This Christmas Eve in Whoville, home of the Whos, was like any other Christmas Eve.The citizens of Whoville were all decorating the town with wonderful items and fancy lights. For Cindy Lou Who, Christmas was the best time of the year, she loved helping put up decorations and participating in the annual Whofestivity. “Wow, look at all the heavy snow and pretty lights!” said Cindy Lou Who as she walked amongst the town. Everyone in Whoville loved the holiday, except for one, The Grinch. He would do anything in his might to ruin the night. He lived in a mountaintop with his dog Max watching everybody below, disgusted by his sight. The more he thought about Christmas, the more destruction he wanted to bring.
The Grinch then thought of just one
Alone with his dog Max on Mount Crumpit, poor Grinch hated the entire idea of all the Christmas bliss. He had a repugnance for all that participated in such holiday because of the countless rejections he received from the Whos as a child. Many Whos including the Mayor of Whoville himself would ridicule him for lack of better appearance making the Grinch feel remorseful and unfit for the Whos’ standards. For this reason, he stayed far, far away from the Whos and anything pertaining to them. No one quite realized the reasonings for the Grinch’s cold-hearted tendencies and rather just came to the conclusion that his heart was just two sizes too small. So the Whos continued on with the life and the holidays without any thought of the grumpy
In this paper I will discuss Social Theories such as Structural Functionalism, Conflict theory; with emphasis on Karl Marx’s early work and how it relates to the conflict theory and Symbolic interaction. I intend to define and discuss relevant sociological terms of these theories and how these theories could apply to my favorite holiday which is Christmas.
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.
“The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were to tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.” (Seuss).
An ideology created in the 1960s, the culture of poverty is the idea that people stuck in poverty during this time had no way of breaking out and that they were trapped in a vicious cycle. The people living this way are helpless and could not provide for themselves, and many born in this lifestyle are heading downward with no avail. To spread awareness in the 60s, CBS sent reporter Charles Kuralt to document the quality of life and present the culture of poverty that ravaged in Appalachia. He went around a small town in mountainside Kentucky and interviewed families and documented the state of life around Christmas. This CBS News Special Report, Christmas In Appalachia, affirms the ideology of a culture of poverty, and the interview with Ibe Johnson, a hardworking husband and father, solidifies this through several filming techniques. Using a mix of eye-level and low level angle shots along with scale, duration of the interview, and composition of the scene, the film subjects the viewers to evidence of the culture of poverty.
As the story moves along Sam out the elder in different situations to see if he would eat the green eggs and ham, but to Sam’s dismay the elder wouldn’t. Finally after trying and trying and trying Sam gets the elder to try the Green eggs and ham. One of the most popular stories by Dr. Seuss is the classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This story became so popular that Universal Studios not only picket it up for a movie, but also a whole theme for their Christmas season theme park. In this story the Grinch loathes Christmas and the who’s with every fiber of his being. The Grinch presents himself as socially cut off from the who’s down in whoville. He lives on top of Mt. Crumpit with his dog Max. All of this hate is because his heart is two sizes too small (and this time he’ll keep it off). He finally had enough of the Who’s bangboozaling and clangclangaling so he devised a plan to steal Christmas. After Santa Clause came and delivered all the presents to the houses he would sneak in, in his Santa Clause suit and steal every present, every light, every decoration, every tree, and all of the food for the feast. He even stole the roast beast! He would empty the houses one by one and he didn’t leave anything. Not even a crumb big enough for a mouse. So as he got done with emptying the houses and was about to dump everything over Crumpit he heard a noise, a weird
Theodor Seuss Geisel was a cartoonist, poet, and American writer. He was most widely known for his children's books written and illustrated as Dr. Seuss. “The short film “How the Grinch stole Christmas”, came out in the year 1966. It was made from the original story book that published in 1956 by Dr. Seuss”, (Hutchinson). Grinch, which is the main character of the story. He is labeled as a cruel scoundrel, who lives a lonely life in his cave north of the village, with no one to mingle with, except his dog Max. Max the Grinch's dog definitely plays along to his master's shameful tactics. The dog follows the Grinch around, never letting the viewer’s know whether or not he is fully on board with the Grinch's plans, though we suspect he is not given his long, glum face. Cindy-Lou Who only appears once in the story, who is just a little girl that the Grinch ran into while he was on his mission to destroy Christmas. Cindy-Lou who serves as a trigger to the Grinch's change of heart. Then there’s the rest of the Grinch's enemies, the Whos, who seem to have no idea that their unusual neighbor to the north is plotting to extinguish their spirits.
When the Grinch throws Cindy Lou in the mail machine, it displays the growing power of the ID. Max his dog convinces the Grinch to help Cindy. Therefore, the Grinch rescues her. Max is the representation of good! Max represents the superego in the Grinch.
The Grinch Brittany Caruso The grinch is a rude, loud character who has a deep overwhelming hate for christmas due to his childhood trauma. After he ran away from whoville he moved to Mt. Crumpit with his dog, and only companion. The Grinch only leaves his cave to steal food, or bother other people.
In Dr. Seuss', “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” it is apparent that there are socioeconomic factors that influences characters, settings and plot. The poem focuses on the relationship with lower and upper classes along with the economic conditions between the Grinch and the Whos. .
His favorite holiday is Halloween but, he hates Christmas. This holiday, celebrated by the Who’s in Whoville is
The literary school of criticism which best interprets Dr. Seuss’ “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” is the archetypal lens. The poem tells the tale of a Grinch who’s attempt to stop Christmas is relinquished when he is moved by the Christmas spirit of Whoville. Through the usage of character and thematic archetypes, Seuss is able to strengthen the impact of his poem. In the poem, the Grinch is clearly an example of the villain, seen in how “his heart was two sizes too small,” a metaphor for how he lacks empathy and love (Seuss 8). The Grinch’s portrayal as a villain eliminates the reader’s doubts as to why he is attempting to steal Christmas as it is implied that villains will attempt to commit evil.
Which he equally hates as much as the happy celebrations. As a child, the Grinch was rejected by the Who-ville community. He was made fun of and disliked by everybody, so he lived secluded up in the icy, gloomy mountains for his entire life. The Grinch actually enjoyed Christmas as a kid; he had a crush on Martha May, who is now with the Mayor.
To illustrate, a background of the Grinch, he was a resentful individual who look to be in his 40’s who lived on a snowy called Mount Crumpits in the town of Whoville. In the film it depicts him spending a lot of time alone in the cave on the mountain reflecting depressed mood and his only social contact being his dog, named Max. He was abandoned as a child and was
Twas the night before Christmas, pale and yellow moonlight illuminated a house deep in the woods. Tall pine trees surrounded the house, like giants pointing at the inky black sky. Flurries of snowflakes swirled in a hurry around the house. The house stood alone and abandoned, adorned with Christmas lights, but not the ones you would see on any ordinary house. Some lights were fading, once bright and colorful but now a former shell of what they once been. Others burned out in a spark while the ones left were shattered. The front door was decorated with a rug that could be mistaken as an animal. The tree inside the house was not in the most pristine condition, either. The tree slumped in a dark corner. The top of the tree stretched out like bony fingers grasping at the air. The shiny, glinting ornaments that once fashioned the tree were now shattered. The wallpaper plastered to the wall was now peeling off, like it was rotting. The paint on anything on the house was now faded and chipping away. Stale air filled with dust occupied the house. The house was indeed creepy and not in the most pristine condition. Even more mysterious, the house would only ever appear on the night of Christmas Eve. Despite this, many local teenagers and explorers were drawn to the house. Anyone who was brave enough or dumb enough would enter and see the house in its deteriorated state. One Christmas Eve night many years ago, an explorer had stumbled across the house. He had been in the snow for what