Dr. Seuss was a Calvinist !!!

[drstevej]

EveryWho Down in Who-ville Liked Christmas a lot... But the Grinch,Who lived just north of Who-ville, Did NOT!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

But,
Whatever the reason, His heart or his shoes, He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos, Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown At the warm lighted windows below in their town.

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Was the Grinch's depravity a heart problem or would a pair of larger slippers supplied by prevenient grace enable him to celebrate Christmas rather than loathe it?

The learned theologian Dr. Seuss supplies a Calvinistic interpretation in the close of the book!

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He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"

"It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!" "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And what happened then...? Well...in Who-ville they say That the Grinch's small heart Grew three sizes that day!

And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight, He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast! And he...


...HE HIMSELF...! The Grinch carved the roast beast!

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Answer:


Unregenerate Grinches who loathe the Savior's birth need a new heart ...
... and once that is given the former Grinch leads the celebration!

 

[alexandriaisburning]

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And what happened then...? Well...in Who-ville they say That the Grinch's small heart Grew three sizes that day!

Hmm, actually, a straightforward reading of this would conclude that the Grinch's transformation came about as a result of a dedicated study of the phenomena (both material and psychological). He questioned, and doubted, and reasoned until he was able to change his own mind.

He was not "granted" or un-willing-ly imbued with a new heart by some external force or personage apart from any effort of his own; rather, his own existential exertion itself resulted in an expansion of his empathy towards the Whos and a reorientation of his worldview.

 

[drstevej]

How do you grow you heart three sizes (in one day or less) when the food and feast had not been eaten?

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/enlarged-heart/basics/causes/con-20034346

 

[Hammster]

Hmm, actually, a straightforward reading of this would conclude that the Grinch's transformation came about as a result of a dedicated study of the phenomena (both material and psychological). He questioned, and doubted, and reasoned until he was able to change his own mind.

He was not "granted" or un-willing-ly imbued with a new heart by some external force or personage apart from any effort of his own; rather, his own existential exertion itself resulted in an expansion of his empathy towards the Whos and a reorientation of his worldview.

So then one becomes regenerate with enough knowledge and analysis?

 

[alexandriaisburning]

So then one becomes regenerate with enough knowledge and analysis?

If we are reading the Seussian text plainly, then yes, that would appear to be the conclusion.

 

[alexandriaisburning]

How do you grow you heart three sizes (in one day or less) when the food and feast had not been eaten?

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/enlarged-heart/basics/causes/con-20034346

I'm not an expert in Grinchen anatomy. The only evidence I have to go on is the statement that it grew 3 sizes. The textual evidence would seem to lead us to conclude that it was the Grinch himself (whether as a natural biological result of his epiphany, or as a will-ing evolution in his physiology) who initiated and effected the change.

I guess I could inject an external assumption about this change being wrought by an unnamed, invisible force, but the author suggests no such thing.

 

[Hammster]

If we are reading the Seussian text plainly, then yes, that would appear to be the conclusion.

What about in the reality the OP is analogous to?

 

[alexandriaisburning]

What about in the reality the OP is analogous to?

There are plenty of other threads devoted to that. No need to get into it here.

 

[drstevej]

A triple sized heart in one day is not a matter of Grinch willpower. (See Mayo clinic article)

Seuss presents this change as extraordinary, indeed miraculous. And this "heart change" changed him from a Christ-mas hater to a Christ-mas celebrator. He once did frown, but with a Size 3 heart monergistically bestowed, he became a willing celebrant of Christ-mas, to the amazement of the Whos.

The carver of the roast beast no longer was a foul one, a nasty wasty skunk whose heart was full of unwashed socks and his soul full of gunk.

 

[alexandriaisburning]

A triple sized heart in one day is not a matter of Grinch willpower. (See Mayo clinic article)

The Mayo clinic article did not have any references to Grinchen anatomy (unless I missed them). What little we know of the physiology of Grinches, it is the height of presumption to suggest that this article is meaningful. Moreover, the rest of the story presents a picture of a physical specimen that is, in its own right, quite remarkable--capable of emptying an entire town of all trappings of a holiday in a single night! What super-human feats...why should we assume that a physiological change in the size of his own heart is beyond his ability and/or control?

Seuss presents this change as extraordinary, indeed miraculous.

Perhaps, but there is no suggestion or even intimation of this change occurring as the result of an outside influence. In fact, the only impetus for the change noted in the text is the Grinch's own contemplations of the events (or possibly an emotional response to the sounds he hears arising from the town below). In either scenario, however, the change in his heart is--on the basis of this text--clearly the result of his own will-ing.

 

[AndOne]

A little early out of the gate this year on this, Steve.

 

[drstevej]

A little early out of the gate this year on this, Steve.

We're celebrating Christmas at Thanksgiving this year at our house. How cool is that? No Santa, No Elf on a Shelf, no Cousin Eddy and his RV. Just thanking God for giving His Son.

 

[AndOne]

We're celebrating Christmas at Thanksgiving this year at our house. How cool is that? No Santa, No Elf on a Shelf, no Cousin Eddy and his RV. Just thanking God for giving His Son.

That sound great, brother. Seeing as how Santa is Arminian I prefer to keep him out of Christmas.

We usually celebrate the season starting with Thanksgiving and ending New Years.

 

[EmSw]

How do you grow you heart three sizes (in one day or less) when the food and feast had not been eaten?

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/enlarged-heart/basics/causes/con-20034346

Is a heart which grows three sizes a new heart? It seems if an evil heart grows three sizes, it has to be 3x more evil.

 

[alexandriaisburning]

Is a heart which grows three sizes a new heart? It seems if an evil heart grows three sizes, it has to be 3x more evil.

Good point. However, the textual evidence doesn't seem to suggest that the Grinch's heart was "evil", but just "too small". It is interesting that the author could be understood to make implicit moral judgements about a creature based on what might be considered a genetic defect (although, as I argue above, the text also seems to indicate that the Grinch is capable of evolving the size of his heart by an act of will-ing).

 

[drstevej]

Where does it say the Grinch willed a larger heart?

 

[alexandriaisburning]

Where does it say the Grinch willed a larger heart?

It doesn't say it explicitly, of course. It's a speculation based on the fact that the increase in the size of the Grinch's heart was accomplished immediately after his self-wrought epiphany. So then, in the absence of other textual indications, it seems reasonable to conclude that the physiological change was either the result of a willful act by the Grinch (in response to his own contemplations and self-reflection), or a biological response to such meditations. Since the author isn't clear whether the original "two-sizes-too-smallness" of his heart was genetic or self-imposed, I think either could be reasonably argued.