Resolved: Dr. Seuss captures the human condition better than Charles Schulz

Written May 2007

Notes to self italicized and parenthenses.



Indeed, Dr. Seuss handles themes relevant to any society or time. He handles the concepts of love and forgiveness with "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", he handles individuality in corrupt societies with "Horton Hatches the Egg", and he handles discrimination with "The Sneetches."
So, yes, he does cover some ground, quite a few aspects of human nature. But he's too political, too symbolic, too general. His stories are more about the issues, not the characters. If you want to observe the human condition at its core, then get specific, and delve into the psychology of a character. Look at Charles Schulz’s most noteworthy creation, Charlie Brown.


Charlie Brown is the quintessential human being in that he embodies all of humanity’s limitations. Only so many people become popular, or successful. Yet even those people have fears, hang ups, regrets. Even they have faced tremendous self-doubt at least once in their lives; Abraham Lincoln, Buzz Aldrin, Ernest Hemingway. Indeed, many people have confronted the feeling of mediocrity. Even you.


It feels like nothing works out for you. There are so many small failures on your part. So many times when you could've done a little better, and if you'd done a little better, your life would be much happier.


(note to self: transition, emphasize his name)
Charlie Brown is the same.
He doesn't have anything special going on.
He just exists.
And there are these moments when you're by yourself, in a Charlie Brown moment, and you wonder, "Why am I here? What makes me special?" And you can't find that reason, so you don't know why you're…alive.


But you try to find that reason for living.
You think, "One of these days I'm going to be somebody."
You go to school, you join clubs, try to make friends, try to be special.
And you keep trying and trying but nothing happens.
(transition)
It's all the same old thing,
you're always in that state mediocrity, of merely existing.
You've never followed up on your fantasies of success.
You've gone this long without being special, so why should things change now?
(start to choke, as if on your way to crying)
Yeah, you always choke at the worst moment. During the Lit Hum exam, during…this speech… and right when you have the chance to talk to that girl.
(act like the girl popped into your head, ‘but of course she would’) Yeah, that girl who makes your stomach feel butterflies when she walks by. You dream, and wonder, "I'll talk to her one of these days, and then maybe we'll go on a date, and maybe she'll be my girlfriend. Yeah, you keep thinking, because you'll never talk to her, you'll never find the guts. .
(more energy, start with the final push)
She'll be standing right next to you in the elevator, and you'll stay quiet the whole time because you know you'd fail if you tried. You're a loser, you're no good, so why should she love you?
(now, belt it out)

She'd never love you because you're a nobody and you'll always be a nobody.
AAAAAUUUUUGH!!!


(run screaming out of the room; body lang is important)


- Alberto Luperon