چارلی براون
Charlie Brown
On October 2, 1950, a new comic strip appeared in American newspapers. The “hero” of the strip was a round-headed kid named Charlie Brown. In the very first cartoon, two young schoolmates watch Charlie Brown walking by, and one comments, “Well! Here comes ol’ Charlie Brown.Yes, Sir! Good ol’ Charlie Brown. How I hate him!” This comic strip was to become one of the most popular in history. Its creator, Charles M. Schultz, drew the strip for 50 years until his death.
But reruns of “Peanuts” still appear regularly in the newspaper. What are some of the characteristics of Charlie Brown and his friends that have made the cartoon popular? Charlie Brown is an unlikely hero. Other kids don’t like being around him because the things he does never seem to work out properly. Kids want to be with someone who is good-looking, popular and successful, so that they can feel a part of his success. Charlie Brown is always worrying, hardly ever up-beat, afraid of failure, and always making mistakes.
His kite gets snagged in a tree, he needs counseling from Lucy, his dog Snoopy is more popular than he is, and the little red-haired girl never notices him. In short, Charlie Brown is a “loser.” Charlie Brown illustrates all the insecurities that kids have. Many of these anxieties carry over into adult life. Sometimes, they reflect problems in the life of the comic strip’s creator, Charles M. Schulz. Schulz suffered from depression much of his life and had a difficult time in school. He was not very popular with his classmates.
Humour and laughter are often a way of dealing with problems. And in the “Peanuts” strip, the world can laugh at all the silly little things that people do. Because of its honest way of dealing with problems, Charlie Brown and his friends are more interesting than the average comic strip characters. The characters represent adult personality types. Charlie Brown is “wishy-washy,” and is afraid to do things for fear of failure.
Lucy is a pushy overbearing female, who thinks she knows it all. Linus, her younger brother, is intellectual but insecure. He still clings to his baby blanket for security. Schroeder is preoccupied with Beethoven’s music to the exclusion of everything else. Sally, Charlie Brown’s younger sister, combines both a romantic attachment to Linus and a desire for material things. Peppermint Patty is a tomboy who loves baseball, but nonetheless has a romantic crush on Charlie Brown. Snoopy, the dog, represents a cool detached inventive individual who also relies on basic creature comforts. These characters add up to a “human comedy.”
In the comic strip, we can see ourselves and the people around us: making mistakes, getting second chances, but tending to do the same things over again. Behind the humour of “Peanuts” there is a serious message. Words can hurt. Relationships are important. Truth is difficult to find. Criticism is too common. Greed can easily overpower us.
These messages are both timeless and timely. “Peanuts” has also been turned into television specials and several movies. Snoopy stuffed toys are popular all over the world. A huge industry has grown from a simple comic strip. Perhaps this means that, while we all secretly want to be “winners,” we really identify more closely with the Charlie Browns of this world!
unlikely an unlikely place, person, or thing is strange and not what you would expect
The quiet village of Brockhampton was an unlikely setting for such a crime.
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snag______________
insecure
anxious and unsure of oneself; not confident: He’s very insecure — that’s why he is always bad-tempered.
insecurity n : His confident manner is really just a way of hiding his (feelings of) insecurity.
______________
laughter
when people laugh, or the sound of people laughing
Foster joined in the laughter.
He looked shocked, then burst into laughter (=started laughing) .
roar/scream/shriek with laughter (=laugh very loudly) Audiences roared with laughter.
He shook with laughter .
peals/gales/howls etc of laughter (=loud laughs)
The comment brought peals of laughter from her classmates.
______________
pushy
someone who is pushy does everything they can to get what they want from other people – used in order to show disapproval
a pushy salesman
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overbearing
frequently trying to tell other people what to do without regard for their ideas or feelings:
an overbearing manner/personality
a bossy, overbearing wife
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intellectual
an intellectual person is well-educated and interested in serious ideas and subjects such as science, literature etc
ￚsee also academic
Mark’s very intellectual.
______________
cling
to hold someone or something tightly, especially because you do not feel safe
cling to/on/at etc
He wailed and clung to his mother.
Passengers clung desperately onto the lifeboats.
Cling to the God’s rope
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preoccupied
thinking about something a lot, with the result that you do not pay attention to other things
What’s wrong with Cindy? She seems a little preoccupied.
preoccupied with
He’s completely preoccupied with all the wedding preparations at the moment.
________________
exclusion ________________
tomboy
a girl who likes playing the same games as boys
______________
nonetheless
in spite of the fact that has just been mentioned
ￚsynonym neverthelessThe region was extremely beautiful. Nonetheless Gerard could not imagine spending the rest of his life there.The paintings are complex, but have plenty of appeal nonetheless.
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crush
a strong feeling of romantic love for someone, especially one that a young person has for someone older who they do not know well
ￚsee also infatuation
She had a huge crush on her geography teacher.
It’s just a schoolgirl crush .
to have a crush on someone
he had a crush on the neighbor’s daughter
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detached __________
inventive__________
individual__________
Greed
a strong desire for more food, money, power, possessions etc than you need
people motivated by jealousy and greed
timeless
remaining attractive and not becoming old-fashioned
the timeless beauty of Venice
______________
timely
done or happening at exactly the right time
The fight ended only with the timely arrival of the police.
in a timely manner/fashion (=as quickly as is reasonable in a particular situation)
We aim to settle all valid claims in a timely manner.
a timely reminder (of something) British English (=one that makes you remember something important)
The crash served as a timely reminder of the dangers of drinking and driving.
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stuffed
