HL essay example A: student work

ENGLISH A:LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

NON LITERARY BODY OF WORK: COMIC STRIPS BY WATTERSON

HIGHER LEVEL ESSAY

LINE OF INQUIRY: How and why does Watterson satirize the conventional education

system?

WORD COUNT: 1492

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Line of inquiry: How and why does Watterson satirize the conventional education system?

Calvin and Hobbes is a daily American comic strip created by Bill Watterson, during November

18, 1985 - December 31, 1995, for the demographic of newspaper and comic enthusiasts. The

comic follows a young boy, Calvin, and his real-only-to-him stuffed Tiger, on their adventures

and observations of life. With its satirical tone and informal language, Watterson enlightens and

entertains the viewers by addressing various socio-political and philosophical issues, and uses

Calvin “as a way to comment on human nature”1; thus raising the ​line of inquiry: ​How and why

does Watterson ​satirize the conventional education system​? ​In this essay, the ways in which

Watterson employs comic and literary techniques to expose the monotonous, uninspiring and

conventional education system and its effects on creative thinking as well as the will to learn in a

school, will be examined.

In most of the comic strips, Calvin detests the conventional education system and is portrayed as

an outcast in this rigid and uninspiring system. His dislike can be traced back to the expectations

of conventional classrooms, as evident in panels one and two of strip#1, displaying only a

perfectly seated Calvin, bench, and clock. The use of ​blank space along with a borderless panel

represents Calvin’s perception of school. The blank space suggests that school is solely about

being seated perfectly, seeming attentive, and waiting, until time tells you otherwise and the

borderless panel in the second one creates a timeless effect, as if he has been sitting for hours,

whereas it's only been five minutes (according to the clock). This exaggeration brings on a

1
“Characters.” About Calvin and Hobbes,
www.calvinandhobbes.com/about-calvin-and-hobbes/​.

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satirical effect​, as it ridicules the monotony and triviality but seemingly valuable conducts of

learning in a classroom. Moreover, Calvin is not seen to be his usual, free-spirited self, when he

attempts to conform to this norm. In panel one of strip#2, ​along with the same setting of the

classroom, Calvin holds his face out on his desk and has rather ​realistic eyes​, ​unlike his comical

beads-for-eyes. His ​gestural mode — leaning on the desk — opposes his usual jaunty body

language, and the realistic eyes give us an insight about the degree of boredom Calvin

experiences indicating that Calvin is made to be here, and he does not naturally conform to the

norm. Along with the requirement of a “disciplined” child, the teaching methods of this

education system are also portrayed as trivial. In strip#3, Calvin deems the rote-learning method

as meaningless in his "note" on the test in panel 3, giving the audience an insight into the

importance of memory as a measure of intelligence. The ​phrase​“​utterly useless fact”, “I now

intend to forget it forever” in the note illuminates the audience about the value of objectivity

versus subjectivity and the fact that the system did not endorse individuality as a measure of

intelligence based on the worth of a student on their ability to retain information. The fact that

there is ​no speech/thought bubble ​in the third panel of strip#3 satirizes the ideology of the

viewers with a similar mindset regarding intelligence. This mundane setting and satirical

comments are seen regularly throughout the strips with the school context giving the impression

that Calvin is always going to be disinterested in conforming to these rigid demands of school,

and so his intelligence is undermined. Surprisingly, although this may leave Calvin as an outcast

in education’s context, it doesn’t seem to have a prominent negative impact (no change) on his

nature, and he doesn’t find the ​need ​to conform and fit in.

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Along with the fixed methods of the education situation, Calvin’s observations direct the viewers

to the fact that teachers play an important role in breaking the monotony and encouraging

individuality. As seen in panel 4 of strip#3, the sarcastic ​punchline ​"the satisfaction of teaching"

and the text in panel 3 "you've taught me nothing except how to cynically manipulate the system.

Congratulations", along with the use of Calvin's seemingly grateful ​visual mode​, ​satirize ​the

inaction of teachers in exercising their power to inspire and the grim satisfaction of them making

a difference in a student’s life. The fact that Calvin could retain that fact “long enough to pass

the test” only to forget it proves that rote-learning is not a reflection of his intelligence or

capability, but rather fuel to the myth that potential may lie in memorization. In Calvin’s case, a

different kind of intelligence is what needs to be recognized. The ​visual mode ​of Calvin’s vivid

and colourful imagination throughout strip#1 is where his creative intelligence is prominent and

is far more interesting and meaningful than school, but it is interrupted by Miss Wormwood.

This indicates that school demands your attention, even if the particular style of teaching does

not suit you. This suggests teachers tend to generalize students and in turn, discourage

individuality. Similarly, in panel 4 of strip#2, the teacher states that “next time, go drink water”

as a solution to Calvin not being able to blend into the monotony, and carries him back with one

hand. The ​authoritative diction “next time” and stern ​gestural mode suggests her indifference to

Calvin’s current and future problems and ​satirize ​the indifference of teachers with respect to the

care that some students require. The disappointment in not being understood can be seen through

the change in Calvin’s body language, in panel 4 of strip#2, where Calvin ​gestural mode

resembles that of a prisoner forced into his cell. This ​gestural mode gives the impression of

Calvin being forced to be in his “cell” and harbouring hatred for it, as well as him being an

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outcast in this system, Since the system doesn’t acknowledge the fact that Calvin doesn't fit into

a particular category, and since ​choice isn’t an option, learning in school, for Calvin, becomes

undesirable.

Cultivated from a place of being misunderstood, Calvin instinctively attempts to escape its

monotony and deems school as a waste of time. Throughout the comic, Calvin would rather be

somewhere other than school. In panel two of strip#2, alongside Calvin screaming the universal

truth “this is the only life I’ve got!!”, ​the borderless panel​, ​realistic features ​and ​gestural mode

aid to display his strong need to escape school. His ​dialogue, ​“what on earth am i doing here?”

portrays his frustration built up from the school’s regulations and the indifference of Miss

Wormwood, Calvin may view escape as his only solution. Following this panel, Calvin runs the

opposite way from his desk and his desk is turned upside down. Here, his desk is a ​symbol ​for

the education system, and the ​emanata ​and ​gestural mode ​of him running in the opposite

direction in panel 3 of strip#2 suggests that he intends to reject this system. He attempts to get

away from school in any way possible, be it school or in his imagination. In panels four and

twelve, Calvin is lifted up from his desk and escapes school. Given that the desk ​symbolizes ​the

system, his imagination saves him from sinking and giving into the system, as seen in panels 3

and 11, where he leans onto the desk and is metaphorically giving into the system. In both cases

of escape (panels four and twelve), Calvin is lifted to a higher place, which may indicate that his

school keeps him grounded, and his creativity at bay. After Miss Wormwood snaps him out of

his imagination in panel 8, and his second escape (panel twelve) displays him riding a dinosaur

and looking forward. This second escape is different from the one before (panel four) since he

appears to only be looking forward, not looking back at his school, and he is at a much higher

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altitude. In this case, too, due to the rules of school and Miss Wormwood’s indifferent snap,

Calvin feels misunderstood, and so he understands that he may never fit into this system and

drifts away in his own reality. This not only symbolizes his rejection of the system, but also that

his creativity knows no bounds.

All in all, through a multiplicity of artistic skills and devices, Calvin and Hobbes is able to

satirize the conventional educational system in a way that addresses its problem as well as its

roots, and its restraining effects on Calvin’s creative intelligence, which in turn diminishes his

will to learn in a classroom. This comic strip provokes the viewers’ mindset on intelligence,

educational authority, and the meaning of ‘not fitting in’ the traditional system. The investigation

of this line of inquiry is highly relevant since the comic strip reflects the functioning of many

such educational systems in the real world, which hinder the potential of students as there is

limited autonomy in the learning process and method, as well as exercising their imagination.

And so, viewing the comic from this angle provides the audience with a different and deeper

perspective of the capabilities of any student, beyond what is visible on the surface.

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Works cited

1. Waterson, Bill. “Calvin and Hobbes.” ​GoComics​, 27 Jan. 1994,

www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1994/01/27.

2. Waterson, Bill. “Calvin and Hobbes.” ​GoComics​, 1 May 2015,

www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2015/05/01.

3. Waterson, Bill. “Calvin and Hobbes.” ​GoComics​, 19 Mar. 1989,

www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/03/19.

4. “Characters.” About Calvin and Hobbes,

www.calvinandhobbes.com/about-calvin-and-hobbes/.

Appendix:

strip#1

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strip#2

strip#3

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