks and Zooks possess a red bomb called a “Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo” (Seuss. 42), but they decide against detonating them. This refers the Cuban missile crisis, where the US and the USSR were on the verge of starting a nuclear war. The Americans discovered offensive nuclear missiles situated in Cuba that were sent by the Russians. This caused a tense situation that lasted for 13 days, as the US kept waiting for the Soviet Union to withdraw the