Question on Calvin and Hobbes

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-04-18 03:36pm

Bill Watterson explained in the Tenth Anniversary Book that the different appearences of Hobbes is because that's how he's seen by different people. Because of his imagination, Calvin sees Hobbes as real, while people like his parents and Susie see him as the stuffed toy he really is. There's nothing special or magical about Hobbes.

So #2.

*myan*

The Prime Necromancer · Post by **The Prime Necromancer** » 2004-04-18 04:00pm

What is Hobbes?

Hobbes is... Tyler Durden.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » 2004-04-18 04:09pm

The Prime Necromancer wrote:What is Hobbes?

Hobbes is... Tyler Durden.

Wow. That's pretty deep. Interesting connection.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2004-04-18 04:24pm

The Prime Necromancer wrote:What is Hobbes?

Hobbes is... Tyler Durden.

That is a truly excellent piece and it fits quite well.

Post by **RogueIce** » 2004-04-18 06:40pm

I miss it.

Still, what always made me wonder about what is "real" and what isn't in Calvin & Hobbes was the clone Calvin incident...

Y'know, where he laments that he's getting blamed for all this stuff, and he doesn't even get the fun of doing it?

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2004-04-18 08:34pm

I believe I recall reading something in one of collections, possibly the tenth anniversary book, that Watterson just never bothered to clarify what exactly Hobbes was, just like he never bothered to name Calvin's parents, so Hobbes is really neither a real tiger who can imitate a stuffed toy nor a figment of Calvin's imagination.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-04-18 08:57pm

Its not that he never bothered to clarify. Several stories intentionally went way out of their way to avoid resolving the issue. We don't know, we're not meant to know, and Watterson claims to not really know himself.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-04-18 08:59pm

Even though he explained it in the Tenth Anniversary Book?

No offence, but seriously, are some of you people stupid, or do you just not bother reading the whole thread before responding?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-04-18 09:01pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Bill Watterson explained in the Tenth Anniversary Book that the different appearences of Hobbes is because that's how he's seen by different people. Because of his imagination, Calvin sees Hobbes as real, while people like his parents and Susie see him as the stuffed toy he really is. There's nothing special or magical about Hobbes.

So #2.

Watterson never stated that Calvin imagined that Hobbes was real. Ergo, #2 is not the answer.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-04-18 09:01pm

He explained exactly what I just said, in almost my exact words, in the Tenth Anniversary Book.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-04-18 09:03pm

Okay, not real, that was a mistake on my part because my copy is in CR.

He did say however that that was how Calvin saw Hobbes, which differs from how other people see Hobbes.

*myan*

EDIT: Checked it out on Amazon using the "search inside this book" function. While he doesn't explain exactly "why," he says it's literally depicting two different views of reality, because everyone sees things differently from everyone else.

*myan*

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2004-04-19 09:03am

The so-called "gimmick" of my strip- the two versions of Hobbes- is sometimes misunderstood. I don't think of Hobbes as a doll that miraculously comes to life when Calvin's around. Neither do I think of Hobbes as the product of Calvin's imagination. The nature of Hobbes's reality dosn't interest me, and each story goes out of its way to avoid resolving the issue. Cavin sees Hobbes one way, and everyone else sees Hobbes another way. I show two versions of reality, and each makes complete sense to the participant who sees it. I think that's how life works. None of us sees the world in exactly the same way, and I just draw that literally in the strip. Hobbes is more about the subjective nature of reality then about dolls coming to life.

Yes I was bored, but it clearly shows there IS no answer out of those 3 options.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-04-19 09:19am

I love the dinosaur strips, but nothing gets me more than the snowmen.

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2004-04-19 09:54am

Ace Pace wrote: Exactly like Hamster Huey, its up for us to decide what is it!

I'm sure that it has something to do with the G'N'R album "The Spaghetti Incident".

Lazy Raptor wrote:
I love the dinosaur strips, but nothing gets me more than the snowmen.

I prefer the Calvinball and Spaceman Spiff strips, as well as Stupendous Man.

PainRack · Post by **PainRack** » 2004-04-19 10:03am

phongn wrote:Bill Watterson was intentionally vague as to Hobbes' status.

Not when in the very first few strips, he showed Calvin father finding a stuffed tiger on the road and giving it to Calvin as a gift.

PainRack · Post by **PainRack** » 2004-04-19 10:06am

Just how many detectives stories are there? I only read two so far

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2004-04-19 10:25am

PainRack wrote:Just how many detectives stories are there? I only read two so far

They're nowhere as common as the Spiff ones, that's for certain.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-04-19 10:37am

PainRack wrote:
phongn wrote:Bill Watterson was intentionally vague as to Hobbes' status.
Not when in the very first few strips, he showed Calvin father finding a stuffed tiger on the road and giving it to Calvin as a gift.

That's the point, though. Calvin sees Hobbes as a real tiger; everyone else seems him as a stuffed tiger. Which is he?

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-04-19 10:52am

PainRack wrote:Just how many detectives stories are there? I only read two so far

Tracer Bullet? Those are funny, but he didn't do too many. The heavy shading made them time consuming.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-04-19 12:10pm

Peregrin Toker wrote:
Ace Pace wrote: Exactly like Hamster Huey, its up for us to decide what is it!
I'm sure that it has something to do with the G'N'R album "The Spaghetti Incident".

I doub't it. Post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. Not everything is a reference to something else, and it is incredibly easy to just make stuff up.

Again, I don't see why everyone's still saying it's so vague when you have the answere right up there in Ace Pace's post. It's just literally depicting two interpretations of reality. That's it.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2004-04-19 01:22pm

PainRack wrote: Not when in the very first few strips, he showed Calvin father finding a stuffed tiger on the road and giving it to Calvin as a gift.

Huh?
The first strip clearly shows something differnt.

http://www.arcetri.astro.it/~corti/calvinfirst.html

Post by **Kuja** » 2004-04-19 02:25pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Again, I don't see why everyone's still saying it's so vague when you have the answere right up there in Ace Pace's post. It's just literally depicting two interpretations of reality. That's it.

But then Watterson tosses in stories like the one where Hobbes was slicing up Calvin's mom's magazines and putting the letters in Calvin's mailbox. Calvin genuinely thought they were from someone else until his mom noticed that her magazines were being cut up. Then he got pissed off and confronted Hobbes about it.

So, if it's simply two interpretations of reality, then what's going on? Was Calivn cutting up his mom's magazines and then erasing his own memory?

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2004-04-19 02:46pm

It's like in Rashamon, it depends on who's perspective it is

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2004-04-19 03:19pm

I'm telling you, it's like Batman's villain Scarface. A split personality personified in an inanimate object.

The puppet and the stuffed animal.

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2004-04-19 03:21pm

neoolong wrote:I'm telling you, it's like Batman's villain Scarface. A split personality personified in an inanimate object.

Scarface? I thought he was called Two-Face?

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Question on Calvin and Hobbes

Re: Question on Calvin and Hobbes