It’s easy to brush off Charlie Brown as a simple kid wearing a zigzag shirt, but the truth is, some of his quotes prove that Peanuts was more grown-up than anyone expected.
The daily dose of dread
Everyone has worries, no matter what age they are. But Charlie Brown seemed to understand worry on another level, and in the August 8, 1966 issue of Peanuts, he announced his way of dealing with life. He said, ‘I’ve developed a new philosophy. I only dread one day at a time.’
It’s quite a mature way to deal with the future, especially when you’re still in elementary school. Charlie Brown knew there was no point in worrying about every single problem at once. The truth is, you won’t find many kids with that kind of insight.
The never-ending cycle
Charlie Brown had something similar to say in the September 2, 1981, issue of Peanuts. He wasn’t all that interested in trying to stop worrying because he recognized that’s a pretty pointless way to be.
So, he said, ‘That’s the secret to life… replace one worry with another.’ Charlie Brown understood that getting rid of one problem is just another way of making room for the next. They’re deep words from a kid who’s meant to be enjoying his childhood.
The taste of rejection
You wouldn’t think that kids know a lot about relationships. Charlie Brown certainly did. In the December 15, 1964, issue, he said, ‘Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.’ Now that’s something a lot of adults have been through.
We’ve all been through unrequited love at one time or another, and we’ve all had to accept how much it hurts. Charlie Brown might’ve just been a kid, but cartoonist Charles Schulz based part of Peanuts on his own life. Maybe that’s why Charlie Brown’s romantic problems feel so painfully real.
The desperate cry
There’s a line in the May 12, 1997, issue that seems easy to brush off. But look a little closer, and you’ll see that it’s actually a lot deeper. It’s during the scene when Sally asks Charlie Brown for some help with her homework. He’s watching television at the time.
When she approaches him, he responds by saying, ‘We’re all pleading for someone to listen. We’re all desperate.’ How grown-up. It sounds like he’s just talking about that moment, yet it’s pretty clear that there’s a much more mature message about the pain of adulthood.
The missing Christmas spirit
Most kids see Christmas in a rather positive way. Not Charlie Brown, though. He says during the opening of A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965, ‘I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel.’ Like other kids, he likes getting presents and decorating trees. He enjoys sending Christmas cards.
The problem is that he feels like something is missing, and he can’t quite put his finger on what it is. He even goes on to say that he feels depressed. Yes, really. It’s not exactly the kind of conversation you’d expect in a children’s show, especially not a Christmas special.
The midnight interrogation
As an adult, it’s natural to look back at the past and think about how you could’ve done things differently. Charlie Brown knew about that feeling, too. He once said, ‘Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Where did I go wrong?’’ But that’s not all.
No, a mysterious voice responds by saying that explaining everything would take longer than one night. That kind of feeling that you’ve made many mistakes in your life is such an adult concept. It feels like way too much for a kid’s cartoon strip.
The inevitable ending
The November 11, 1973, issue of Peanuts has a scene where Lucy asks Charlie Brown a question. She wants to know what three things in life are certain. You’d probably expect a kid like Charlie Brown to say something silly, yet his answer was the opposite.
He responds by saying, ‘Death and taxes.’ He’s not wrong. Charlie Brown says he can’t remember what the third thing is, but still, the first two points are things you wouldn’t assume a child would know about.
The Thursday appointment
Nuclear war was a genuine worry for Americans who lived through the Cold War, although it wasn’t simply an adult concern. Even Charlie Brown spoke about it. Yes, in a 1960 issue, Lucy asks him whether he ever worried about the world being destroyed.
He responded by saying, ‘Thursday is my day for worrying about the world getting blown up.’ That’s not something you’d expect most children to be thinking about, and it just puts into perspective how serious those concerns were back then.
The struggle with existence
In 1959, Charlie Brown was already fed up with life, even though he wasn’t old enough to understand most adult problems yet. Or maybe he was. He said in the September 9 issue, ‘Life is just too much for me.’
That’s a kind of feeling that almost every adult has experienced before. We’re expected to figure everything out as we go along, and Charlie Brown knew how ridiculous that whole idea is.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
9 George Carlin quotes retirees should live by
George Carlin spent years saying many interesting things, and some of his best quotes are the ones that retirees should hold dear.
9 George Carlin quotes retirees should live by
