Plot

The story is told wholly through images and rhyming dialogue. There is no descriptive narrative or analysis.

There are two main characters: The first is unnamed, the second is named Sam-I-Am, or simply Sam. Throughout the book, Sam constantly badgers the first unnamed character to try green eggs and ham. The unnamed character refuses to taste the dish, insisting that he would not like it. Sam then goes through an assortment of locations (house, car, tree, train, box, boat) and dining partners (fox, goat, mouse) trying to persuade the unnamed character to eat.

The conclusion of the tale occurs when the unnamed character, standing in shallow water after a boat sinks, surrounded by various people and beasts, finally agrees to try the green eggs and ham and upon such must admit that it is actually delicious. Although the character is somewhat ashamed at having been reluctant to try the eggs and ham before, with the realization that they are indeed scrumptious, he quickly apologizes for having been so rude to Sam earlier by stating all of the places and ways that he would eat green eggs and ham. The sudden turnaround in the nameless character's attitude is somewhat similar to that of the Grinch.

 Lexicon

Green Eggs and Ham is one of Seuss's "Beginner Books", written in a very simple vocabulary for beginning readers. The vocabulary of the text consists of just fifty different words^[2], of which 49 are monosyllabic (the one exception being "anywhere"). It averages 5.7 words per sentence and 1.02 syllables per word, giving it an exceptionally low Flesch-Kincaid grade level of -1.3.

Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss's publisher, wagered $50 that Seuss could not write a book using only fifty different words.^[2][3] The bet came after Seuss completed The Cat in the Hat, which used 225 words.^[2]

The fifty words used are:^[2]

Forty-six of the 50 words (all but car, Sam, train, and try) are of Germanic origin.

The tale is in the form of a cumulative tale, with a list of circumstances which gradually increases as the story progresses. Thus, one of Sam's friend's refusals goes:

I would not, could not, in a box.

I could not, would not, with a fox.

I will not eat them with a mouse.

I will not eat them in a house.

I will not eat them here or there.

I will not eat them anywhere.

I do not eat green eggs and ham.

I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

The meter of Green Eggs and Ham is a combination of trochaic and iambic tetrameter; for details, see Dr. Seuss's meters.

 Drawings

Like many of Seuss' characters, Sam and his friend are ambiguous animals; they are furry with large snouts, but stand upright, can speak, and have human facial expressions.

Sam's friend wears a tall black hat that imitates his body language: it startles, cringes, rises up indignant, etc. in synchrony with its owner.

The book also includes a number of Seuss's characteristic elaborate machines: there is a complex platter-presenting device, large artificial hands on poles to illustrate Here and There, a vehicle with a mysteriously-appearing door from which a goat emerges, and a rickety railroad viaduct.

 Reception

Green Eggs and Ham was published in 1960 and became the fourth best selling English-language childrens' hardcover books of all time.^[1][4] In 1999, the National Education Association conducted an online survey of children and teachers, seeking the 100 most popular children's books. On both the children's and the teachers' lists, Green Eggs and Ham was ranked third, just above another Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat.^[5][6]