'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown' - Lunchtime Monologue

This monologue is from a 1967 musical comedy 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'. It is based on characters from a comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz. It is popular for it's small cast and simple staging. It is about a boy called, Charlie Brown.

'All I have to do is stand up...I'm standing up!...I'm sitting down. I'm a coward. I'm so much of a coward, she wouldn't even think of looking at me. She hardly ever does look at me. In fact, I can't remember her ever looking at me. Why shouldn't she look at me? Is there any reason in the world why she shouldn't look at me? Is she so great, and I'm so small, that she can't spare one little moment?...SHE'S LOOKING AT ME!! SHE'S LOOKING AT ME!!(he puts his lunchbag over his head.)...Lunchtime is among the worst time of the day for me. If that little red-headed girl is looking at me with this stupid bag over my head she must think I'm the biggest fool alive. But, if she isn't looking at me, then maybe I could take it off quickly and she'd never notice it. On the other hand...I can't tell if she's looking, until I take it off! Then again, if I never take it off I'll never have to know if she was looking or not. On the other hand...it's very hard to breathe in here.(he removes his sack)Whew! She's not looking at me! I wonder why she never looks at me?'


This monologue could be aimed at teenagers and adults. We have the connotation that this boy is attracted to this girl because of the way he behaves - 'SHE'S LOOKING AT ME!!' Everyone has most likely gone through the phase of sitting in a canteen and noticing someone they like, look at them. Therefore it has the impact of appeal and entertainment as everyone has gone through this situation and can find it humorous. This creates a connection between the boy and the audience. The purpose of this monologue is to understand how the character is feeling. This monologue is written in an informal register which is suitable for the character and the audience, as the younger viewers would be more appealed to the informal speaking (and in fact even adults could find this appealing). The text uses non-standard language and abbreviation - 'I'll'. However this also includes colloquial register because we often speak abbreviating words unless we are in formal circumstances. Although this musical was produced in 1967 we can still notice this register through words such as 'fool'. 
  We can establish that this monologue is fast paced due to all the short sentences and repetition of rhetorical questions. We can infer that this boy is generally confused and doesn't know what to do as he repeats -'On the other hand...' as he is thinking about what he is doing from two perspectives. These techniques help the audience feel synthetic towards the character as he simply has no idea what to do. Generally lunch time for students is the best part of the day, as it is a break from work and stress. But this character finds lunchtime 'the worst time of the day' so we can infer that perhaps he doesn't have any friends to socialise with and this first bit of eye contact with this 'red-headed girl' is a big step in life for him. We can tell that he is insecure as he even refers to himself as 'a coward' which is followed by 'she wouldn't even think of looking at me' which suggests that he may find it hard making friends and socialising with others. 

Armstrong and Miller – RAF Pilots – D Day

Armstrong and Miller – RAF Pilots – D Day

This comedy sketch mainly uses informal language – ‘this is it chaps’. However between the two main characters they talk with a colloquial and intimate register as they are friends and understand one another’s sense of humour –‘he must be a colossal gaylord’, ‘you talking about my granddad?’. We can tell this is highly unrealistic as the time period they are from wouldn’t have used such modern language and phrases which they have used in this video –‘blud’. Unrealistically they are talking about going to the beach to have fun, although they are there for a war. They use phrases such as: ‘I was gonna get chips and shit’ which is a stereotypical thing to do at the beach and the word 'shit' informalises the speech. When Miller says this he uses abbreviation (‘gonna’) and we know it is less likely for a formal register to use abbreviated words. They both use fillers often to break up their speech, their favourite filler seem to be ‘yeah’. Armstrong usually responds to Miller with one word answers, such as, ‘lush’ and ‘classic’ which tells Miller that he is interested in what he is saying and that he is listening. These responses clearly state that they have a strong friendship, as its unlikely we use terms like these with people we aren't so familiar with. They both often use taboo language when talking to each other, they often use the word ‘shit’ to put emphasis on what ever they are saying.

Informal register to formal register

Informal to formal

INFORMAL 

‘OMG, U dun a awful job paintin my hallway!!! There was mess evrywher and me son tripped over the mess u had left!! It took me forEVER to tidy up and am not happy wiv u and my family is not either and I want a refund for the work u did (which was rubbish) or I am callin a lawyer to handle it trust me’

FORMAL

‘The job done at my house this morning was unsatisfactory. Unfortunately you had carelessly left your equipment around my house, which caused an absolute wreck and resulted in my young child injuring himself later that day. Furthermore me and my family have spent an unreasonable amount of time clearling this catastrophe you have left behind. This is not acceptable and I am utterly displeased with your service. I am requesting an immediate refund or legal action will be sought. 

Thank You.' 

Baa Baa Black Sheep

'Baa baa black sheep,
have you any wool,
yes sir yes sir,
three bags full,
one for the master,
one for the dame,
and one for the little boy,
who lives down the lane.'

This well known nursery rhyme has caught my attention because of the language used. The 'Baa baa' at the beginning of the rhyme is onomatopoeia. This catches the young children's attention as it sounds just like it's spelt and its easy for them to understand. It also uses alliteration in the first line of the stanza which easily slips off the tongue. When we read this rhyme we also stereotype that the sheep is a male without even noticing.

The next thing which i find intriguing is how it is suggesting that the sheep is black when most commonly we think of sheeps' as being white. The second line of the stanza i think is ridiculous as they're asking a sheep if it 'has any wool', obviously it does, (unless it's been shaved) but you would be able to tell that by looking at it. However i may find this silly but to children it's catchy and they're interested in this language.

Furthermore, i am guessing that the 'yes sir, yes sir' part of the rhyme is the sheep responding. We can tell that this rhyme has male dominance because of how 'we are' (the readers of the rhyme) mentioned as 'sir'. This is due to the time period in which this rhyme was formed, when they were suggested as having a higher authority.

:)