Dr. Seuss’ poem, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, exemplifies the features of a Marxist structure. The Marxist lens examines the social-economic factors and how it impacts the character’s beliefs, values, attitudes and ideas. The protagonist is Grinch, who lives isolated in a snow cave north of Whoville, where the majority of the townspeople live. Grinch “prefers” to be alienated from the community because he despises the ‘Whos’ and their annual Christmas traditions. However, it is not his preference that motivates him to resent Christmas, but his financial struggles that do not correlate to the ‘Whos’. As a result, in the celebration of Christmas, Grinch does not receive nor is able to afford gifts for others, thus, provoking him to despise the festivity of Christmas and the people who celebrate it. One example would be how the Grinch describes into great detail of the materialistic gifts the ‘Whos’ receive on Christmas, “they’d rush for their toys”, which is an example of the Grinch’s interest and observation into the activities on Christmas. From a Marxist point of view that conflicts are a result of social-economic factors, the apparent idea of the poem is made clear: money makes the world go around. In the quote, “then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, around the room, and he took every present”, the reader is made aware that since the Grinch does not have these lavish items in comparison to the ‘Whos’, his actions signify his belief of how materialistic objects are necessary in order to achieve happiness. Evidently, due to social-economic battles in the Grinch’s life, this poem can best be critiqued with the Marxist Criticism structure. Works Cited:
Seuss, Dr. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. New York: Random House, 1985. Print.
Henderson, George E., and Christopher Brown. "Marxist Criticism." Glossary of Literary Theory. University of Toronto English Library, n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.