The Great Pumpkin is an unseen character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.[1] According to Linus van Pelt, the Great Pumpkin is a legendary personality who rises from the pumpkin patch on Halloween carrying a large bag of toys to deliver to believing children. Linus continues to maintain faith in the Great Pumpkin, despite his friends' mockery and disbelief.[2]
The Great Pumpkin was first introduced in the strip dated October 26, 1959,[3] and Schulz subsequently reworked the premise many times throughout the run of Peanuts, notably inspiring the 1966 animated television special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
While Schulz usually avoided outright politics, he enjoyed his Great Pumpkin strips and incorporating religious references in many comics and animated cartoons.[4]
Premise
editEach year Linus awaits the arrival of the Great Pumpkin in a pumpkin patch deemed most sincere and lacking in hypocrisy. The following morning, each year, an embarrassed yet undefeated Linus vows to wait for the Great Pumpkin again next Halloween. Linus acknowledges the similarities between the Great Pumpkin and Santa Claus (in the television special, Linus writes to the Great Pumpkin that Santa Claus has better publicity). Charlie Brown attributes Linus's belief in the Great Pumpkin to "denominational differences."
In the comic strip dated October 25, 1961, Linus explains: "There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin."[5] A few days later, Linus claims previously reported official sightings of the Great Pumpkin in Connecticut and Texas,[6] and Charlie Brown hears of a sighting in New Jersey.[7]
Linus remains faithful to the Great Pumpkin, even devising a Great Pumpkin Newsletter in comic strips dated October 1998.[8]
Religious metaphors
editThe Great Pumpkin has been cited as a symbol of strong faith and foolish faith, leading to vastly different interpretations of creator Charles Schulz's own faith. As described in the book on Schulz's religious views, A Charlie Brown Religion, Schulz's views were very personal and often misinterpreted.[4] Linus' seemingly unshakable belief in the Great Pumpkin, and his desire to foster the same belief in others, has been interpreted as a parody of Christian evangelism by some observers. Others have seen Linus' belief in the Great Pumpkin as symbolic of the struggles faced by anyone with beliefs or practices that are not shared by the majority.[9] Still others view Linus' lonely vigils, in the service of a being that may or may not exist and which never makes its presence known in any case, as a metaphor for mankind's basic existential dilemmas.[10]
Schulz himself, however, claimed no motivation beyond the humor of having one of his young characters confuse Halloween with Christmas. In the 1959 sequence of strips in which the Great Pumpkin is first mentioned, for instance, Schulz also has Linus suggest that he and the other kids "go out and sing pumpkin carols",[11] something which he also asks the trick-or-treating kids in the special itself.
In animated adaptations
editAfter the Great Pumpkin formed the central premise of the 1966 television special, later television specials would also reference the character. These included You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972) when Linus almost blows his chances in a school election; It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974) in which Sally cites her previous experience with the non-appearance of the Great Pumpkin; and You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (1975), wherein Linus enters the pumpkin patch with Charlie Brown, who gets teased as being the Great Pumpkin. The Peanuts Movie (2015) also namedrops the character, when Linus says he hopes the new kid in town (later revealed as the Little Red-Haired Girl) might be willing to believe in the Great Pumpkin.
Licensed use in Poptropica
editIn October 2010, forty-four years after the initial airing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the Great Pumpkin was the topic of a licensed use by the online game Poptropica. The site's 15th island is Great Pumpkin Island, and features several of the Peanuts characters interacting with players.[12] As the island follows the same plot as the original TV special, the Great Pumpkin does not appear, and turns out to be Snoopy with a pumpkin on his head.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Cavna, Michael (October 27, 2011). "'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown': 7 Things You Don't Know About Tonight's 'Peanuts' Special". The Washington Post blogs. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
- ^ Farago, Andrew (2017). The Complete Peanuts Family Album: The Ultimate Guide to Charles M. Schulz's Classic Characters. Weldon Owen. p. 100. ISBN 978-1681882925.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (May 31, 1972). "October 26, 1959 strip". GoComics. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Lind, Stephen (2015). A Charlie Brown Religion (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (1961). Peanuts comic strip details, gocomics.com, October 25, 1961.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (October 29, 1961). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for October 29, 1961 | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (November 1, 1961). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for November 01, 1961 | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (October 20, 1998). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for October 20, 1998 | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Atkinson, Michael (October 18, 2012). "Viva Mabuse! #10: Oh, Great Pumpkin, Where Are You?". blog.sundancenow.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014.
- ^ Koresky, Michael (February 19, 2004). "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Book of Linus". Reverse Shot.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (1959). Peanuts comic strip dated October 28, 1959.
- ^ Peanuts characters interacting with the avatars of Poptropica players[permanent dead link], virtualworlddigest.com; accessed March 3, 2016.