The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” is a  children’s Christmas book by Theodor Geisel who doubles as “Dr. Seuss.” It was written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. The story line follows the Grinch, is a cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the public’s Christmas plans by stealing Christmas gifts and decorations from the homes in the nearby town of Whoville on Christmas Eve. The inimitable Boris Karloff was named the narrator of the production. Disguised as Santa Claus, with his dog made to look like a reindeer, the Grinch raids the village to steal all the Christmas things.

At this point, the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not all about money and presents. As an offshoot, the book criticizes the commercialization of Christmas and the holiday season. This story was published as a book by Random House in 1957, and at approximately the same time in an issue of Redbook. When Boris Karloff died in 1969, Hans Conried became the voice of the Grinch and the Narrator.

The Grinch is a cat-like creature with a heart “two sizes too small.” He resided in a cave on a mountain north of Whoville, home of the cheerful and warmhearted Whos. One Christmas Eve, having grown tired by Whoville’s noisy Christmas festivities, the Grinch resolves to prevent Christmas from coming. He disguises himself as Santa Claus and travels to Whoville on a sleigh hauled by his dog, Max. The Grinch slides down the chimney of the first house on the square and steals all the presents, the food for the feast, and the Christmas tree. He is briefly interrupted by a Who girl named Cindy Lou, but concocts a crafty lie to get rid of her so that he can escape.

After doing the same to the other Whos’ houses, the Grinch takes his sleigh to the top of Mount Crumpit and prepares to dump all of the stolen belongings into an abyss. As dawn breaks, he expects to hear the Whos crying, but is shocked to hear them singing a joyous Christmas song as usual instead. After much thought, the Grinch comes to realize that Christmas “means a little bit more” than just presents and feasting, causing his shrunken heart to grow three sizes larger. The reformed Grinch returns the Whos’ presents and food and is asked to take part in their Christmas feast.

A real Grinch lives in our society today, but the reader must decide his identity. With grocery prices sky high and the cost of gasoline out of sight, the shopper is torn between buying what is needed, rationing fuel costs, and deciding what his/her family can do without. This reasoning is prevalent in grocery stores nation-wide. Yet, the real Grinch thinks we are doing fine and that his policies are working to perfection. In closing, nothing has been done to lower the price of gasoline. As long as transportation costs remain high, so will the cost of goods purchased. The real Grinch lives on!

HHJ News