Garfield is a cat who, like us humans, has obsessive eating habits. He dislikes spiders and Mondays. This immediately connects with me as even I dislike the creepy crawlies (even though I like Spider-Man), and I hate Mondays since it means coming back to the weekly routine.
Garfield has been given extremely human personified behaviour. For example, his love of sleeping is very common with children of all ages. His adorable eating habits of coffee and lasagna give the readers a feel that he is one of us. Even though the movies based on Garfield received mixed reviews, I still love to see the orange tabby cat on my television in my free time. The new ideas and comic stories along with the amazing VFX shown in the films melts everyone’s hearts. The uninterested and I-don’t-care attitude is a representation of the adolescent age group. I feel that Garfield connects with each of us in a way that makes the readers and the movie watchers feel that, “Hey, I am like that!”. Even after 40 years after its debut by Jim Davis, it still is a symbol and icon for many of us who grew up with Garfield, the tabby cat.
Pranav Deshpande, class IX, Gundecha Education Academy, Mumbai
The reason that I can relate to Garfield is simply due to the fact he showcases the problems and struggles that every average person goes through in their life.
He is always hungry and is constantly complaining about it, a feeling all too familiar to all of us. He is also very picky and only craves lasagna. He is very lazy and he owns it and is in the constant need for coffee, all of this combined with his loathing for Monday mornings could make him an office worker to fit into any part of the globe! Garfield's philosophy does not involve exercising or dieting and he believes he is perfect just the way he is. He too cannot stand not being the centre of attraction and thus his hate for Nermal the cute kitten arises, because she steals attention away from him. Finally, he has a comfort animal in Pooky whom he trusts more than his owner and confides everything to him, highlighting his anti-social behaviour. Garfield too like most of us despises human contact and often hides to avoid meeting new people. All in all, Garfield was and remains to be the most iconic house cat and he will remain in our hearts forever.
Jatin Yashroy, Grade 9, Singapore International School, Mumbai
My introduction to Garfield was through the 2004 film adaptation titled "Garfield: The movie". As a child I absolutely loved the movie. The idea of a talking, and that too such a charming, cat amused me as a kid.
Watching the movie did encourage me to follow the comic strip daily in the newspaper. However I haven't yet read the book by Jim Davis. I look forward to reading it in the near future as Garfield is one of my most favorite cartoon characters. Garfield is one of my most favorite cartoon character not only because of his goofy nature but also because Garfield is a very relatable character. Garfield's character is presented in a way that is very close to reality. He's lazy, food loving, witty, mischievous but also kind hearted and caring cat. I connect with Garfield as the character is very real, in the sense that he never pretends to be something he's not. He is very cool headed and finds pleasures in the simple things of life, like food, love and sleep. He's a fast thinker and acts on solutions to his problems. He's also very considerate towards his companions when they have trouble. I really admire how Garfield is shown as a fun loving character and always lives in the moment.
Keyuri Desai, First year Mass Comm. student at Ferguson college, Pune
(Image: www.garfield.com)
My introduction to Garfield was through a newspaper when I was 8 years old!
I was looking through the paper and my eyes landed on the comics section. When I read the Garfield comic strip I started laughing and was greatly intrigued by his character. Soon, I started waiting for the newspapers and my interest in Garfield was growing day by day. Then, one of friends introduced me to the show “Garfield and Friends” and got hooked on to the show. My favorite character was John because of the adorable relationship between Garfield and him. The TV show was even better than the comics! I used to sit and watch the episode, wholly captivated by the humor. I related to Garfield in a lot of ways. I loved eating food, especially lasagna, which coincidentally was also Garfield’s favorite. He loved eating food and his life revolved around happiness and fun. He had friends who were loyal to him and a different approach to life- “live to eat”. I loved this approach about how he lived his life carefree and full of love. My approach to life was like Garfield’s, so I could relate to him very well. The comic inspired me to start my day with a laugh and end it with a smile!
Samyuktaa Sivakumar, Class 9, Ryan international school, Kandivali East
My friends once blurted out abruptly, "Why read the strips everyday when you can watch the movie and be satisfied for some days?" And my answer was "It's my daily oxygen!
I connect myself with Garfield since I share all the characteristics that Garfield possess. Garfield is lethargic and so am I. He is a foodie and am a even bigger glutton. And of course I am a silent comedian as Garfield. Apart from that, who loves Mondays anyway? Well, Mondays are way too "blue" for me. Not because something bad happens every Monday. And there you go, another characteristic which matched with that of Garfield.
Tiyasha Ghosh, Class X, School-Mount Litera Zee School, Howrah, West Bengal
(Image via Pinterest)
I had my first brush with Garfield at the age of 11 through the original cartoon strip.
Yes, it tempted me to read more about the characters of this book. These days I am reading Garfield written by Jim Davis through the Times NIE newspaper. It is part of my daily routine. The first book collection, Garfield At Large, shot to the top of the bestseller list and turned the strip into one of the most successful ever. I used to cut the strip from the newspaper and paste them in my scrapbook. My collection of Garfield strips was one of my most appreciated things for years. This was probably due to all the wonderful comic books and comic strips I grew up... Well, Garfield was my "cover material" for several years. The most iconic character that continues to resonate with all ages, ethnicities, genders, and races.
Ananya Kamboj, class IX, Vivek High School, Mohali
I was introduced to Garfield through newspaper. They always had a comic strip of Garfield in their games column. Then my mother got me a t-shirt of garfield which had a funny one liner on it. That further strengthened my bond and I started watching it's clips on YouTube and it's comics.
I have a twofold connection with Garfield. Firstly his humour fascinates me. The way he deals with every situation in a humorous way , can inspire and change anyone’s outlook towards life. Garfield is shown as lazy character and so am I, this further strengthens my bond, besides our liking for cats.
Kaneesha Shah, class XI, DPS, Ahmedabad
Q: What do you think?
(Image: www.garfield.com)