From the other characters’ perspectives, Hobbes is Calvin’s stuffed tiger. From Calvin’s point of view Hobbes is an anthropomorphic tiger, much larger than Calvin and full of independent attitudes and ideas. When the perspective shifts to any other character, readers again see merely a stuffed animal, usually seated at an off-kilter angle and blankly staring into space. Watterson explains:
“When Hobbes is a stuffed toy in one panel and alive in the next, I’m juxtaposing the ‘grown-up’ version of reality with Calvin’s version, and inviting the reader to decide which is truer.”
Hobbes’ true nature is made more ambiguous by episodes that seem to attribute real-life consequences to Hobbes’ actions. For example, Hobbes plays a game of pouncing on Calvin the moment he arrives home from school, an act which always leaves Calvin with bruises and scrapes that are evident to other characters. Hobbes also manages to tie Calvin to a chair in such a way that Calvin’s father is unable to understand how he could have done it himself.
Therefore, it is necessary to conclude that we cannot simplify strips into terms of everything being in Calvin’s imagination. It is more the concept of people perceiving things differently than a toy coming to life.
From the other characters’ perspectives, Hobbes is Calvin’s stuffed tiger. From Calvin’s point of view Hobbes is an anthropomorphic tiger, much larger than Calvin and full of independent attitudes and ideas. When the perspective shifts to any other character, readers again see merely a stuffed animal, usually seated at an off-kilter angle and blankly staring into space. Watterson explains:
“When Hobbes is a stuffed toy in one panel and alive in the next, I’m juxtaposing the ‘grown-up’ version of reality with Calvin’s version, and inviting the reader to decide which is truer.”
Hobbes’ true nature is made more ambiguous by episodes that seem to attribute real-life consequences to Hobbes’ actions. For example, Hobbes plays a game of pouncing on Calvin the moment he arrives home from school, an act which always leaves Calvin with bruises and scrapes that are evident to other characters. Hobbes also manages to tie Calvin to a chair in such a way that Calvin’s father is unable to understand how he could have done it himself.
Therefore, it is necessary to conclude that we cannot simplify strips into terms of everything being in Calvin’s imagination. It is more the concept of people perceiving things differently than a toy coming to life.