'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.