Peanuts is one of the longest running and most popular comic strips of all time, and its success can be at least partially attributed to the heart inherent in many of the strips. It was pretty common for Charles Schulz’s strips to show some intriguing pieces of wisdom. Charlie Brown is likely the most well known for this, both in the comics and television specials. To name an instance, he pointed out the commercialization of Christmas in the seminal 1965 special A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Interestingly, the other Peanuts characters have also shared insightful words to live by, whether it be the always cool Snoopy, or the brash Lucy, or even the eccentric Linus. While Peanuts always remains heartfelt, the strips also hold some meaningful universal truths that anyone can learn from.
10 “Depressed Stance”
Charlie Brown can be a bit of a downer at times. He is often pretty negative and always gets the short end of the stick. Unsurprisingly, this amounts to Charlie being blue more times than not. As seen in this strip, Charlie Brown is seen moping in his depressed stance and refuses to stand differently because he wants to stay in his morose state of mind. Typical Charlie Brown.
The strip offers the lesson that there are little ways to get someone out of the dumps when they’re having a bad day. Charlie Brown points out that standing straight and keeping his head held high will help him to feel better, suggesting that small actions can have a big impact on mood.
9 “Developing Character”
Most kids would go absolutely bonkers if they saw they got everything they wanted for Christmas. Then again, Linus is not like most kids. Instead of feeling joy at his generous array of gifts, he is absolutely heartbroken that he’s gotten everything he asked for and is, therefore, incapable of developing character.
Linus’s response may be a little exaggerated, or a lot exaggerated, but the little guy has a point. The strip proposes the lesson that constantly getting what one wants, can lead to lack of character development. For example, someone who always gets their way will never learn how to handle life’s disappointments or setbacks and will not know how to be resilient. Linus seems to get this, but it’d probably do him some good to stop stressing, especially on Christmas.
8 “Nothing Goes On Forever”
Linus is taking after his psychiatry advice-giving sister Lucy in this Peanuts comic. He is a very wise soul as he dispenses the words that nothing last forever and that all good things must come to end. Too bad for Charlie Brown that the good things never seem to come for him.
In the strip lies the meaningful life lesson that everything is cyclical. Things, good or bad, do not last forever, so it is important to appreciate the good times when they’re here and to know that the bad times will pass eventually. Although, the perennially hapless Charlie Brown may be the exception to this.
7 “Borrowing Someone’s Crayons”
Lucy is the oldest of the Van Pelt children. As a result, she is usually having to lecture her little brothers on the dos and don’ts of life. While she may look crabby about this, she secretly revels in being the boss and telling people what to do. In this strip, Lucy is at it again, telling her little brother that there is one important thing to never do when borrowing someone’s crayons, which is to not leave them in the sun.
Lucy, in her famously brash way, offers a very important life lesson: to always respect others’ things, especially when someone has been kind enough to let another borrow one of their things. Linus obviously did not follow that rule, carelessly leaving out a bunch of borrowed crayons out in the hot sun, ruined beyond repair. After Lucy’s berating, he knows now.
6 “Frame It”
Snoopy can be a bit of a diva when it comes to his food. He absolutely detests coconut candy and will pitch a fit if his dinner is late. One time, he didn’t even care that his own owner was in the hospital until he learned that he wouldn’t be getting dinner. As a result, Charlie Brown feels the need to tell Snoopy that he should be grateful in this strip.
While Snoopy maybe learns his lesson a little too well, feeling so appreciative of his dinner that he considers framing it, the strip offers an important message. This comic suggests that appreciation and a “thank you” goes a long way in life. The things that people do for one another should be acknowledged and shown gratitude, even if those things are the mundane, daily things that may seem little on the surface but are actually very important.
5 “Shrewd Judge Of Human Nature”
Lucy is always Charlie Brown’s friend to turn to when he needs advice. However, this time, it is more Lucy receiving advice from Charlie Brown. When Lucy questions why Charlie Brown didn’t hit the kid who was insulting him, he responds that he knew the kid would hit back and was hoping to avoid a black eye. Lucy takes in this valuable information, clearly impressed by Charlie Brown’s wisdom.
Charlie Brown is spouting some words to live by in his heart-to-heart with Lucy, offering the valuable lesson that violence begets violence. Charlie Brown knew that if he hit the kid who was bullying him, that it would only result in getting hit himself.
4 “Hey Stupid Cat”
Snoopy is one dog with attitude. He wouldn’t have the alter ego Joe Cool without it. However, his sassiness creates problems for him more times than he’d ever like to admit. In this strip, Snoopy yells at the neighborhood cat to take a cruise around the world and to never come back, only for the cat to strike back.
The strip gives the lesson that sometimes it is better to keep things to oneself. Snoopy would never have gotten clawed by that mean neighborhood cat if he would have just kept his mouth shut. Snoopy learns his lesson but, as per usual, he learns it the hard way.
3 “Win A Few, Lose A Few”
Linus and Charlie Brown are best friends, talking about everything they think about, their philosophies, and their opinions. One of these passionate discussions is the subject of this strip where Linus comments that life has its wins and losses. Yet again, Charlie Brown points out his long string of losses when he quips that having some wins would be nice.
Linus brings up an important piece of advice; that everyone has their ups and downs in life… except Charlie Brown, who has had too many downs. Regardless, the wins and losses that everyone experiences are important to acknowledge because they allow one to be more appreciative of their wins and to remember that when they do experience a slump, that a win is right around the corner. Well, hopefully.
2 “We’re So Sincere”
Exclaiming his famous “Good grief” catchphrase, Charlie Brown mopes about losing a baseball game in a landslide despite his team bursting with sincerity. Charlie Brown is all about heart, frequently displaying his heart on his sleeve. That doesn’t mean things always go well for him though. In fact, for poor Charlie Brown, it’s usually the opposite.
This strip exemplifies the meaningful lesson that life is not always fair. A team may be more sincere, but that doesn’t mean they’ll win, as Charlie Brown has unfortunately had to learn. Sometimes more than sincerity is needed to get what is wanted, in this case winning a baseball game. As much as someone may want something and be sincere, it doesn’t mean things will always work out how desired.
1 “The Hard Way”
Sally may not always get her words right or understand a lot of things, but every once in a while she has some words of wisdom. In this strip, Sally tells her big brother that she’s making two lists about the things she has learned in life, to which Charlie Brown asks why one list is so much longer than the other. Sally informs him that the longer list is made of things she has had to learn the hard way.
Sally points out an important fact of life; there are many things that everyone has to learn the hard way. Mistakes can be great teachers, something Sally has noticed in her young life. It is through these mistakes that people can learn better for the next time, even if it would have been preferable to not have those blunders in the first place. If there’s one constant throughout Peanuts‘ 50- year run, it’s that the characters are frequently learning life’s lessons the hard way.
