Through a Marxist Lens: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

The Marxist lens examines how socioeconomic factors influence the characters, plot, setting, time period, or any other aspect of a piece of literature. It focuses on the relationship between different social classes and how the distribution of power, wealth, and materialism is determined.

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is a children’s story book written by Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss. The story revolved around the Grinch, a grouchy and bitter creature who lives in a snowy mountain just north of a town called Whoville. The Grinch despised the townspeople called the ‘Whos’ and their annual Christmas traditions. Through the story, the Grinch transform from a bitter and unpleasant creature to becoming a much happier and joyful individual. He befriends the townspeople of Whoville and learns that Christmas is not just about receiving gifts, but rather spending it with your loved ones.

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is a simple, but unique piece of literature that strongly suggests evidence for the Marxist criticism. The story is completely centered around the Grinch, the bitter creature who notoriously hates Christmas. As we learn from the text, "Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason", the reason the Grinch hates Christmas is not commonly known yet. As you continue reading further into the story, it is apparent that the real reason the Grinch hates Christmas is because he struggles financially. The Grinch seems to be in a different economic class than all of the ‘Whos’ who celebrate Christmas. The line, "But the Grinch, Who lived just north of Whoville”, demonstrates that the Grinch lives in an area away from the ‘Whos’. The Grinch lives in a cave on top of a snowy mountain, isolated from all the other townspeople. This evidence supports the argument that the Grinch is probably too poor to live in Whoville or is not good enough to appear as part of the upper class.

When describing Christmas, the Grinch goes into great detail of all of the materialistic things the ‘Whos’ participate in. "They'd rush for their toys!", "young and old, would sit down to a feast", and "hanging a mistletoe wreath" are all examples of activities that many of the ‘Whos’ engage in during the Christmas season. The Grinch cannot afford to have all the materialistic objects that are easily accessible to the ‘Whos’, thus making him develop a hatred towards Christmas and the townspeople.

Within the small town of Whoville, the Grinch is an outcast due to his appearance, attitude, and financial state. "Why, for fifty-three years I've put up with it now!" This line shows that for the last fifty-three years, he has been powerless against the ‘Whos’ and their celebration of Christmas. The Grinch’s hatred towards the townspeople causes him to believe that he is able to take away the town’s happiness by stealing the children’s toys. In the quote, “Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present”, the reader is able to see the satisfaction the Grinch receives from stealing the gift’s from homes. This proves how important materialistic objects are to the Grinch. He believes that materialistic objects are essential to an individual’s happiness and that without them, the children of Whoville will not be able to continue spreading their cheer and joy during the Christmas season. This allows us to see how important materialistic objects are believed to be, even in society. Many people in society believe that money is the real cause of happiness. They believe that money can buy anything and thus, buy them their happiness. They are correct to a certain extent, but not entirely. Money is only short-term happiness. I believe that happiness comes from not only money, but also from accomplishments and love. An individual who is able to achieve a certain goal or has a certain someone who is able to make their lives 100x better, will be happier with their lives versus someone who does not have all that and only has an excessive amount of money.

From a Marxist perspective, the conclusion made upon this story is that wealth automatically leads to happiness. This is seen when comparing the bitter and lower class Grinch, to the happier and wealthier ‘Whos’. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas shows that even in society, the financial situation of an individual determines their happiness and lifestyle. Those that have the money are able to buy the items they desire, whereas those who do not have the money are left with no choice but to live with that they have. The story also shows that those who have money, are respected and treated differently. In the beginning of the story, the Grinch was not able to bring any sort of materialistic object into the town. Due to this, he was not accepted into the Whos’ society and was not a respected individual. Towards the end of the story, we see that this situation is reversed. "And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast! And he, HE HIMSELF!” At the end when the Grinch is offer some sort of materialistic objects to town, he becomes a respected individual and is welcomed into the Whos’ society. This is a mirror representation of the society we live in. In society, people are respected and respected if they are able to afford high-end possessions. If you walk into a high-end clothing store versus a department store, you can clearly sense the difference in the way employees treat you. If you walk into a high-end clothing store wearing a regular t-shirt and jeans, they will look upon you with disgrace and think Why are you even in here? It is clear that money is a false indicator of how you should be treated. In addition, many people prefer brand name items over items that may be the exact same, but are not labeled with a known brand. If an item looks exactly the same as the branded product but is less expensive, then why aren’t all of us going for the less-expensive product? One of the answers is the fact that we look cooler wearing a brand, as it displays a message that we are able to afford the expensive things in life. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas proves that money is not only associated with purchasing power, but also our happiness and the respect we receive from others.