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You know how in those animated Charlie Brown cartoons and whatnot the adults all speak with that nasally, unintelligible "wa wa wa wa" sound? What if everyone actually sounded that way to Charlie Brown, kids and adults alike, and the only way he functions is by having learned to read human body language really, really well by observing Snoopy's various character antics for so long? A boy whose sole human development is through second-hand interpretation of a beagle's interpretation of human behavior. Kind of something, if you think about it. Anyhow, help to break down Chuck Brown a bit! Show us all what makes him tick! |
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Dec 10, 2017 06:30
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| # ? May 6, 2024 13:10 |
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Interesting theory. However, Charlie Brown can at least read. On multiple occasions, he drops off the appropriate change for Lucy's psychology booth. He seems to contextualize the conversations given in a way that wouldn't be possible in a way where he could only understand the conversation through body language. Specifically, there's at least one situation in the 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' special where they specifically deal with the specific time they need to show up at a given place. Such knowledge is not conveyed by body language, so someone must have informed him of it in a way through language in a way he could understand. It's an interesting idea to think about, but again in that special, you have Charlie converse on the phone with his grandmother, who tells him specifically what her thanksgiving plans are. The phone has no body language at all, so Charlie would be at best guessing under it. It seems like everything works out at the end so I think this is wrong. But I'm open to further interpretation, just settle these problems. |
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Dec 10, 2017 09:59
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If he could read body language so well, you would think he would have kicked the football by now or just given up!
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Dec 10, 2017 12:35
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Point: Children clearly don't sound that way to Charlie Brown, as he often has complex conversations with them. Also worth noting: Charlie Brown's diction and vocabulary are more appropriate to an adult than a child. Theory: Charlie Brown is actually an adult, deluded into thinking he is a child, as in the classic Donald Bartheleme short story "Me and Miss Mandible." The reason the adults sound like "wa wa wa" to Charlie Brown is that it is the only way he can remain in denial of the fact that he himself is an adult. By creating a world in which adults are almost entirely erased, Charlie Brown protects himself from the knowledge that he himself is one. Lucy may also be an adult. If she is, she is "fair game" for his sexual urges, but if not, she is, of course, not. The tension of her indeterminate maturity status keeps him locked in this world of adult erasure: if she was adult, he, too, could be adult, and they could finally make love. A second aspect of this adult erasure is Charlie Brown's projection of adult characteristics onto Snoopy. Snoopy is a functional adult, but in the world of Charlie Brown, he has no outlet for his sexual urges. It would be inconceivable and inappropriate for Snoopy to have relations with any of the children, both because they are children, and because he is a dog. The absence of any other dogs for Snoopy to fornicate with (a powerful urge for a dog) makes him a safe repository for Charlie Brown's adulthoood. It is true, Snoopy supposedly had a fiancee, but neither she, nor any other dogs, except for Spike (who is clearly Snoopy's doppleganger) are seen in the strip. Conclusion: Read "Me and Miss Mandible." It is a superior short story and will further illuminate the world of Charlie Brown. ---------------- |
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Dec 10, 2017 17:45
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Fan theory: Linus is Charlie Brown's imaginary friend in a sort of depressing Calvin and Hobbes scenario. Anytime they are alone Charlie Brown is just talking to air. When Linus is with his sister and Charlie Brown isn't there we are seeing a scene play out in Charlie Brown's imagination. When other kids acknowledge Linus they are just playing along with Charlie Browns psychosis so as to not disturb him. The reason Linus sucks his thumb and carries around a blanket is because Charlie Brown imagined him as the ideal friend and to him that is a younger boy with baby-like qualities because Charlie Brown's toddler years were the last time he can remember being truly happy.
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Dec 10, 2017 18:30
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Charlie Brown without Snoopy
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Dec 10, 2017 18:34
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Koishi Komeiji posted:Fan theory: Linus is Charlie Brown's imaginary friend in a sort of depressing Calvin and Hobbes scenario. Anytime they are alone Charlie Brown is just talking to air. When Linus is with his sister and Charlie Brown isn't there we are seeing a scene play out in Charlie Brown's imagination. When other kids acknowledge Linus they are just playing along with Charlie Browns psychosis so as to not disturb him. The reason Linus sucks his thumb and carries around a blanket is because Charlie Brown imagined him as the ideal friend and to him that is a younger boy with baby-like qualities because Charlie Brown's toddler years were the last time he can remember being truly happy. 
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Dec 10, 2017 18:38
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Dec 10, 2017 18:50
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Dec 10, 2017 23:41
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*in a really community college writing class instructor voice on an online educational bulletin board system THAT IS CONSTANTLY HAVING UNSCHEDULED DOWNTIME ARGH!* I think these are all pretty good responses to the prompts, though I find it surprising no one has commented on other characters. Perhaps food for thought for prompt two? Anyhow, A+ work everyone. ---------------- |
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Dec 11, 2017 05:13
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cda posted:Point: Children clearly don't sound that way to Charlie Brown, as he often has complex conversations with them. This is an interesting analysis . . . but it fails to address the issue of Schroeder. This small child with a toy piano seemed to have the ability to play beyond the ability of most accomplished jazz piansts. His sublimation of his talents is clearly a very disturbing defense mechanism.
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Dec 11, 2017 05:18
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That boy ain't right I tell you h'wat. |
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Dec 11, 2017 05:19
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Koishi Komeiji posted:Fan theory: Linus is Charlie Brown's imaginary friend in a sort of depressing Calvin and Hobbes scenario. Anytime they are alone Charlie Brown is just talking to air. When Linus is with his sister and Charlie Brown isn't there we are seeing a scene play out in Charlie Brown's imagination. When other kids acknowledge Linus they are just playing along with Charlie Browns psychosis so as to not disturb him. The reason Linus sucks his thumb and carries around a blanket is because Charlie Brown imagined him as the ideal friend and to him that is a younger boy with baby-like qualities because Charlie Brown's toddler years were the last time he can remember being truly happy. Both Charlie Brown and Linus are figments of Sally's imagination, actually. Linus is a manifestation of Sally's emergent yet still very child-like sense of love and sexuality, while Charlie is her "brother", who actually represents her abandonment issues brought on by her father not being present in her life. She puts him in the brotherly role because she is still a child, and cannot conceive of a convincing adult male father figure from her internal experience. Charlie is her "older brother", after all, which makes him a male figure who is older and wiser, like a father, but not so old and experienced as to be alien or threatening to Sally's understanding. Interestingly, Linus is Lucy's younger brother, and it's hard to argue that Lucy operates on a different, higher level than Sally. Perhaps Sally's infatuation with Linus is a mix of her own emergent sense of love, as mentioned above, combined with her envy of Lucy's state of being and maybe with a dash of lesbian infatuation she doesn't quite understand. If she cannot be like Lucy, and cannot be with Lucy under her current state of understanding, then she settles for the next best thing, which is crushing on an idealized love object of her own creation, putting it under her control. Note Linus' attachment to his security blanket; he is made to exhibit this permanently infantile characteristic, perhaps partly due to Sally's control issues and the social conditioning within the environment she lives in that puts worth on motherhood. Linus is her "baby", even if he's just an elaborate fantasy, due to the conflation and immature understanding of nurturing and romance in Sally's psyche. ---------------- |
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Dec 11, 2017 05:30
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| # ? May 6, 2024 13:10 |
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 Where the garfieldless garfield comics were amusing these just come off as unsettling for some reason. It must be that depressing Charles Schulz subtext.
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Dec 11, 2017 05:35
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