BLOGPOST 3: Art of Pessimism

The show "Winnie the Pooh" played a precious part in our childhood. It is very evident even to the children these days that if you ask them about "Pooh", they'll surprise to provide you more than an average fan knows. Even teenagers like me can tell loads of fun facts about the show. It is because the show left a mark in our childhood. We, youngsters of the society, can simply entertain you by the unlimited knowledge we know about the cartoon. This is how the show touched our heart.

Quoting a scene in that cartoon,

“Good morning, Pooh Bear,” said Eeyore gloomily. “If it is a good morning,” he said. “Which I doubt,” said he.
“Why, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can’t all, and some of us don’t. That’s all there is to it.”

These are just some of the lines that describes a typical character from the cartoon show Winnie The Pooh, which depicts a vague, melancholic, and gloomy character in life. Yes! It's none other than Eeyore, an old stuffed grey animal, technically known as Equus asinus.

It was difficult for me to search over an article that contains Eeyore's being as being a pessimist. Fortunately, I found an article entitled "Do you have Eeyore syndrome?", however it wasnt purely about Eeyore's pessimism, but the author Derrich Tupper was able to point out proper comprehension on Eeyore's being


The author stated different facts on how Eeyore viewed life. He stated that Eeyore was too pessimistic about life that he can even take a positive situation into negative. It's like you wait for every fruit to sour. The joy of life gets stolen from you simply because you control your perspective, that is to turn everything into negative.

Also, there comes a point in our lives that we just justify our negativity. In this case, Eeyore became pessimistic in order to avoid disappointments. To some, it was thought as a wise self protection, but the author concluded that it was just a negativity disguised as wisdom. It was quite a defense mechanism, however it deprives one with the joys of life.

The author added that Eeyore's pessimism makes one to be blind to the true things in life. At some point, a pessimist exaggerates everything to think that everything's a mess when the truth is it isn't after all. This is just why pessimists have developed a self belief of impairment to the point of giving up.



On the same way as Eeyore is a fictional character, popularized by the movie, "How Grinch Stole Christmas".

"Hate, hate, hate. Hate, hate, hate. Double Hate. Loathe entirely!"

Yes! He was the one who disguised himself as Santa Claus. He was the one who tried to sabotage the Christmas by ruining decorations and by taking away presents. He is hairy, anti social, and green in complexion.

He is none other than "Grinch"

It was again unfortunate that there was just one article which is entitled "Are you a grinch or Santa Claus" that somehow defined Grinch as a pessimist.

As stated in the article, pessimism just as the Grinch is, isn't actually a birth acquired trait.  It's actually from the building of lifestyle of an individual. It is also added that pessimism is a breeding ground of envy and malice. If that is so, then this disposition is just a fruit of their experiences.

The author also added that the Grinch couldn't stomach other people’s happiness. In the movie itself, he found a way to sabotage the Christmas fest. Grinch started alienating The Who's friends and family, since not everyone is just like Max who’d stick with you even if you are pain in the ass to them. Pessimism does that in real life too, when life offers you all the joy, it is completely ironic how a pessimist try to ruin and take away other people's happiness.

"The pessimistic mind might think there’s no use changing, but remember even the Grinch had a change of heart in the end. A Grinch too can turn into a Santa Claus."

The author ended his article by telling that there is a possibility for pessimists to turn out into optimists. It just gave a reflection that every perspective leaves no permanent disposition. It is just all in the state of mind. It is just in the way of how people view their actions. There is a possibility of a pessimist to have a change of heart. There is a possibility to change the disposition in life. 

Summing up both articles, it was creative enough to have arrived at such fictional characters in which may have a better approach to the viewers. I was dumbfounded to have thought that these fictional characters were just spices to make the story interesting. Until I arrived at this research, I concluded that the use of pessimism at fictional characters was intended to catch up a special interest with the viewers.It made us exposed to this viewpoint in life. May it be for the adults who might be sympathizing the same situation, or for children who might encounter later on their adulthood. Both characters left us a lesson on how one should value pessimism. As of these characters, there were complexities in their being. It is evident that pessimism leaves us in every negativity, but like a Grinch who had a change of heart, this pessimism may turn out to be optimism too!