How the Grinch stole Christmas, written by Dr. Seuss in 1957, shows a clear demonstration of the commercialization of Christmas. In the 1950s, North America was considerably interested in the commercialization of Christmas, a religious celebration that had been around for over a thousand year had turned into a money making scheme. Interestingly, the notable figure of Christmas, Santa Clause, was shaped by the now multi-billion dollar company Coca-Cola. Most works of Dr. Seuss contain a theme, or a moral message. In his work, “ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, Dr. Seuss protests the commercialization of Christmas. Another reason that we can use to determine the Marxist-based structure of this poem is by observing what issues the poem discusses. Seuss clearly speaks out on issues such as discrimination, ostracism and misplaced values.
Seuss in his work states “ Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “ doesn’t come from a store. “ Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” He holds a strong belief that Christmas should have a more spiritual meaning rather than materialistic. He is then obviously attacking the marketing schemes and gimmicks used by corporations, which are generally directed at the upper class. He continues onto outlining the major difference between the upper-class (the whos) and the lower-class (the Grinch). I believe that using the Marxist criticism we can conclude that the Grinch doesn’t represent an individual, but the entire lower class, those who do not have the financial power to conform the newly built “ traditions” of Christmas.
