This page will contain wikis about How the Grinch Stole Christmas, as they become available.How the Grinch Stole Christmas!(Redirected from How the Grinch Stole Christmas)How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is one of the best-known children's books by Dr. Seuss. It is written in rhymed verse, with illustrations by the author. The book has been adapted to other media, also discussed below. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, by Dr. SeussDr. Seuss completed How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1957. The mid-1950s were a fruitful period for Seuss, during which he wrote many of the stories for which he is most admired today, including The Cat in the Hat, If I Ran the Circus, and On Beyond Zebra. Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.The Grinch, a bitter creature with a heart "two sizes too small," lives on a snowy mountaintop above Whoville with his faithful dog Max. Envious of the Whos' happiness, he makes plans to descend on the town and, by means of serial burglary, deprive them of their Christmas presents and decorations and thus prevent Christmas from coming. However, he learns in the end that despite his success in stealing all the Christmas presents and decorations from the Whos, Christmas comes just the same. He then realizes that Christmas is more than just gifts and presents. His heart grows three sizes larger, he returns all the presents and trimmings, and is warmly welcomed into the community of the Whos. The book is one of the purest examples of Dr. Seuss's style. The ink-drawn illustrations make use of only black, red, and pink (the latter being the color of the Grinch's eyes), and the versification is strict and never skips a syllable. The purity of the verse is increased by the fact that Seuss avoided introducing made-up words intended to fit the meter (for example, "Jill-ikka-Jast" or "Sala-ma-goox", both from Scrambled Eggs Super). Adaptations and translationsTelevisionHow the Grinch Stole Christmas! was adapted to television in 1966 as an animated TV special, directed by Seuss's friend and former army colleague Chuck Jones, who did much of the animation himself. The show starred Boris Karloff as narrator and Grinch, and (unusually for adaptations) included the actual text of the book in spoken form. Jones modified the appearance of the Grinch somewhat to fit the medium, rendering him in green and with a more elongated, frog-like face. Jones remarked in an interview that he had made the Grinch look like himself, so he could use his own facial expressions as a model for the Grinch's. The songs, which helped fill out the story to the length of a television program, had music written by Albert Hague, with lyrics by Dr. Seuss. The best remembered of them, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. Dr. Seuss also lengthened the text with two interpolated verse passages. The longer one describes the Who children (in the Grinch's imagination) noisily playing with their Christmas toys . Seuss also added a few lines to the dénouement, which in the original is laconic. These lines were read by Boris Karloff like the others. The TV special has been highly praised by audiences and film and animation fans alike. It has seen innumerable rebroadcasts in the years since its debut, with annual showings continuing to the present day. The cartoon is typically found on the Internet Movie Database's list of the top 250 films, and is considered one of Chuck Jones' greatest cartoons made after his departure from Warner Bros. The Grinch later appeared in a few more specials, and although they weren't as popular as his original Christmas outing, they're well-liked among the viewers. The Grinch returned to animation in the 1977 special Halloween is Grinch Night, in which he sets off to scare everyone in Whoville due to being bothered by a chain reaction of annoying sounds caused by the wind. There, he was voiced by Hans Conried. Later, in 1982, he starred in The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, where he attempts to ruin things for fellow Seuss star The Cat in the Hat. Most recently, he was a recurring character on the 1996 kids' show The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, where he was voiced by Anthony Asbury. FilmAfter Dr. Seuss's death, the book was also made into a 2000 live-action film. Due to all the additions made to the storyline so that it could be brought up to feature-length, it was considerably less faithful to the original book. It creates a new back story to explain why the Grinch acts as he does. The film was directed by Ron Howard, produced by Brian Grazer, and starred Jim Carrey as the title role of the Grinch. This version is often called simply The Grinch; though the title actually seen in the film is How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; the word "Grinch" is written in much larger letters than the rest of the title. TranslationPerhaps because of its demanding meter, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has been seldom effectively translated, and it is hardly known outside of the English-speaking world. Nonetheless, a Latin translation was prepared by Jennifer Morrish Tunberg with the help of Terence O. Tunberg, entitled Quomodo invidiosulus nomine Grinchus Christi natelem abrogaverit (literally: "How the little envious one named Grinch stole Christ's birthday"). Rather than the rhythmic rhymed text of the original, the Tunbergs produced a prose translation in a somewhat rhythmic Latin. Instead of Dr. Seuss' repetitions of words, the Tunbergs generally come up with multiple synonyms, for instance, the "NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!" becomes "STREPITUS, CREPITUS, STRIDOR, FRAGORQUE!" The work has been highly praised by classicists.
"Grinch" as slangDr. Seuss's work is sufficiently well known that the word "Grinch" became used as a slang term, designating a cruel, uncaring person, particularly with greedy tendencies. In 1994, during the Republican Party's "Contract With America", political cartoonists frequently applied the term to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, calling him the "Gin-Grinch Who Stole Christmas". Publication data
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In 1994, during the Republican Party's "Contract With America", political cartoonists frequently applied the term to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, calling him the "Gin-Grinch Who Stole Christmas". Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer" from Zuma (1975) refers specifically to CortĂ©s, Montezuma and the Spanish conquest of South America. Seuss's work is sufficiently well known that the word "Grinch" became used as a slang term, designating a cruel, uncaring person, particularly with greedy tendencies. In Mexico today he is condemned as a modern-day damnatio memoriae, with only one statue – but half a million descendants, and one of the most remarkable stories in history. Dr. It is extremely difficult to characterize this particular conquistador – his unspeakable atrocities, the brilliant military strategies, his desperate maneuvers to keep the ruinous plantation economy out of Mexico, the rewards for his Tlaxcalteca allies along with the rehabilitation of the nobility (including a castle for Moctezuma's heirs in Spain that still stands), his respect for Indians as worthy adversaries and family members. Instead of Dr. Seuss' repetitions of words, the Tunbergs generally come up with multiple synonyms, for instance, the "NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!" becomes "STREPITUS, CREPITUS, STRIDOR, FRAGORQUE!" The work has been highly praised by classicists. He left his many mestizo and white children well cared for in his will, along with every one of their mothers. Rather than the rhythmic rhymed text of the original, the Tunbergs produced a prose translation in a somewhat rhythmic Latin. Like Columbus, he died a wealthy but embittered man; he had not become the great Caesar of Charles V's Western Empire. Tunberg, entitled Quomodo invidiosulus nomine Grinchus Christi natelem abrogaverit (literally: "How the little envious one named Grinch stole Christ's birthday"). CortĂ©s died in Castilleja de la Cuesta, Seville province, in 1547. Nonetheless, a Latin translation was prepared by Jennifer Morrish Tunberg with the help of Terence O. But the Castilian bureaucrats began to arrive, undoing all his work, and he left with his eldest and favorite son, La Malinche's child MartĂn CortĂ©s, to find China, eventually returning to Europe to fight in Italy with the same son. Perhaps because of its demanding meter, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has been seldom effectively translated, and it is hardly known outside of the English-speaking world. He served a term as Governor-General of "New Spain of the Ocean Sea" (as Juan de Grijalva had named Mexico before CortĂ©s ever saw it), bringing stability and surprising civil rights to the country. This version is often called simply The Grinch; though the title actually seen in the film is How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; the word "Grinch" is written in much larger letters than the rest of the title. When CortĂ©s returned to New Spain from Honduras, barely alive, he was greeted with joy by a desperate, lawless population. The film was directed by Ron Howard, produced by Brian Grazer, and starred Jim Carrey as the title role of the Grinch. (Perhaps he could no longer bear to see him limp from his disfigured feet.). It creates a new back story to explain why the Grinch acts as he does. He became paranoid as well, having CuauhtĂ©moc hanged over the strong objections of his men. Due to all the additions made to the storyline so that it could be brought up to feature-length, it was considerably less faithful to the original book. He took off on a senseless, death-defying expedition through Guatemala to Honduras to punish a fellow Spaniard who had betrayed him, and with his departure all shadow of personal authority left Mexico. Seuss's death, the book was also made into a 2000 live-action film. He never forgave himself and seems to have gone somewhat mad. After Dr. CortĂ©s famously put CuauhtĂ©moc's feet to the fire to find the gold lost on La Noche Triste, but notarized testimony at his many subsequent trials (for murdering his legal wife, etc.) has abundant testimony from friends and enemies alike that this crime ruined CortĂ©s. Seuss, where he was voiced by Anthony Asbury. The last Aztec emperor, CuauhtĂ©moc, surrendered to CortĂ©s on August 13, 1521. Most recently, he was a recurring character on the 1996 kids' show The Wubbulous World of Dr. In the end, almost the entire city of Tenochtitlán was destroyed and some 120,000 to 240,000 Aztecs killed. Later, in 1982, he starred in The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, where he attempts to ruin things for fellow Seuss star The Cat in the Hat. CortĂ©s genuinely wanted to spare the beautiful city, but with so many Mexica attacking them from the roofs, they were forced to pull houses down street by street. There, he was voiced by Hans Conried. Still, they fought on long after a European city would have surrendered. The Grinch returned to animation in the 1977 special Halloween is Grinch Night, in which he sets off to scare everyone in Whoville due to being bothered by a chain reaction of annoying sounds caused by the wind. CortĂ©s's Indian allies suffered as well, with an estimated 40% mortality, but the effect on morale in Tenochtitlán, as they began to starve as well, must have been horrendous. The Grinch later appeared in a few more specials, and although they weren't as popular as his original Christmas outing, they're well-liked among the viewers. The siege of Tenochtitlán began at a time when smallpox struck with a vengeance. The cartoon is typically found on the Internet Movie Database's list of the top 250 films, and is considered one of Chuck Jones' greatest cartoons made after his departure from Warner Bros. They hid the pretty ones in the bushes, sleeping with them during the night, and setting them free in the morning (or marrying them, now that their husbands had been devoured). It has seen innumerable rebroadcasts in the years since its debut, with annual showings continuing to the present day. Spanish foot soldiers helped kill Indians for their allies to "dress out", but also rescued many of the women CortĂ©s planned to brand on the face as slaves. The TV special has been highly praised by audiences and film and animation fans alike. The Tlaxcaltecas subsisted on the flesh of their massacred enemies while the "Christians" looked the other way, living on dogs and corn. These lines were read by Boris Karloff like the others. Still, this phase of the campaign was arduous and brutal. Seuss also added a few lines to the dénouement, which in the original is laconic. The Mexica-Aztecs had been dominating other Aztec city-states for over a century, demanding ever more sacrificial victims and other tribute. The longer one describes the Who children (in the Grinch's imagination) noisily playing with their Christmas toys . Indian porters brought all the supplies stripped from the original fleet over the mountains from the coast, while CortĂ©s and his allies secured all the towns around the Tenochtitlán lake system. Seuss also lengthened the text with two interpolated verse passages. CortĂ©s ordered his master shipwright, MartĂn LĂłpez, a Basque who was arguably his most critical survivor, to build 12 brigantines for a siege of the city. Dr. (A third died, apparently leaving behind her infant by CortĂ©s, the mysterious second "MarĂa" named in his will.) This major Aztec victory is still remembered as "La Noche Triste", the Night of Sorrow. Grinch" was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. The women survivors included La Malinche, ten conquistadors, Alvarado's lover and two of Moctezuma's daughters in CortĂ©s's harem. Seuss. The best remembered of them, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Over 400 Spaniards and some 2,000 Indian allies were killed, but CortĂ©s, Alvarado and the most skilled of the men managed to fight their way out of Tenochtitlán and escape. The songs, which helped fill out the story to the length of a television program, had music written by Albert Hague, with lyrics by Dr. The gap in the causeway, removed to prevent their escape, was so filled with bodies the fugitives just ran across. Jones remarked in an interview that he had made the Grinch look like himself, so he could use his own facial expressions as a model for the Grinch's. Surely the offering of the heart of such a warrior would win back their god of war, Huitzilopochtli. Jones modified the appearance of the Grinch somewhat to fit the medium, rendering him in green and with a more elongated, frog-like face. CortĂ©s only survived because the Mexica-Aztecs wanted him alive to sacrifice to their god of war. The show starred Boris Karloff as narrator and Grinch, and (unusually for adaptations) included the actual text of the book in spoken form. The fighting was ferocious, and many of the Spaniards were hindered by having loaded themselves down with as much gold as they could carry. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was adapted to television in 1966 as an animated TV special, directed by Seuss's friend and former army colleague Chuck Jones, who did much of the animation himself. On the night of July 1, 1520, CortĂ©s decided to try to break out by muffling the horses' hooves and carrying boards to fill in one of the causeways (which had been opened to prevent escape), but a woman saw them and alerted the city. The purity of the verse is increased by the fact that Seuss avoided introducing made-up words intended to fit the meter (for example, "Jill-ikka-Jast" or "Sala-ma-goox", both from Scrambled Eggs Super). Moctezuma was jeered and stones were thrown at him injuring him badly, and Moctezuma died a few days later. The ink-drawn illustrations make use of only black, red, and pink (the latter being the color of the Grinch's eyes), and the versification is strict and never skips a syllable. CortĂ©s ordered Moctezuma to speak to his people from a palace balcony and persuade them to let the Spanish return to the coast in peace. Seuss's style. Cuitláhuac ordered his soldiers to besiege the palace housing the Spaniards and Moctezuma. The book is one of the purest examples of Dr. When CortĂ©s returned to the palace, however, he found that Alvarado and his men had massacred the Aztec nobility and the survivors had elected a new emperor, Cuitláhuac. His heart grows three sizes larger, he returns all the presents and trimmings, and is warmly welcomed into the community of the Whos. Years later, when asked what the new land was like, CortĂ©s crumpled up a piece of parchment, then spread it out: "Like this," he said. He then realizes that Christmas is more than just gifts and presents. The arduous trek back over the Sierra Madre Oriental began. However, he learns in the end that despite his success in stealing all the Christmas presents and decorations from the Whos, Christmas comes just the same. (Narváez lost an eye, but worse awaited this great loser of the conquest in Florida.). Envious of the Whos' happiness, he makes plans to descend on the town and, by means of serial burglary, deprive them of their Christmas presents and decorations and thus prevent Christmas from coming. When CortĂ©s told the defeated soldiers about the city of gold, Tenochtitlán, they agreed to join him. The Grinch, a bitter creature with a heart "two sizes too small," lives on a snowy mountaintop above Whoville with his faithful dog Max. He left Tenochtitlán in the care of his trusted lieutenant Pedro de Alvarado, marched to the coast, and defeated the Cuban expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez. The mid-1950s were a fruitful period for Seuss, during which he wrote many of the stories for which he is most admired today, including The Cat in the Hat, If I Ran the Circus, and On Beyond Zebra. At the worst possible moment, news from the coast reached CortĂ©s that a much larger party of Spaniards had been sent by Velázquez to arrest CortĂ©s for insubordination. Seuss completed How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1957. After some weeks in Tenochtitlán, knowing their leader was in chains and having to feed not just a band of Spaniards but thousands of their Tlaxcalteca allies, the strain began to weigh on the city. Dr. CortĂ©s then seized Moctezuma in his own palace and made him his prisoner as insurance against Aztec revolt, and demanded an enormous ransom of gold, which was duly delivered. The book has been adapted to other media, also discussed below. All his demands were met. It is written in rhymed verse, with illustrations by the author. Christopher be set up in their place. Seuss. He also demanded that the two large idols be removed from the main temple pyramid in the city, the human blood scrubbed off, and shrines to the Virgin Mary and St. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is one of the best-known children's books by Dr. CortĂ©s asked for more gifts of gold as a vassal of Charles V. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 1997, ISBN 0865164193. Moctezuma had the palace of his father Axayacatl prepared to house the Spanish and their Indian allies. Tunberg. The two halves of the planet had found one another. Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit: How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Latin. Translated by Jennifer Morrish Tunberg with the assistance of Terence O. Moctezuma welcomed CortĂ©s to Tenochtitlán on the Great Causeway into the "Venice of the West," probably the largest city on earth, and many people mark this moment – when two high civilizations met after 40,000 years of isolation – as the true discovery of the New World. Seuss. How could God allow heathens such splendor? The expedition arrived in the Mexica-Aztec capital on November 8, 1519. Dr. Surely it was the most magnificent city in the world. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! New York: Random House, 1957, ISBN 0394800796. When the Spaniards saw the island city of Tenochtitlán for the first time, from the ring of volcanoes around the Valley of Mexico, they asked each other if they were dreaming. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel). Terror was one of his many powerful tools, though much of his military genius can be ascribed to La Malinche, who had her own motives for revenge. Dr. CortĂ©s then sent a message ahead to Moctezuma that the lords of Cholula had treated him with disrespect and had to be punished, but if Moctezuma treated him with respect and gifts of gold, the Aztecs need not fear his wrath. Although he did not know if this was true or not, CortĂ©s ordered a preventive strike to serve as a lesson: the Spaniards seized and killed the local nobles, set fire to the city and killed an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 of the inhabitants. After CortĂ©s arrived in Cholula, the second largest city of the Empire, La Malinche relayed a rumor that the locals planned to murder the Spaniards in their sleep. He also purchased cotton armour, seeing how much more effective than chainmail it was against Indian arrows. The Tlaxcaltecas agreed; CortĂ©s then continued his march with some 2,000 Tlaxcalteca warriors and perhaps as many more porters. Otherwise, CortĂ©s threatened, he would kill everyone in their entire nation. CortĂ©s's "lord" was Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, to whom he made his case by letters, over the head of Velázquez, who, in turn, was trying to make a case over the head of Diego ColĂłn, son of Christopher Columbus and thus Admiral of the Ocean Sea. CortĂ©s said that if the men of Tlaxcala would accept Christianity, become his allies and vassals to his lord, he would forgive their disrespect and overthrow their nemesis, Emperor Moctezuma. The Tlaxcaltecas attacked his troops, but Spanish crossbows, broadswords, battle axes, horses, war dogs and firearms quickly won the battle. CortĂ©s arrived at Tlaxcala, a small independent state within the empire's sphere of influence. CortĂ©s then led his band inland towards the fabled Tenochtitlán. He ordered all his fleet scuttled (not burned as legend has it), except for one small ship with which to communicate with Spain, effectively stranding the expedition in Mexico and ending all thoughts of loyalty to the Governor of Cuba. While some of the expedition wanted to get such gold as they could quickly by trade or theft and then return to Cuba, CortĂ©s had seen the results of this sort of plunder and had plans to build a working empire of his own. (One-Reed was, in this particular 52-year "century", 1519, adding to the extraordinary luck of this conquistador.) Aided by the advice of his native translator, La Malinche, he took full advantage of the Quetzalcoatl myth, inflicting Moctezuma with what writer Octavio Paz described as "sacred vertigo". CortĂ©s learned that he was suspected of being Quetzalcoatl or an emissary of Quetzalcoatl, a legendary man-god who was predicted to one day return to reclaim his city in a One-Reed year on the cyclical calendar. It had the opposite effect, of course. Soon ambassadors from the Mexica/Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II arrived with additional gifts, apparently hoping to keep him at a distance by satisfying him with gold. He learned that the land was ruled by the great lord in the city of Tenochtitlán. The local Totonac from Cempoala greeted him with gifts of food, feathers, gold – and women, who always had to be baptized before the eager Spanish soldiers were allowed to let them "fix supper for them" ("grind their corn"). By establishing a municipality, he could "reluctantly" proceed to claim land for king Charles V of Spain by popular mandate of the city magistrates he had appointed, his friends. After short stops in Yucatán where there was little gold but the priceless gift of two translators, one "La Malinche" later made legendary even if not quite an Aztec princess sold into Mayan slavery, another a shipwrecked Spaniard who had also learned a Mayan dialect during seven years of slavery, CortĂ©s landed his party in a location he named Veracruz ("True Cross") on March 4. In 1519 CortĂ©s fled Cuba with 11 ships, 500 men, and 15 horses. He was forbidden to colonize, but calling upon what law he had studied and his famous powers of persuasion, he tricked Governor Velázquez into inserting a clause about emergency measures that might have to be taken without prior authorization, "in the true interests of the realm." At the last minute, the Governor sensing that CortĂ©s was too ambitious for his own good, changed his mind. CortĂ©s eagerly sold or mortgaged all his lands to buy ships and supplies and arranged with the Governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de CuĂ©llar, another distant relative and his father-in-law, to lead an expedition, officially to explore and trade with the rumored new lands to the west. Expeditions to Yucatán by Francisco Hernández de CĂłrdoba in 1517 and Juan de Grijalva in 1518 had returned to Cuba with small amounts of gold, and tales of a more distant land where gold was said to be abundant. The brutality of the Cuba campaign and the subsequent extinction of the Indian population from disease, overwork and despair would later influence CortĂ©s's more careful treatment of the Mexicans as Captain-General of New Spain, making possible, ironically, the survival of so many "genotypically" full-blooded Indians, Indian tribes, and Indian languages in Mexico today. This was the encomienda that had worked so well in the conquest of the Canaries (eliminating the indigenous Guanches) but would prove devastating in the New World. He took part in the conquest of Hispaniola and Cuba and was granted a large estate of land and Indian slaves for his efforts. Due to several setbacks, CortĂ©s did not arrive in the New World until 1506. He had a choice between seeking fame and glory in a war in Italy, or trying his luck in the Spanish colonies of the New World. CortĂ©s took classes at Salamanca but bitterly disappointed his parents by returning home in 1501 at age 17, rather than studying law like his grandfather. Through his mother, he was second cousin to Francisco Pizarro, who later conquered the Inca empire of modern-day Peru (not to be confused with another Francisco Pizarro who joined CortĂ©s in conquering the Aztecs). CortĂ©s was born in MedellĂn, (Extremadura), in the Kingdom of Castile in Spain, the only child of MartĂn CortĂ©s and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano. . Hernán CortĂ©s, marquĂ©s del Valle de Oaxaca (1485–December 2, 1547) (who was known as Hernando or Fernando CortĂ©s during his lifetime and signed all his letters Fernán CortĂ©s) was the conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain. The Rain God cries over Mexico by LászlĂł Passuth. Prescott ISBN 0375758038. History of the Conquest of Mexico. by William H. CortĂ©s and the Downfall of the Aztec Empire by Jon Manchip White (1971) ISBN 0786702710. Conquest: CortĂ©s, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas (1993) ISBN 0671511041. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico by Miguel Leon-Portilla ISBN 0807055018. Bernal DĂaz del Castillo, The Conquest of New Spain – available as The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico: 1517-1521 ISBN 030681319X. Hernan CortĂ©s, Letters – available as Letters from Mexico translated by Anthony Pagden (1986) ISBN 0300090943. |