 | |
| Author | Dr. Seuss |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Publication date | August 12, 1972 (renewed in 2000) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-394-82490-3 |
| OCLC | 314222 |
| Dewey Decimal | |
| LC Class | PZ8.3.G276 Mar |
| Preceded by | The Lorax |
| Followed by | Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? |
Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! is a 1972 children's book by Dr. Seuss. Written as a book for early beginning readers, it is suitable for children who can not yet read at the level of more advanced beginning books such as The Cat in the Hat. The book presents, in short and funny fashion, Dr. Seuss's nonsensical words, rhymes, and illustrations.
It is not entirely clear what the story is about but is known to have a similar ending to Green Eggs and Ham. One popular interpretation of the story, given Marvin is wearing purple pajamas, is that he is being told to go to bed by his parent, though the story was designed to be ambiguous in nature.
Story
Marvin K. Mooney, a young dog boy wearing purple pajamas standing in the middle of a rug, is asked to "go" by an unseen individual because "the time has come" for him. The individual, who is depicted with a large arm and pointing finger and is also the narrator, tells him to "go".
The narrator suggests wacky and bizarre ways for Marvin to leave (even though the narrator has no preference for the method), but all suggestions conclude with the narrator repeating the directive. After all the suggestions are listed, the individual points their finger very close at Marvin to firmly confirm that they order him to leave the room. Marvin finally complies, choosing to exit on foot. The individual waves goodbye to him.
In political culture
At the height of the Watergate scandal, in a July 1974 collaboration with political humorist Art Buchwald, Dr. Seuss took a two-year-old copy of his book, crossed out "Marvin K. Mooney" wherever it occurred and wrote in "Richard M. Nixon". With Dr. Seuss's consent, Buchwald and his editors reprinted the markup as a newspaper column, published on July 30. Nixon resigned ten days later on August 9.
In Maureen Dowd's column for The New York Times, "Wilting over Waffles", dated April 23, 2008, she suggests that Democrats in the 2008 presidential election might take a cue from this book in their approach to Hillary Clinton's prolonged campaign against Barack Obama, asking her to "just go. I don't care how". MEP Daniel Hannan quoted the book in reference to Gordon Brown after the 2009 European Parliament election.
The same idea has also been applied to Hosni Mubarak during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and Donald Trump during and after both the 2016 United States presidential election and the 2020 United States presidential election.
References
- "Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now". Kirkus Reviews. 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- Buchwald, Art (July 30, 1974). "Richard M. Nixon Will You Please Go Now!". The Washington Post. p. B01. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- "Dr. Seuss". Chicago Tribune. 29 June 1986. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- "Characterization in Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!". shmoop.com. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- "Hannan's poetic call for Brown to go". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. June 8, 2009.
- "Hosni Mubarak will you please go now!". Daily Kos. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- Bodek, Martin (2020-11-07). "Donald J. Trump Will You Please Go Now!". Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via archive.org.
- Helfert, Dave (2016-10-19). "Donald J. Trump, will you please go now!". PunditWire.com. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- "Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now?". MassReview.org. Retrieved 2023-05-05.