"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 mostly likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small."
This quotation describes the Grinch's hatred for Christmas and posits where that hatred comes from. Here, the narrator uses the first-person perspective to opine that the Grinch's distaste for Christmas is due to the small size of his heart, emphasizing the need for the Grinch to experience love, kindness, and community.
"I MUST find some way to stop Christmas from coming!"
As the Grinch stews over his hatred for Christmas and his irritation with the Whos, he decides that he will solve his problem by literally stopping Christmas from happening at all. The Grinch, of course, does not yet understand that "stopping" Christmas is an impossible task.
"The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea!"
When the Grinch hatches his plan to stop Christmas, the narrator describes his idea as both "wonderful" and "awful." That is, the Grinch's plan sounds wonderful to him but is, in reality, an awful attempt to ruin the Whos' joyful celebration of the holiday.
"Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, around the whole room, and he took every present!"
When the Grinch goes to Who-ville dressed as Santa Claus, he steals all the presents from the Whos' houses. Here, the narrator describes the Grinch as if he is stealthy and serpent-like, emphasizing his ill intentions.
"The Grinch had been caught by this tiny Who daughter who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water."
This quotation describes Cindy-Lou Who, the toddler who gets out of bed in the middle of the night only to find the Grinch, described as Santa, attempting to stuff her Christmas tree up the chimney. Cindy-Lou is innocent, thoughtful, and kind; her sweetness stands in stark contrast to the Grinch's malice and scheming.
"And the one speck of food that he left in the house was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse."
When the Grinch leaves the homes of the Whos, he leaves absolutely nothing behind. This quotation emphasizes how bare the houses are after the Grinch departs – there are not even enough crumbs on the floor to feed a mouse – and showcases how thoroughly the Grinch attempts to rid Who-ville of the Christmas holiday.
"Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, was singing! Without any presents at all!"
Just as the Grinch is about to dump all of the presents, food, and decorations over the top of Mt. Crumpit, he hears a noise. The noise turns out to be the Whos singing, even despite losing all of their gifts. This singing is what inspires the Grinch to reflect on the meaning of Christmas.
"Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"
As the Whos sing together, the Grinch is puzzled as to how they maintained their joy and celebration despite the absence of presents. The Grinch realizes that the Whos celebrate Christmas whether or not they have gifts, meaning that Christmas is about togetherness and community rather than material possessions.
