Altruism
In a comedic work fueled by irony, there is one single sentence that rules supreme. “There is a point where altruism becomes sick.” This is an expression of the modern perspective toward Christmas charity. Putting the needs of the less fortunate before one’s own self-interest used to be the very definition of “the Christmas spirit.” Sometime around the middle of the 20th century, altruism ironically transformed into something worthy of suspicion.
The Christmas Tree
The central symbol of domestic celebration of the Christmas holidays is ironically subverted into a thing of terror by the author’s use of language. Ornaments are described as “bomb-shaped” and the tree itself is presented as a “ghastly” thing of “many-limbed paralysis. Its menace is also fraught with the potential for destroying wood furniture by secretly harboring “wood-borers” right into one’s home.
Santa
Santa Claus has been a figure of fright for many young children, but most outgrow it. The overwhelming feeling toward the figure is warm and loving and devoid of fear. It is therefore with some irony that the one fictional character the author chooses to compare him to is Pennywise the clown, the incarnation of pure evil in Stephen King’s novel, IT.
