Character Analysis
Ah, the curmudgeonly fish.
The fish could be Dr. Seuss's take on Spot, the dog in the Dick and Jane series that Seuss is challenging with The Cat in the Hat.
Think about it. At first, we are presented with what looks like "normal" kids in a "normal" home—but instead of a Spot, these kids have a talking fish.
Maybe there really is no normal in Seussville.
Something's Fishy
Along with fears of Communist invasion, the 1950s was a time of repression. Kites in the house, juggling books, Communism—those were all big no-nos.
A clear foil to the Cat, who's all about YES, the fish embodies that no-no spirit. Louis Menand argues that the fish is "a tin-pot Puritan, and the domestic sphere in which he served as resident superego proved, on closer examination, to be sites of exclusion and oppression" (source). Well, that's one way of seeing it.
But then we get distracted (as usual). The fish is pink. Isn't pink the color of Communist sympathizers? And doesn't he live in a red house, with a bunch of red stuff in it? Hmmm. Maybe the fish doth protest too much. Could he be protecting himself in the case of a summons before The House Un-American Activities Committee. Or could we be reading too much into this? What do you think?