


Chuck & Lucy
Why does Charlie Brown accept Lucy’s offer to kick the football – again and again? It’s not the satisfaction of kicking the football. He could do that anytime, with other people. It’s not that he has forgotten the innumerable times that she has pulled the football out from its spot just before his full-flung attempt that lands him on his back. No. The only reason could be that he refuses to give up on her. He refuses to believe that she is cold, heartless, cruel, mean, deceitful, and unfeeling. That is, he refuses to allow himself to accept that she is so un-Charlie-Brown-like. He simply cannot accept the notion that a fellow human being could lack the characteristics that make us human. He tries to kick the ball because he wants to believe in humanity. He wants to see humanity redeemed from its Lucy-like state. And, due to this lofty aspiration, he faces perpetual disappointment.
Tags: philosophy, psychology