PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY
“How the Grinch stole Christmas” is a well-known and important poem in the literary canon. This poem simply talks about how the Grinch plans to ruin Christmas for the Whos in Who Ville, which then backfires and leads to self-realization for the Grinch. I decided to use the psychoanalytical theory to demonstrate the persona of the Grinch, and to unravel the possible reasons for his drive towards belligerence and destruction. To commence, it is obvious the Grinch has no interactions with the people of Who Ville, which explains his alienation. His noticeable difference amongst the other Whos was a result to his lack of conformity. His plan to ruin Christmas for the Whos was perhaps an indication of an unconscious desire for his own downfall. Watching the Whos surrounded with happiness brings about the Grinch’s decision to inject some trouble into the celebration. He anticipated his own feelings of displeasure and misery onto the Whos when he predicted that they would all cry "boo, who" upon discovering that they would not be celebrating Christmas. The Grinch's tendency toward cynicism, hostility, and aggression demonstrates his desire for destruction. His desire for destruction stems from the fact that he feels isolated. Thus, he tends to destroy the joy of the people in Who Ville, with the tendency of making them reach the same level of depression and misery he is in. The Grinch wanted the Whos' merry-making to come to an end, despite their needs and wants. This poem presented psychological theories in the Grinch. The Grinch's thoughts and actions in this poem is a proof of this work being under the psychoanalytic theory. I learned from this poem by analyzing the character is that people with a sensitive sense of social isolation, appear to have a decreased response to things that make most people happy, and have a keen urge towards human conflict, manipulation and conspiracies.