The Grinch Who Stole Christmas written by Dr. Seuss is a poem that displays the theory, Marxism. The theory of Marxism is the idea of the clash of the dominant and repressed classes (Kristisiegel), and this poem is a form of literature that exhibits the ideas of material possessions, alienation and power. Dr. Seuss’s poem best fits the Marx’s ideology because of the indifference of the two main characters: the Grinch and the Who’s.
The Grinch is a character in the book who spoils the enjoyment or fun of others. He is seen as someone who hates the “Who’s” in Whoville. “The Grinch hated Christmas!” (Seuss 3.1) and “He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Who’s” (Seuss 4.4) shows the hatred in the Grinch’s heart towards the holiday as well as the citizens of Whoville, who are the “classless society.” He lived “just North of Who-ville” (Seuss 2.2) and that shows the Marxism theory that the repressed society live far from the upperclass like the Who’s. This distance between the habitat of the Grinch and Whoville displays the difference in their classes and rankings. “Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown at the warm lighted windows below in their town” (Seuss 4.5) give us a look at
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how the Grinch was in the lower class and did not have the opportunities the Who’s had like warmth. Just like the North Pole, the North of Whoville was a cold place and the Grinch was considered poor thus representing the lower class. As the poem progresses the Grinch tries to ruin the Who’s Christmas stealing their gifts, “and he took every present! Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller Skates!..” (Seuss 17.2), their Who-feasts, “He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash!” (Seuss 18.3), and other material possessions. The Grinch was stealing all these things not because he wanted them for himself, but for the Who’s to feel how he felt during Christmas. He stole logs for fire to have them feel the cold that he feels 24/7, crumbs to show them the hunger that he feels because he may not have food to eat. However, although the Grinch felt successful in ruining Christmas, the Who’s show him that the Christmas spirit is not based on presents, but the spirit of love and cheer. The Who’s of Whoville represents the upper class of society that are privileged and able to celebrate extravagant holidays like Christmas.
They had gifts, a feast and gathered around the tree to sing the Who-Christmas-Sing. They represent people in our society who enjoy Christmas, and other holidays, and have money to spend on material possessions. The Who’s would participate in activities such as “all the Who girls and boys...rush for their toys” (Seuss 6.2), “young and old, would sit down to a feast” (Seuss 7.1) that they had money for. This is probably the cause of the Grinch’s small heart, because for 53 years, he has put up with all the Whoville’s materialistic traditions. The Grinch is powerless compared to the townspeople and definitely not as rich as they
are. I was not able to participate in a “Battle of the Critics” with a fellow classmate but did respond to one of their criticism. Agatha chose the approach of Psychoanalytic. She did not respond to my argument but I would still like to talk about what I learned from this other form of school criticism. This form of criticism is examining the personality of the grinch in three different ways: the id, the ego, and the superego. The iD is the trigger, persay, of why the main character acts the way they are. The iD of the Grinch was that he hated Christmas because it made people happy, which he was not. His superego is known to cancel out what keeps him unsociable in his iD, which is making a decision that saved Cindy Lou. The Grinch’s ego is known as the component that is responsible for dealing with the reality, as Agatha mentions. When the Grinch saved Cindy Lou, a part of him and his personality has changed. The Psychoanalytic is a different way of seeing the poem, and I wish I was able to participate in a “Battle of the Critics.” In conclusion, through a Marxist perspective the result of happiness is dependant on the amount of money they have, or their ranking in society. The Who’s of Whoville are “happier” because they have all the possessions that a wealthy, high class community would have. The Grinch represents of the lower class, that is why he is displayed as “bitter”, “sad” and not only poor materialistically, but emotionally as well. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas shows us that wealth in terms of the Marxism is not only the amount of money you have, but also your happiness.
Dr. Seuss's original fable is a simple story told with a great moral that criticizes the commercialization of Christmas. The original story features an “Ebenezer Scrooge” type creature that lives up the mountains outside "Whoville." The Grinch indulges himself in the annual ritual of spoiling everyone's festivities with a series of nasty pranks. This particular year however he plans to sabotage the holiday season by dressing as Santa Claus, clim...
Seuss, The Grinch is the main protagonist in this tale, but not much background is given on this green fellow. In the story, The Grinch is accompanied by his dog, Max, throughout most of the movie. Max acts as a sidekick that helps the Grinch, but is somewhat of an underdog. But puns aside, Max wasn’t treated the best by the Grinch in most of the movie. The Grinch made him pull an entire sleigh which held the Grinch and all of the Whos’ Christmas food, gifts, and decorations. While Max is pulling the sleigh, The Grinch is continuously yelling at him to make him move faster despite the extremely heavy weight on his shoulders, and expects him to carry all of it on his lonesome. To add onto that, The Grinch makes Max help, treating Max almost like a slave, which is extremely unethical and should never be done. But The Grinch doesn’t really even treat Max like a worker, Max just does what he’s told, and doesn’t get much out of the things he’s done for the
Dickens displays guilt as the main form of how Scrooge’s character develops into a compassionate person by the end of the novella. As Scrooge feels this quilt, it's purely based on the visions that the ghosts provide which further causes Scrooge to realise the consequences of his actions. His alienation from specific characters that he used to love such as Belle, “...has displaced me…” whom left Scrooge, due to his desire for money and wealth which grew. This desire grows with him as he is rejecting the christmas joy and spirit as he continuously states that Christmas is a “humbug,” but by stating this it provides comparison. Dickens depicts that Scrooge has become a better person because of fear but in the end he has become kinder. As the
Scrooge was and owner of a factory and made a whole bunch of money, but he did not care about anyone else. “Merry Christmas said his nephew, what right do have to be merry you are poor enough”. This shows that scrooge is mean to family and does not care about Christmas.
In the beginning of the play in spite of being selfish Scrooge is also cheap, cold-hearted, and cruel. Scrooge behaves in this manner to his nephew, Fred. One way of proving this is when Fred said “Merry Christmas.” Scrooge replied salty saying “Humbug Christmas is just a time for spending and wasting money.” Not only he treats Fred badly but many more people. For instance take one of his quotes towards the Gentleman Visitor, “Are there no Jails for the poor, are there no
small its as if it only has one coal. Being so cheap and not wanting
Throughout Dr. Seuss’s life, he has written dozens of books with over one hundred million copies sold, and still being produced to this day. Theodor Seuss Geisel is a well-known author that had many inspirations for his works that are still read by millions today, such as Yertle the Turtle, The Sneeches, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. His inevitable fame and fortune came with a lot of pressure; pressure of his readers as well as pressure of his producers.
After this altercation Cindy Lou that deep down he was a good person for even if he denied it he saved her life. As she begging her journey to find more about the Grinch the audience and Cindy Lou find out the real story of the Grinch and begin to feel sympathy for the character and his miserable past. The Grinch, in sociology terms, had a stigma or blemish, in school he was teased of his furry green body that did not correspond with the others in Whoville. When the Grinch decides to leave Whoville he curses the day and the gift-giving because his classmates called it garbage and judged the way he looked after he shaved. In a future scene, we again feel sympathy for the Grinch in his response to hitting himself or using noise distractions to forget his past and to forget his loneliness. As Cindy Lou speaks out against the norms of the town she wants to invite the Grinch over to the celebration and to accept the award of the cheer minster. When Cindy Lou arrives at the lair and lets the Grinch see the invitation and what he would be awarded as she leaves the Grinch describes his “plans that involve him which is quoted, “Four o'clock, wallow in self-pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one. 5:30, jazzercise. 6:30, dinner with me.
Charles dickens classic novella “A Christmas Carol” endorses the notion that “Generosity involves more than the giving of money, it’s also about the giving of one's goodwill, compassion, sympathy, empathy and kindness. By taking his seemingly irredeemable protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge on a supernatural journey, Dickens’ intends to convey to all of society the importance of generosity. He proclaims that generosity of the spirit defines Christmas, and goes a large way towards defining true humanity for him as well.
However a little girl named Cindy Lou Who is feeling depressed and lacking the holiday spirit. When her brother and his friends return from climbing Mount Crumpit, claiming they saw the Grinch, Cindy Lou grows curious of the Grinch. The Grinch is a mean spirited villain sporting yellow teeth and covered in green hair. His small heart has no room for feeling while his only friend is his dog, Max. The holiday season is especially despised by the Grinch. He has an extreme hate for Christmas and holiday cheer. The Grinch tri...
Dr. Seuss I took an unconventional approach in the topic I chose for my reading assignment – whereas most groups selected single novels, my partner and I opted to read a collection of short stories by none other than the notorious Dr. Seuss. Were I writing this essay on a “normal” book, I would be able to pose a question about the book itself and answer it in an ordinary sort of way. However, given the subject matter I have chosen, an essay on an individual book, though possible, would be a very tricky thing to do. It would be wiser, and probably easier, to respond to the man himself. My decision to respond to the man himself makes many more choices – what facet of Dr. Seuss shall I ask myself questions about? I think perhaps I first need to give some brief biographical information on the man to understand the background he’s coming from. In 1904, Theodore Seuss Geisel was born in Massachusetts, USA. I have not been able to find too much documentation about his childhood, but he certainly did not come from a terribly poor or terribly unsuccessful family… in fact, his family had owned a local brewery in their home town of Springfield for several years. Ever since his childhood, Geisel had dabbled in the fields we all know and love him for today… for instance, during bible recitals, he read the verses to a rhythm and often in rhyme. In High School he wrote many short essays and drew cartoons for the school paper, and even then he had adopted a pseudonym for himself – “Pete the Pessimist”. Upon graduation, Geisel began studying literature at Oxford university, as his original intent was to become an educator… even then, he punctuated his time at Oxford with his job editing and contributing to the “Jack-O-Lantern”, ...
The Grinch is an individual, who is bitter and lives in a cave on the snowy Mount Crumpits, which is 10,000 feet tall and north of Whoville town. The Grinch age is unknown, however looks to be about in his mid-40s and is unemployed. Thus, results in him spending a lot of time alone in his cave with his dog, Max, as his social companion. At any rate, the Grinch faced many issues when he was younger, causing his current behavior, where he was abandoned as a child, and made fun of because of his look and horrendous appearance at school and as a way to cope he decided to run away. The Grinch behavior shows signs of depression, aggression, and irritation though out a large sum of the movie. In that case, the kid that use to make fun of
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966&2000) explains not only the life of the Grinch but the Whos as well. Through the theorists of Karen Horney and Erik Erikson, viewers can learn why the Grinch’s personality is formed. Not only had it formed, but through the years it transformed.
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens is a tale of the morality changes of a man. The uncharitable, cold heart of the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, melts with ardent love as he receives visitations from three Christmas spirits who enlighten his soul with wise lessons and bring a warm change to his heart. In the beginning of the novel, Scrooge expresses his vices of greed and cold heartedness by his words and actions, but as the story unfolds, his life is renewed by these Spirits who shed light and truth upon him, resulting in making him become a better man, portraying the virtue of charity.
Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol because he believed that he can have an influence on the situation in England in the 19th century(Bio). He included the character’s greed and want that are a part of Scrooge during his visits with the Ghosts of Christmas.