Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus Literary Elements

Editorial op/ed

Christmas holidays, 1897, New York City

The narrative voice is that of an adult person addressing an inquiry made by a young child. The point of view adopts this personal dichotomy and as such primarily adopts a second-person perspective in which the writer directly addresses Virginia as “you.”

The mood is unabashedly sentimental and persistently optimistic and firm in its assertion of the existence of Santa Claus. Establishing the tone is a bit trickier. On the surface, it appears to be every bit as sincere as it has been assumed and taken to be since originally published. Within the context of knowing that the author was notoriously for excoriating just such sentimental rejection of logic and embrace of irrational beliefs, however, everything in the work can just as easily be interpreted as bitterly ironic in a tone that approach savage satire.

Sincere interpretation: protagonist is faith and antagonist is skepticism. Ironic interpretation reverses this order.

The primarily conflict is delivered in the preface to the editorial courtesy of the letter written by Virginia: does Santa Claus exist as she believes or does he not exist, as her friends insist?

The climax occurs early, in the opening sentence of the second paragraph: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

Although one can argue it is an understatement to use such terminology considering it explicitly answers the question, the title can technically be identified as foreshadowing the answer to Virginia’s question since it lies outside the text itself.

The author notes of Virginia’s dubious “little friends” that “They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age.” This is understatement which almost rises to the level of outright fraud. The author is basically accusing a society that has become increasingly skeptical across the board for children even younger than eight-year-old Virginia already doubting the existence of Santa. What he neglects to add is that his previous editorial opinion pieces have been at the vanguard of pushing Americans to adopt a more skeptical nature, especially when it comes to believing things on faith, trusting in religious dogma, and lending credence to superstitions. In other words, the author himself has been one of the key mechanics of the movement toward late 19th century skepticism.

“They do not believe except they see” is, ironically in light of the author’s previously published views on the subject, an allusion to the Biblical quotation found in John 4:48: So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

One of the most curious aspects of the widespread and long-term showcase of blind faith that the author of this piece intended it as a sincere explication of taking things on faith is the absurdity of the imagery he uses as an illustrative guide. Read with close scrutiny, the following winds up being completely empty of any semblance of rational thought. As imagery, it is beautiful, but doesn’t disguise the fact that ultimately it is utter gibberish:
“In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.”

Paradox is the foundation upon which the author—in lieu of logic—build his argument for believing not just in Santa, but fairies and, indeed, any phenomenon which cannot be proven by sensory engagement: “The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.”

In crafting his affirmative answer to Virginia, the author cheats. Whereas Virginia was asking for a yes or no on the concrete question of whether the actual entity known as Santa exists, the author transform this corporeal existence into a symbolic one. The beginning of this transformation occurs through a use of parallel structure outlining the metaphorical aspects which Santa endows: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist”

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