I just finished watching a great special on Charles M. Schultz on the PBS American Masters series.
Charlie Brown is one of those characters that everyone can relate to. Despite his constant frustration ("Rats!" "Good Grief!"), he always maintains a certain optimism and never gives up entirely, always sticking to his beliefs even when he finds himself alone by doing so.
"Sparky" had the same integrity. I learned about how he unfailingly monitored his characters and the Peanuts brand, down to every punctuation mark. It is because of him that "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is the classic that we know today - without him, the network would not have used children's voices, insisted on a laugh track, and would not have allowed Linus's wonderful speech on the meaning of Christmas. In other words, it would have been formulaic, dated and ultimately forgettable.
One of the interesting things that was said on the program was that America is not a place that is very forgiving of failure. This is true today, and must have seemed especially so during the 50's and 60's when Schultz was in his prime. Yet Charlie Brown often fails as what he sets out to do, and the other kids know this and make fun of him. Discouraged, alone, bested by everyone including his own dog...no wonder he's a such a serious kid.
The man behind the comic strip is a grown-up version of Charlie Brown, although the actual character (along with many of the other characters) was based on someone that Schultz knew. He was a quiet person who just wanted to write a comic strip, and never dreamt that he would become so famous. He was both a good family man, and very distant - and his first marriage falls apart even though they seem to have the perfect life. Just like all of us, he was flawed, and he found a way to express his fears and insecurities through humor. One of the best lessons is that what we are in childhood, we are in life - whether we are Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, or Snoopy. It is not life that changes, just how we deal with it. I always root for Charlie Brown, even though I know he is never going to kick that football. I cheer him for getting up every day and trying.
Good ol' Charlie Brown.
