Oh, is that you?

Calvin and Hobbes is a contemporary comic strip that depicts the relationship between the two characters Calvin and Hobbes, whereas Calvin is the young boy and Hobbes is a tiger. This specific excerpt from the daily strip is entitled Serenity prayer. Calvin is conversing with Hobbes as he tells him what he prays for. Calvin prays for “the strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I cannot, and the incapacity to tell the difference.” The comic is a parody of the serenity prayer. The serenity prayer actually says “god grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”.  I think this comic strip is saying a lot about society. It’s relatable only when realization hits that this comic is saying the attitudes of people in society. You change what you can and the things you cannot change, it is hard to accept. The purpose this comic even exists is to draw attention to the way we should not think but it is done in a playful matter. The serenity prayer is common and with the prayer being different in the comic you automatically pick up the difference in words. It is effective in its message because it makes you read it twice. You reread the comic just to see the difference in this prayer from the actual prayer. The characters are portrayed as innocent figures and coincidently enough the innocent Calvin is the one saying the prayer. This is relevant because it is almost as though you want to take it more seriously because it is coming from him being so innocent. Also even though most times the Calvin and Hobbes comic are in color, this one happens to be in black and white. The simplicity of the color was done so your attention is not drawn to the characters more but drawn to the content of the comic. Using color could have possible taken away from the comic. The way in which it is presented says a lot as well. The comic is a satire. All the things that Calvin prays are not things that anyone with leadership qualities should say yet at the end, Hobbes is so intrigued by this prayer he says to Calvin, “you should lead an interesting life”, a sarcastic comment.  This just goes along with the fact that the entire comic is just a parody and satire of the serenity prayer.