This is a story about a brother and sister who are bored on a rainy day.
There is a knock at the door and a Cat in a Hat walks in, a jovial character who is
all about fun.
He tells the children that they can still have fun even if it's raining outside.
However, the pet fish says no because their mother is out.
Despite the warning from the fish, the Cat in the Hat enters and they begin to play games.
He introduces two little creatures, Thing One and Thing Two, who run around the house
making a mess.
The boy finally catches the Things and says that they should go.
The Cat in the Hat leaves.
The children see the mess and try to clean it up before their mother comes back home.
However, it's too much.
Fortunately, the Cat in the Hat returns with a machine that cleans up the mess before their
mother enters the house.
First, let's talk about names.
Why is the cat in the hat?
The cat is wearing the hat, not inside of it.
Generally, to be "in" something implies that the object that is "in" is smaller than the
object that is out.
But we can clearly see that the cat is much larger than the hat...or is it?
The physical hat is quite small, as it fits on the head of the cat.
But the hat on his head can come to represent the imagination of the Cat in the Hat, which
is seemingly boundless.
So that everything, including the Cat, is within imagination.
Readers can then be encouraged to use their imagination as much as the Cat in the Hat.
That although the creation and manifestation of ideas and thoughts are physically limited
to the body, the implications and ramifications can be enough to encompass an entire world.
But what is the message that this story is telling children?
To have wild fun and to let a stranger walk into the house?
Not exactly.
Readers are not necessarily supposed to relate to the children in the story, who really do
nothing but observe the fun.
The relatability and lessons come from the Cat in the Hat.
Most importantly, the Cat in the Hat cleans up after himself.
He takes responsibility for his actions.
And it is this responsibility that children can take away.
The ending proposes a question to the reader, as to what they would do.
Would they tell their mother what happened or not?
But does even posing this question suggest that children should lie?
Again, not necessarily.
But it does introduce the idea of withholding information, or the truth, for some non-mischievous
reason.
That maybe it's not always in the best interest to quickly tell the truth.
That sometimes "truth" can be relative.
Welcome to the complications of life.
Life, unfortunately, isn't simply black or white, or in this instance, Red or White.
Right and wrong aren't always designated by gaping borders.
Sometimes, just sometimes, it's a little bit gray.