Unit 2 Activity 5 Assignment 2 Essay

A major concept of Marxism is the notion that the bourgeoisie (the dominant class) controls and oppresses the proletariats (the working class) until there is a revolutionary change that causes the dominant class to see the emptiness of life in the bourgeoisie society. Seuss’s The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is partially based on Marxism as it discusses misplaced values and different social classes and has plenty of symbolism pertaining to differences in societies. For instance, there is a rich upper class (the Whos) who can afford expensive gifts and fancy holiday dinners and the poor lower class (the Grinch) who has to manage with what he has and do not have access to the luxuries of those in the upper class. The whole essence of the poem was to show the futility of the focus of the upper class, the Whos, on the materialistic side of Christmas. We are mean to identify the Grinch as a Marxist. He is a part of the poor lower class oppressed by those in Whoville; he revolutionized the greedy, bourgeoisie Whos by shifting their focus from the materialistic side of Christmas to the holiday’s true meaning.
Out of his hate for Christmas, the Grinch decides to ruin the holiday for the people of Whoville by stealing all of their Christmas decorations, presents, food, etc., but after he had stolen all of their Christmas adornments and feasts he saw that the people of Whoville were still celebrating joyously, revealing to him that there was more to Christmas than the decorations and gifts. The Grinch represents the lower class, those who do not have the means to take part in the commercialized traditions of Christmas, while the Whos are the upper class, those who spend Christmas enjoying gifts and lavish meals. The superstructure (values of society) of Whoville is based on the materialistic side of Christmas; it is not until the Grinch, an outsider of Whoville, removes all of the Whos’ presents and decorations, making both classes equal, that the true meaning of Christmas is understood. Through the statement, “‘Maybe Christmas,’” he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!’” (Seuss), Dr. Seuss protests against the exploitation and commodification of Christmas. Seuss’s The Grinch Who Stole Christmas aims to shift the focus of many away from commercialism and materialism in order to make them see the ‘little bit more’ in everything.
Marxists examine how socioeconomic factors affect the characters, plot, setting and time of a literary work. Also according to the Marxist theory, the social class of the author is portrayed in the literary work. The poem is mainly centered on the Grinch, the symbol of the lower class. According to the poem, there is

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