Stockton- The Grinch is a main character in How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Theodor Seuss Gisiel, who is often known as Dr. Seuss. This character is beloved by most people in the world, and it is very well known. To be specific, around 10 million copies have been sold. This shows how popular this classic Christmas story really is. But behind all of this popularity, have you ever had the rising question of: Who was this character based on? Well, based on many biographies and the interview with Dr. Seuss in 1957 with Red Book the Grinch, was inspired by Dr. Seuss himself. Which can be surprising to some because, yes, authors write books about themselves in the first person. But a lot of people don’t know an author who creates a new character and continues to base it on themselves. Furthermore, in his interview with Redbook, Dr. Seuss claims, “I was brushing my teeth on the morning of the 26th of December when I noticed a very Grinchy countenance in the mirror. It was Seuss!”. He wasn’t feeling the happiness of Christmas and wasn’t in the mood. If you think about it, what he just said includes characteristics of the Grumpy yet loved character, the Grinch.
Similarly, we all don’t feel cheery or the brightest during Christmas. In fact, some people may not like this holiday due to the stress of presents or Christmas dinner. Perhaps this is why so many people love the Grinch because he is considered funny, but deep down, some may relate to him. What they don’t know, though, is that they are referring to Dr. Seuss because he was the Grinch one morning in December. He didn’t just write the story to express his gritty self. He also did it to possibly rediscover the joy of Christmas, which he had sadly lost. Almost as if the Grinch was another side of Dr. Seuss decided to introduce him to the world, considering him a friend. After all, this decision to introduce the Grinch to the world was a raging success and still is. But most of us don’t even know that The Grinch was based on an actual person, specifically Dr. Seuss himself. We knew the story, but not the true heart of it. To better say all of this, let’s hear from the man himself, who in the interview with Rebook says, “Something had gone wrong with Christmas, I realized, or more likely with me. So I wrote the story about my sour friend, the Grinch, to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I’d lost.” We all grow up to learn Santa isn’t real, and sometimes we can lose the joy of Christmas to the stress of Christmas. We all may be more similar than we think when it comes to the feelings of this holiday.
Moreover, taking his bad mood and detachment from Christmas, he continues to turn it into a story, creating a warm Christmas feeling. He disguised this very well, so without the interview with Redbook or the other interviews, no one would know the true Grinch except the people close to him. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Theodor Seuss Gisiel includes a Christmas that, in the end, gives the warm feeling of a joy we all long for. It also includes the famous character the Grinch, who, even though he is grumpy and considered mean, can still grow his heart and many others’ hearts. Generations have proven how much this book can mean to someone just by the number of sales it has accumulated. But as I said before, many people know the story and the Grinch, but at the heart of these things they do not. The heart is the inspiration behind the famous Grinch, which is another famous person, Theodor Seuss Gisiel.
