Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Spaceopoly Kill This Thread XI: The Seventh 24-Hour Thread

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I liked the sequence where Lucy had Violet and Patty (not Peppermint) over for a "crab-in".

Those three are such mean girls.

I loved it when Lucy tried to stop being crabby, until Patty told her to stop fooling herself.

Lucy: "Suddenly I feel a great sense of relief!"

She's just one of those naturally crabby people.

Another Lucy quote: "I'm frustrated and inhibited, but nobody understands me."

I wonder what Charlie Brown would have to say about that.

Charlie Brown's problem wasn't frustration or inhibitions, it was having abysmal self-esteem.

Lucy certainly didn't help his self-esteem any.

In the last strip to feature the annual football gag, Lucy has her little brother, Rerun, hold the ball while Charlie Brown comes running up to kick it because Mrs. Van Pelt wants Lucy to come inside. When she asks Rerun if Charlie Brown kicked the ball, the little guy answers "You'll never know!" Lucy then has a meltdown.

I wasn't reading Peanuts anymore by that time (I feel the peak years were 1959-1978), but that sounds great!

I'll say. Lucy deserves that for all the times she fooled (and injured!) poor Charlie Brown

When I was in fifth grade I wrote a fan letter to Charles Schulz. And he wrote me back. I wish I knew what happened to his letter.

That is so cool, LT! More proof that Schulz was an all-around class act.

Sorry you can't find the letter, though.

I agree that is so cool. Certainly makes for an awesome story to tell.

Of course, I'm a Peanuts fan from early childhood. I can't remember a time when I didn't love Charlie Brown.

Charlie Brown and Linus are my two favorite characters.

Mine, too. Schroeder would probably be my next favorite.

The male characters were generally much more sympathetic. Maybe that's why Peppermint Patty and Marcie were introduced. They were certainly a lot nicer than Lucy, Patty and Violet. And somewhat nicer than Sally.

I don't know that Schulz introduced them so there would nicer girls. Peppermint certainly has moments where she is insensitive. None of the girls were notably mean when they first appeared, although the second strip, appearing October 3, 1950, portrays the other Patty skipping down the street, reciting "Little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice," after which she smacks Charlie Brown in the face and continues, "That's what little girls are made of."

Peppermint Patty is more clueless than mean, IMO. She's certainly far from the crabbiness that is Lucy, Patty or Violet.

True enough, but what I meant was introducing nicer girls was not Schulz's specific purpose in adding Peppermint Patty and, later, Marcie. Also, PP wasn't really clueless when she first appeared. That trait came a little later.

Yes, I understand what you meant. He probably just wanted to diversify the cast.

I think PP was portrayed as a very athletic girl when she first appeared. Though, she never could quite figure out that Snoopy was a dog...

Peppermint Patty was the most complex and realistic of the girls in Peanuts. As Ibby just pointed out, even when she was first introduced and was all brash and rough-and-tumble, she was already clueless enough to not realize that Snoopy was a dog. A lot of kids, both girls and boys, are very vulnerable and insecure under whatever surface persona they've built for themselves, as was the case with her.