Post 4: Calvin Asking the Tough Questions

The Calvin & Hobbes comics shared a common theme of addressing some of life’s deepest questions in a comical and innocent way. One can almost laugh at how naive Calvin is towards every situation. But in each one the reader is left hanging without an answer. Why do innocent people die? Why do people not care about the environment? Why do nations go to war? These questions have been asked since the beginning of time and are still asked today? It makes me think about how as we grow up we stop questioning things that we wonder, and accept the easiest answer as fact. Usually, it feels like the answer is “it’s always been like this.” I started to wonder why humans stop asking the questions that kids do. Maybe it is because we have given up on trying to find the answers because we think we never can, or maybe it is because we think we already know the answers to life’s important questions.

The author does a great job of teaching dark topics in an elementary way. For example, in the comic about war it shows how it benefits neither side. Calvin calls Hobbes a “loathsome godless communist oppressor” after which they proceed to shoot each other. Subtly, it reveals how on either side of war there is an attempt to dehumanize the other side to justify the violence. I’m sure that on the other side, there is name calling too. The last scene shows Calvin saying “kind of a stupid game, isn’t it?” I think it was intentional to put this at the end as it shows how it isn’t until after the smoke clears in war do those involved realize it was a mistake that caused more damage than before. In the title scene Hobbes asks “how come we play war and not peace?” That is a silly question when heard initially. When I think about it however, I don’t think I could give him the right answer. War isn’t as fun? Isn’t peace just everyday life? But I can’t give an answer that is right. These comics masterfully make you think much deeper about questions that are seemingly trivial, but contain much more.