Forgiveness at Christmas - Analysis of The Grinch & A Christmas Carol
Sophie Bond - Writer
It is no surprise that Christmas is a time for love and forgiveness: definitely not about the presents. There seems to be a common theme in a lot of the classic Christmas films with someone who is against the concept of christmas. Two prominent stories that come to mind featuring this theme are ‘The Grinch’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’. These are feature a man (or grinch) who has a passionate hatred for christmas. But, of course, it always ends with the villainous character having a change of heart and experiencing emotions they have supposedly never felt before.
The Grinch (which is obviously the best christmas film of all time) relates to A Christmas Carol heavily because their reasons for hating the season both originate in heart break. In the classic 2000 film, The Grinch suffered a heart break when he was a little boy, over a Christmas ornament he made for the love of his life; ever since that day he never celebrated Christmas again. However, the seeds of Scrooge’s greed existed before he had his heartbroken at Christmas - the event strengthened his selfish and hateful persona. Regarding this, it seems that The Grinch had a legitimate reason to dislike the holiday season, however, Scrooge was a cruel person to begin with.
The Grinch (which is obviously the best christmas film of all time) relates to A Christmas Carol heavily because their reasons for hating the season both originate in heart break. In the classic 2000 film, The Grinch suffered a heart break when he was a little boy, over a Christmas ornament he made for the love of his life; ever since that day he never celebrated Christmas again. However, the seeds of Scrooge’s greed existed before he had his heartbroken at Christmas - the event strengthened his selfish and hateful persona. Regarding this, it seems that The Grinch had a legitimate reason to dislike the holiday season, however, Scrooge was a cruel person to begin with.
They really can’t seem to get into the Christmas spirit. Not only did they hate Christmas, but they also misbehaved and tried to ruin Christmas for everyone else who is just trying to have themselves a merry little Christmas. I mean, think about the poor little Who’s and Tiny Tim, just wishing for a merry christmas and having some grumpy old man (or Grinch) take it away from you; my heart breaks just thinking about it. Do they even know it’s christmas? Because they are not acting like it. There’s nothing more upsetting than seeing vulnerable people being taken advantage of, especially at christmas time; a time that is meant to be full of love and cheer.
Now, the biggest similarity between them is that they both have a change of heart in the end. The Grinch found a friend in a young girl named Cindy-Lou and Scrooge gets scared into becoming a better person from the three ghosts of: Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future. This leads to the big build up of Scrooge finally giving to other people, including the misfortunate Tiny Tim. The character development in these two is extraordinary considering the difference between their characters at the beginning and ending of the films; the war is finally over. The Grinch ends up being home for christmas, you can count on him to be celebrating with the other Who’s around the Christmas tree and eating roast beast. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for The Grinch and the Who’s. This is majorly up to Cindy-Lou Who, who showed the Grinch that people do still have kindness in them despite him having a few bad experiences. Additionally, santa claus came to town for Tiny Tim and the rest of the residents in London that knew Scrooge. Christmas was no longer cancelled and unlike last christmas, everyone had warmth, food and love to celebrate. It goes to show, when you’re surrounded by loving, caring and forgiving individuals, anything could be underneath the tree for you.
If these characters taught us anything, it would be that forgiveness is achievable no matter what. Christmas time is a magical place whether it is a cozy one at home or you are having a fairytale of New York. Christmas is a time for family and friends to come together, have fun, and forgive and forget any mistakes and feuds that may have happened throughout the year. So, my dear friends, make sure you step into Christmas this year and make the most out of it because you never know what situation you will be in the following year. But, most importantly, have yourselves a merry little christmas!
Now, the biggest similarity between them is that they both have a change of heart in the end. The Grinch found a friend in a young girl named Cindy-Lou and Scrooge gets scared into becoming a better person from the three ghosts of: Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future. This leads to the big build up of Scrooge finally giving to other people, including the misfortunate Tiny Tim. The character development in these two is extraordinary considering the difference between their characters at the beginning and ending of the films; the war is finally over. The Grinch ends up being home for christmas, you can count on him to be celebrating with the other Who’s around the Christmas tree and eating roast beast. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for The Grinch and the Who’s. This is majorly up to Cindy-Lou Who, who showed the Grinch that people do still have kindness in them despite him having a few bad experiences. Additionally, santa claus came to town for Tiny Tim and the rest of the residents in London that knew Scrooge. Christmas was no longer cancelled and unlike last christmas, everyone had warmth, food and love to celebrate. It goes to show, when you’re surrounded by loving, caring and forgiving individuals, anything could be underneath the tree for you.
If these characters taught us anything, it would be that forgiveness is achievable no matter what. Christmas time is a magical place whether it is a cozy one at home or you are having a fairytale of New York. Christmas is a time for family and friends to come together, have fun, and forgive and forget any mistakes and feuds that may have happened throughout the year. So, my dear friends, make sure you step into Christmas this year and make the most out of it because you never know what situation you will be in the following year. But, most importantly, have yourselves a merry little christmas!
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