Dr. Seuss’ 1966 classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas is known by many to be a heartwarming cartoon not only for its bright colors and music, but for its profound message that Christmas is upon us “so long as we have hands to clasp.” Given the state of the education system today, it is no surprise that the average Grinch fan believes the show’s lesson goes no deeper than what is explicitly sung in “Welcome Christmas,” the Whos’ staple ballad. However, whether or not it was done intentionally, the character of the Grinch, as well as the meaning of the entire show was constructed with great historical precedent and reverence for many bedrock works of Western Society.
Based on Seuss’ 1957 book bearing the same title, the show begins with the Grinch hating anything remotely related to Christmas. His complaints about the Christmas morning noise, songs the Whos sing, and the family feasts drive him to devise a plan to dismantle the material part of Christmas. For the Grinch, it is not a matter of ignoring the ideals that make Christmas so reverent, but a matter of forgetting their very existence as he is blinded by his hateful folly.
Though not the only two similar stories, Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone and the Pharisees’ guarding of Jesus’ tomb are practically cornerstones of Seuss’ work,
Obviously, both accounts have fundamental differences (the most blaring one being that one is a legend and one is real), however they only serve to show how evil has utilized materialism in all contexts throughout history, and still can in a more modern age.
In the renaissance of Greek philosophy, Sophocles was among the first to point out how anger often turns one’s attention completely off of the abstraction behind Polynices’ physical body, turning the celebration into a meaningless congregation. Simply put, Creon allowed his anger to trick him into believing that Antigone’s desire to honor her brother relied only on her ability to bury him, and the Pharisees believed Jesus’ resurrection would simply be his followers stealing his body in an attempt to make him seem godly. We see this focus on the physical with the Grinch too, as he allows his hatred of the Whos’ congregations lead him to believe that Christmas was solely about the noisy celebrations and presents. Creon, the Pharisees, and the Grinch all became blind to the ideological movements behind their respective assemblies, as has been present throughout history and still today.
Furthermore, the shallow culture of today may, upon reading Antigone (which would be a miracle in itself) label the girl as foolish and her death as a failure. Contrarily, anyone with a mildly enlightened view of a just battle would render her mission a success. Her willingness to die for what she knew was right was the most reverential way to honor her politically estranged brother. Additionally, as is evident by the sheer number of Christians today, Jesus’ death and Resurrection strengthened his cause while the Pharisees are seen as symbols of those who aren't Christians today for their failure to understand the true meaning of his resurrection from the dead. Just as Creon’s and The Pharisees’ vain, ignorant efforts did nothing but prove the profoundness and resilience of the movements they were trying to derail, the Grinch himself came to love the holiday after failing to “stop Christmas from coming.”
Conclusively, even today this phenomenon is commonplace. Customary of our shallow culture, Brian Thompson’s killer is described as having tried to achieve the level of stardom of the Zodiac Killer or simply sending a message to all private healthcare companies to be careful of who they deny care to. But there is always a deeper pattern that is ignored. In his episode of rage, it is likely the killer believed the best way to stop any “unjust” denials of care, a necessity for any company that wants to stay in business, is to kill one of their CEO’s, who also bore the titles of “husband” and “father,” just like many of the victims of 9-11, or the (near) victim of a certain assassination attempt this past August.
Though there is no step-by-step way to stop this from happening, as is the problem with many other ways evil is manifested, a critical understanding of it is still useful whether one is looking back at catastrophes in history or experiencing one in real time.
Consider this one of the umpteenth reasons why basic Western philosophy ought to be taught to all children in the classroom.
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