Genre
Children's book
Setting and Context
Christmastime in the fictional town of Who-ville
Narrator and Point of View
The story is generally narrated from a third-person perspective, but features some comments and opinions of a first-person narrator.
Tone and Mood
The mood of the story is fairly lighthearted despite the unpleasant nature of the protagonist. The tone of the story is largely ironic, as the Grinch tries fruitlessly to stop Christmas.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Grinch is both the protagonist and antagonist of the story.
Major Conflict
The central conflict of the story is that the Grinch hates Christmas and attempts to steal it from the Whos. It is ultimately revealed that the Grinch also suffers from an internal conflict of loneliness and isolation, which is remedied by the end of the story.
Climax
After having successfully stolen Christmas by robbing the entire Who population of their Christmas-related possessions, the Grinch learns that he did not actually succeed in stealing Christmas at all when the Whos begin singing.
Foreshadowing
The narrator's remark that the Grinch's heart is two sizes too small foreshadows the transformation that will take place within the Grinch by the end of the story.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
Some have argued that the story is based off of Charles Dickens's novella, A Christmas Carol (1843).
Imagery
Important imagery in the story includes the Grinch's isolation, the bareness of the houses after the Grinch visits, the Grinch's serpent-like movement, and the Christmas celebration.
Paradox
The central paradox of the story is that the Grinch attempts to stop Christmas from coming, but does not realize that Christmas is intangible, focused on communities and kindness rather than things.
Parallelism
The story draws a parallel between the Grinch and Santa Claus, especially at the end of the story when the Grinch returns all the presents to Who-ville.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
