INTI JOURNAL - Vol.2025 Issue 4 No.15 - A Critical Eco-Linguistic Discourse Analysis of 'The Lorax'

Aug 27, 2026

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Environmental degradation and ecological crises increasingly shape global concerns, yet mainstream narratives often endorse an exploitative worldview toward nature. Children’s literature, influential in early moral and ideological development, offers a focused site for confronting environmental discourses. This paper conducts a critical eco-linguistic discourse analysis of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax using Arran Stibbe’s framework, applying qualitative methods to metaphor, identity, agency, and linguistic choices. Results show consumption metaphors commodify nature, critique anthropocentrism and consumerism, and portray the Once-ler as industrial ecological irresponsibility.

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INTI JOURNAL | Vol.2025, Issue 4, No.15 eISSN:2600-7320 A Critical Eco-Linguistic Discourse Analysis of 'The Lorax' Nayab Wahid Soomro, Arshiya Ghazal* Faculty of Business Education, Humanities & Social Sciences, Isra University, Hala Road, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan *[Email:](Email: nayabwahid123@gmail.com)[ nayabwahid123@gmail.com](Email: nayabwahid123@gmail.com) Abstract Degradation of the environment and ecological crises are increasingly worrying issues people face globally, yet the mainstream narrative paradoxically endorses a dangerously exploitative outlook toward nature. Children’s literature, which greatly impacts growing children, provides a unique groundwork to confront environmental narratives. This paper presents a critical Eco-linguistic discourse analysis (CEDA) of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. This book is a widely recognized green narrative in children’s literature which can be analyzed through Eco-critical lens. Drawing on Arran Stibbe’s (2015) framework, the study aims to explore the role of language in shaping environmental values, ideologies, and human-nature relationship. This research adopts qualitative discourse analysis method, to analyzing metaphor, identity, agency and linguistic choices in the text. The findings reveal that the metaphors of consumption show nature as a commodity. The Lorax presents criticism of anthropocentric and consumerist ideas. The Once-ler stands for industrial exploitation and ecological irresponsibility. Linguistic choices further emphasize the contrast between anthropocentrism and ecocentrism. In this story The Lorax character represents ecological agency and speak out against the commodification of nature. The study proposes that sustainable language practices and environmental literacy can be promoted in education by engaging students in eco-critical discussions and eco-centric activities. Keywords Eco-linguistics, Discourse analysis, Environmental education, Anthropocentrism, SDG 4 Introduction In the era of the environmental crisis that is gaining momentum, the language allows to conceptualize human connection to the natural world. In mainstream discourses, anthropocentric and consumerist ideologies can be normalized, where nature is the passive scenery of human development (Stibbe, 2015) . The children literature and its shaping power in the early stages of moral and ideological growth is a crucial point of struggle over or support of such discourses (Nikolajeva,2016). In this regard, The Lorax (1971) written by Dr. Seuss has attained iconic status Submission: 3 0 July 2 0 2 5 ; Acceptance: 9 November 2025; Available online: November 2025 Copyright: © 2025. All the authors listed in this paper. The distribution, reproduction, and any other usage of the content of this paper is permitted, with credit given to all the author(s) and copyright owner(s) in accordance to common academic practice. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, as stated in the website: [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)[by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) INTI JOURNAL | Vol.2025, Issue 4, No.15 eISSN:2600-7320 as one of the most well-known environmental texts written for children since its first publication in 1971. An eco-critical analysis of The Lorax has been discussed increasingly in research. Khan and Zeb (2023) examined the text using critical discourse analysis and claim that it reveals the capitalist and consumerist reasoning behind the ecological degradation. On the same note, Cetiner (2020) examines how the story brings out the Anthropocene anxieties, including deforestation, species extinction, and pollution through thematic and ecocritcal readings. Ismail (2024) argues that the text propagates biocentrism by personifying nature and allowing it to speak. Although these studies shed light on thematic

FAQs

本文研究的核心问题是什么？

研究聚焦语言如何塑造环境价值、意识形态以及人与自然的关系，并进一步考察隐喻、身份与能动性在生态信息建构中的作用。

研究采用了怎样的分析框架与方法？

论文基于Arran Stibbe提出的Critical Eco-linguistic Discourse Analysis（CEDA）框架，采用定性话语分析，重点分析隐喻、身份、能动性以及文本中的语言选择。

研究发现了哪些与环境叙事相关的语言机制？

研究指出消费隐喻把自然呈现为商品，并通过语言选择强化人类中心主义与生态中心主义的对比；同时，Once-ler象征工业剥削与生态不负责任。

研究对教育实践提出了什么建议？

论文主张在教育中通过参与生态批判讨论与生态中心活动，促进可持续的语言实践与环境素养。

Aug 27, 2026

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