Here are some excerpts from a CliffsNotes book on Green Eggs and Ham:
(from the inside cover):
A NOTE TO THE READER
BY READING THIS BOOK, OUR STOCK VALUE JUST RAISED THREE QUARTERS OF A POINT WHILE YOUR IQ DROPPED BY APPROXIMATELY THE SAME AMOUNT. THESE NOTES ARE CLEARLY NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE TEXT ITSELF, NOR ARE THEY A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE TEACHERS WHO TRY TO DEMONSTRATE TO THE CLASS HOW ABSURDLY DEEP THEY READ INTO THINGS. IN ADDITION, STUDENTS WHO USE SOLELY THE CLIFFNOTES MAY BE DEPRIVING THEMSELVES OF VALUABLE EDUCATION, AS CLIFFSNOTES RARELY DISPLAYS THE INSIGHT THAT TEACHERS CAN GIVE ABOUT PHALLIC SYMBOLS, WHICH ENGLISH TEACHERS SEE IN EVERYTHING FROM THE EIFFEL TOWER TO SWEDISH MEATBALLS.
(from page 7):
LIFE AND BACKGROUND
Dr. Suess, whose real name is Dr. Sues, majored in political science and double-minored in satire and allegorical sciences at Georgetown University. He claimed that he starting writing children's books to teach children to be kind and gentle to one another, unlike how he was treated by his schoolmates when he was younger. Suess remembered how they beat him and stole his lunch money every day, not to mention the time when they pulled down his pants to reveal the Huggies diapers that he was wearing underneath; all of the other ninth graders laughed for weeks. Although there have been recent reports of his attempting to obtain biochemical weapons to unleash on his old school bullies, Dr. Suess vehemently and categorically denied these allegations, but said that CliffsNotes is next if we don't stop bothering him, as he threw a bottle of anthrax at my head. He missed only by inches and hit an orphan holding a newborn kitten. The author fled and was never found--the A-team is suspected to have aided Suess in his escape, and an APB has been put out on B.A. Baracus. His personal character aside, it should be noted that Dr. Suess is a literary genius who was able to take current political events and issues and disguise them as children's stories. Most people, for example, do not know that The Cat in the Hat is about the Spanish Inquisition's effects on Elvis Presley's weight problems, nor could they ever imagine that Horton Hears a Who! described how it feels to be a lesbian in the male dominated patriarchal city of Sacramento, CA.
(from page 12):
LIST OF CHARACTERS IN GREEN EGGS AND HAM
Sam-I-Am
This character persistently tries to convince his friend to eat green eggs and ham. He represents Uncle Sam, of the United States Government. Note that he is carrying the tray with the green eggs and ham on with a giant pole connected to a giant hand--this represents Adam Smith's idea of the invisible hand of the free market helping to support capitalism.
The Grumpy Friend
Unnamed in the original version of the book, Suess later decided to call him Keen Grumpy Boy, or KGB, making it easier to communicate the idea that he represents Russia and Communism in general.
The Little Fuzzy Creatures
These random little fuzzy creatures throughout the book never speak. They represent those Russian bears that you see at the circus but never speak a word--just the way Russia likes it.
(from page 14):
SUMMARY
Sam-I-Am offers his grumpy friend green eggs and ham, but his friend refuses. This grumpy boy declares that he will not eat green eggs and ham under any circumstances--not on a boat, nor with a goat, not in the rain, nor on a train, not in a box, nor with a fox, not in a house, and of all things, not even with a mouse! Sam-I-Am pursues until the Keen Grumpy Friend finally caves in and tastes it, falls in love with it, and decides that he would eat green eggs and ham with a fox, in a box, etc.
(from page 15):
COMMENTARY
This story is as much about the attempted introduction of capitalism into the Soviet economy as it is about green eggs and ham. As mentioned before, Sam-I-Am represents America, capitalism, as well as all of the people in Russia who supported this economic system and wanted to introduce it to Russia for more than fifty years. Keen Grumpy Friend was stubborn and resisted such requests, claiming that he would not like it even if he were to try it and that his ways are better. When all of the fuzzy characters surround him, he experiences an epiphany--he realizes how much better off everyone, everywhere would be if they tried green eggs and ham. People could open up private circuses with dancing Russian bears and other fuzzy creatures as the central attractions, and this could generate millions for the economy. Suess is showing how the Russian leaders realized how much profit entrepreneurs in the new capitalist economy could make by exploiting animals. Even today, dancing Russian bears are the country's third leading export after vodka and plastic Russian barf.
(from page 17):
OTHER THEORIES, DEBATES ABOUT THIS BOOK
To this day, literary scholars still argue about many issues in Green Eggs and Ham. For one, Stephen J. Gould of Harvard University believes that this supposed children's book deals with issues that are a lot more specific than the general idea of the introduction of capitalism into Russia. In his last book, Green Eggs and Ham: The Money McMuffin (Random House), Gould describes how Suess depicts how the Russian leaders in Moscow finally embraced the idea of having a McDonalds in its country. Gould claims that Suess shows the process through which these leaders realized how much money could be made by taking Egg McMuffins that spoiled and turned green in the US, shipping them overseas, and selling them to hungry Russian citizens.
There is also a continuing debate about whether Sam-I-Am's grumpy comrade is Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, or a mixture of the two. Some experts point to the grumpy friend's liver damage to back up their case, while others note the large red spot on the grumpy friend's forehead. The only one who knows for sure is the author.
(from page 26):
REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ESSAY TOPICS
1. The Grumpy Friend originally claims that he will not eat Green Eggs or Ham with a goat. What do you think the goat represents, and discuss why do you think the author chose to include this character in the story?
2. Can you find Waldo deeply imbedded somewhere in the story's pictures? How does Waldo help to enhance the central theme of the story?
3. Do you think that Suess fully describes the subplot in which the little fuzzy creatures argue over which kind of wine would taste most flavorful with green eggs and ham?
4. a) Does eating green eggs and ham on St. Patrick's day make this meal any more Kosher? In your discussion, please address the fact that Orthodox Jews can eat green bagels on this Irish high holiday.
b) Do you feel that it was right of Sam-I-Am, once himself an Orthodox Jew, to try to lure his grumpy friend to the dark side of the religion (Reform Judaism)? Do you feel that acts such as these will lead to the inevitable destruction of the Jewish people?