Charlie Brown

The Peanuts Gang is quite possibly the most iconic pop culture group of kids after The Little Rascals, and I am talking about the original ones not the movie that was made. Raise your hand if you remember them! Yes, I am too young for The Little Rascals (in their original run) but I know who they are because of syndication. What a ridiculous show about the battle of the sexes between little boys and little girls. However, this post is about The Peanuts Gang. 

     I was thinking about good old Charlie Brown the other day. I remember how much I could relate to him as a child. He is so disregarded and yet filled with hope. I sure felt picked on. I never had my head drawn on for what a pumpkin should look like, but probably faced some similar humiliation in my time. Haven't we all at some point or another been just like Charlie Brown? I believe I even landed more than one kite in a tree.  

     Charlie Brown is insecure and full of anxiety, which is why I can relate to him so much. Despite his insecurities and anxieties he keeps going. He always tries to kick the ball. He went ahead and bought the sad Christmas tree because it touched his heart and felt like what Christmas really meant. 

     The next most relatable character for me is Lucy. What a crabapple she can be, but let's be honest who here hasn't had a cranky day. 

Lucy isn't just crabby though. She can be kind of...well...she is bossy or she can be thought of as the quintessential mean girl. Think about it for a second. Yes, she gives advice (usually to Charlie Brown) but she charges him for it. And like most older siblings she uses her overbearing personality to push her little brother around. 

After Lucy and Charlie Brown, I found my comfort with Peppermint Patty. She was is so cool. She didn't care what anybody said or did. She was fierce, and she was good at baseball. I wanted to be cool and fierce like her, and I was really good at softball. 

How about Linus? Linus with his blanket and deep thoughts. I always admired this character. He is deep and seems to be the one that keeps the group grounded. Are you that person in your circle? I'm not. I wish I was. To be so thoughtful and insightful. I used to think no kid is that insightful. I am amazed at how insightful kids can be. It isn't any wonder that the Linuses of the world keep us grounded and thinking on that spiritual plane.

Schroder. Lucy's cursh. He has no clue whatsoever. By today's standard that kid would likely be labeled as Autistic. Please do not send me hate. My own daughter is in the spectrum. Let's think about it. He is a child prodigy who is an absolute genius on the piano. He rarely, if ever talks to anyone and especially not Lucy. When he does communicate with her it is about his passion, the classic piano and his favorite of all Beethoven. I just enjoyed watching Lucy spend countless hours throwing herself at Schroder when he clearly had no designs on her. It made me the mean girl I guess.

  

Sally Brown.  The little sibling to our anit-hero. She gushed over Linus. She was going to marry him. I say she did. I think secretly Linus likes the attention, but being a little boy he is too embarrassed to admit it, plus he doesn't want Charlie Brown to know because that's his little sister after all. Sally Brown was the first official fan girl.

Then of course, there is Snoopy. Charlie Brown's best friend. Lucy's nemesis. And Peppermint Patty's crush because apparently when a dog walks upright, it is hard to tell if it is human or not. Maybe she needed glasses more than Marcie. Snoopy was good at everything; everything except being a dog. Think about it. Snoopy is more human than canine. He writes, has adventures as the WWI flying ace, cooks full thanksgiving dinners, he is afraid of cats, his best friend is a bird;about the only thing dog-like he does is eat bones and dog food(occasionally.) No matter what you think Snoopy is, he is the coolest dog out there, and at the end of the day he is Charlie Brown's dog. 

My mother told me that as a child I reminded her of Pigpen because I carried a cloud dust with me wherever I went. Pigpen was another one of those great characters who didn't seem all that interested in the opinions of others. He was proud of his dirt.

For me the most relatable and lovable character is Charlie Brown because he never gives up, he hates no one, and all this despite overwhelming social anxieties and fears. I relate more to Lucy as an adult because as a mother I get cranky faster and I do tend to get bossy. I don't even have to give FIVE reasons for the kids to do things, I can do it with a look. Beat that Lucy. Though I bet adult Lucy could easily do so. 

Who do you identify with? Are you a Lucy? A Charlie Brown? Maybe you are a Snoopy. Or are you a Pigpen?