Popular Culture Review Vol. 11, No. 1, February 2000 | Page 108

100 Popular Culture Review o f the poem have related it to a variety of Germanic words, with meanings ranging from ‘grind’ to ‘evil/injury’ to ‘bar/bolt’ to ‘bellow’ to ‘sand/bottom (ground) of a body of water.’3 Also noteworthy is the OED’s listing of the obsolete adjective grindel/gryndel(of unknown origin but comparable to the ON grimd [‘fierceness’]), which had the meaning ‘fierce’ or ‘angry’ in Middle English literature4. Coupled with the celebratory expression of joy in both works is the idea of gift-giving and sharing. In Beowulf, lines 67b-82a, King Hrothgar’s generous intentions in building his hall Heorot are specifically expressed: the king pledges first to distribute to young and old his God-given wealth; and, upon the hall’s completion, he honors his promise, giving out rings and treasures at the feast. And much later in the poem, ever true to form, upon mentioning to Beowulf the idea of “shared treasures” (1860a) and evoking the image of their two peoples exchanging goods over the “gannet’s bath” (1861b), Hrothgar again distributes gifts at Heorot (1866-87) — his gift-giving this time extending beyond his immediate kingdom in a gesture of personal friendship and gratitude to a foreigner with whom he wishes to renew a compact of peace and alliance (1863b-65)5. Thus the hall in the poem serves as a symbol of peace on earth and good will toward men, marked by the same activities of giving and feasting that are so much a part of Christmas — something that the Grinch (as Grendel here) is out to snatch away. Each of these creatures experiences similar torment upon hearing the loud mirth emanating from the community center from which he is excluded. Grendel, who dwells in darkness, cannot endure the sound of the harp and the minstrel’s song about God’s bright Creation (86-98), while the Grinch’s grudge against Christmas is emphasized by repetition as he anticipates the dreaded “NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!” after the children “rush for their toys,” as well as the feasting and singing: how all of the Whos in Who-vi\\e would “FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!” and, “with Christmas bells ringing,” how they would “SING! SING! SING! SING!”6 In response, each of our outsiders takes action. Geisel’s visual depiction of the Grinch conveys well the creature’s demonic qualities — especially the first three illustrations of him in the book. In the first picture he stands, with hairy body and glowing eyes, leaning at the mouth of his cave, scowling out from below the icicles. His eyes really stand out, moreover, because they are the only colored feature of his body — and of this introductory illustration of him: pink against a black-and-white background. In the second picture, he stares down “with a sour, Grinchy frown / At the warm lighted windows below in their town”; then, after a few pages where the anticipated festivities of the Whos are detailed, the third picture of the Grinch appears: a full-page portrait in which his scowl has turned to a devilish smile as he comes up with his “AWFUL IDEA!” The addition of blazing red ink about his head signals effectively his conception of this idea, while the look in his glowing pink eyes and the way he holds his claw-like