I have chosen to look at “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss from a Marxist perspective. The Marxist school of criticism focuses on the clash between the dominant class and the lower class. This poem is about the Grinch, who is very different from everyone else in his society, making him an outcast that nobody wants to be around. The Grinch is the embodiment of the lower class because he does not get to make important decisions and he lives in isolation. The Whos are the complete opposite of the Grinch, as they represent the dominant class and they get to live together in their tight knit society without any worries. The Grinch wanted to destroy Christmas because nobody gave him a present, as they all viewed him as evil and as detrimental …show more content…
Furthermore, this is an example of the lower class trying to overcompensate by trying to overthrow and cause chaos to the dominant class. The people of that era were very adamant to accept people who were different from them because they wanted everyone to be the same and follow the same rules. The Grinch did not want to follow the rules and so he broke away from the town, to live somewhere where his voice was heard. Once the Grinch stole all of the presents, stocking and trees, he realized that the real value was not in the presents, but in the people celebrating together. This caused him to look past his hate and break the class system, by joining in with the Whos. As a result, he was no longer separated in a separate class, as he transitioned into the dominant class. I believe that this poem does not fully reflect the economic division or even the class division, as it is a children’s poem which mostly focuses on the message, instead of specific details. Although, we can infer that the Grinch was in a different class system, due to his attitude towards the other people of the village and his feeling of resentment and
In kindergarten the entire class learning to write my name we’d received a laminated name tag I wrote my name to numerous times to perfection.
Many authors during the early nineteenth century wrote about the horrible working conditions that existed during the Industrialization movement in early nineteenth century Europe. Some wrote directly toward this issue, like Karl Marx in the “Communist Manifesto,” but others decided voice their opinions through the characters of their literary works. The miserable and wretched creatures of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” are all products of the same social and cultural forces, however one is more noticeably linked to these issues while the other is more abstract. The two child-like spirits, Ignorance and Want, serve as warnings to Scrooge that society will be littered with people ignorant and wanting
During the Industrial Revolution in London, the poor were treated as inadequate citizens. Most worked just so they could have food and shelter. In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens uses Ebenezer Scrooge to convey his critiques of Victorian society. Dickens uses the character Scrooge to express his judgements of Victorian society, greed, and the treatment of the poor. He also suggests a reform to these problems, charity and the spirit of Christmas.
Dickens and Zusak illustrates how people who live in poverty can still live an ethical and moral life. Charles Dickens displays the main protagonist, Scrooge, to be someone
Although a sociologist can look at Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch that Stole Christmas in all three of the major theoretical perspectives, the main one expressed is symbolic interactionism. The Grinch that Stole Christmas is a story about a “who” who was not considered to be part of their “whoville” society due to the fact that he not only looked different from the rest of the people, but he acted in different ways than their norms. The story is merely about how the Grinch hates the “whos,” because of how they treated him; until, a little girl named Cindy Lou Who gains a curiosity for the Grinch and wants to give him another chance to be a part of their society. Throughout the story both of the main characters develop a deep connection to each other. Upon viewing the story from a symbolic interaction perspective view, I discovered how the story thematically symbolizes an important part of Christmas by giving people another chance; meanwhile, focusing on the relationship between the main two characters help them regain faith, and while the setting symbolizes their society’s purpose.
Following the reading of the poem The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess, it can easily be decided that the proper school of criticism to use is the Marxist Theory due to its thorough connection towards the chosen written piece. As this theory progresses forward with the idea of a constant endeavour among social classes, which should at some point lead to a society where there are absolutely no classes whatsoever. Meaning that the concept is displayed throughout the poem by the Grinch himself. In the sense that he, being an isolated charactered for majority of the context, with no interaction at all with the people of Whoville for the time of Christmas celebrations or anytime at that, holds a much different view upon the world and Christmas,
With the season, sounding the holiday spirit, the movie that I have chosen to analyze a character that depict a personality disorder and, “enduring patterns of experience and behavior that differ greatly from the norm and the expectations of the individual’s social group”, is Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The character’s behavior that I will be examining is the Grinch and the personality disorder that he acquires to exhibit is anti-social personality disorder. Anti-social personality disorder is one of the four disorders consider appearing dramatic, emotional, and unpredictable. As a person with anti-social personality disorder they tend to not care about other people’s feeling showing little remorse, along with aggressive behaviors. Generally, individuals start showing signs of this disorder early on in childhood as early as six years old, and include symptoms of impulsivity, behavioral problems, callous social attitudes, and lack of feeling for others. Antisocial personality disorder implies that the person does not conform to social norms and tend to little or no respect for the law.
It was a cold winter's evening and the night was as dark as coal. The town was very bizarre tonight. Infact more than usual. The town was tiny but it was very easy for people to assimilate in it. It was three days before Christmas and people were thrilled about that final day to come. Everybody ran around like maniacs trying to do last minute shopping.
a prison or a treadmill; he did not think for a second that the places
Brodie Rose DC Honors English Mrs. Cox 17 March 2024 How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Overcoming Adversity Although the original Grinch story was a book written by Dr. Suess, a well-renowned children’s author and illustrator, Ron Howard’s 2000 movie adaptation starring Jim Carrey and Taylor Momsen has provoked much controversy among movie fans today. As a child, this movie was a constant in my household. It was always fun, no matter what time of year it was. Some may argue that this movie is too harsh for children of certain age groups, and while some truth can be found in that, others love the movie for its incredible storyline and deeper symbolism. The 2000’s adaptation of Dr. Suess’s, The Grinch, can be criticized for its crudeness, macabre
I have to say, this play was intriguing to me, with the three interlocking plots, all of which surrounding a common theme; marriages. I am not familiar with this play outside of this class, I had wanted to see the Hollywood adaptation with Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Stanley Tucci, but I never got around to it. To be honest, I didn’t identify with any of the characters or the plot itself, which caused great difficulty in choosing an angle for this paper.
Most people agree that Christmas is a magical time. They believe that it can warm the heart of Scrooge, bring toys to life, and even deliver toys across the globe. However, can a Christmas ad be magical, is it possible for just an ad taped to the wall; can it incite warm feelings in someone’s heart, to bring just a spec of happiness to them? This ad for “The Little Town of Christmas,” may seem plain and boring, yet there are several aspects to it that many will and have overlooked. There are several different design aspects that are used to incite this warm Christmas mood into the hearts of many; these aspects are the ad’s font style, the color scheme, the age range it targets, and the overall design choice.
Through Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens criticises Victorian society and its extremely harsh treatment of the lower class. It went out of its way to create any possible divide between the two social classes, middle and lower classes, to suppress and even eliminate the poor. It was not done in a way that would improve living conditions of the lower class but in the way that would physically and morally destroy the people that belonged to it. This mental divide created two very distinct spaces in London’s society which strived to contain lower class in one controlled space and denounce the ability to improve their lives and possibly move up the social ladder.
He voices his support for these side-lined people of society by presenting their situation euphemistically understating their circumstances via the word ‘unfortunate’. The sympathetic tone in the word denies the idea that the poor are entirely at fault for their situation (which was a widely held belief at the time of the Middle and Upper classes). Dickens purposefully emphasises the idea of understanding and not the renunciation that was common. Having grown up in a working class environment, he had first-hand experience of the ‘penury’ and hardship that they endured. The rich and Middle Classes believed that the poor were at fault for their problems - that they did not follow the Christian way of life and deserved to be poor. Dickens was trying to reverse this widespread opinion.
Some of Dickens’ work is inspired by the poor conditions people, especially children living in London had to deal with. His book, A Christmas Carol, reflects this by showing all the