Homer Jay Simpson is one of the most famous cartoon characters and very much liked by children and adults throughout the world. Children of every age are fans of Mr. Simpson and they can’t wait to see him on television. Homer Simpson is not a real life character, but a fictional cartoon character who appears in the series The Simpsons. On the television show, Homer and his wife Marge have three children: Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, lazy, a heavy drinker, and ignorant; however, he is essentially a decent man and fiercely devoted to his family. Although, he has good intentions of being a good father, his intellect and social values make him a poor father figure. Homer Simpson had many of these traits, but his attitudes and behaviors were often negative influence on his children.
A good father is a pillar of strength, support and discipline and makes all the difference in a child’s life. A good father’s work is also endless and, oftentimes, thankless, but in the end, it can be reflected in the sound, well-adjusted children he raises. Being a good father also means being a stable bread winner. He must be able to provide for the families basic needs such as shelter, food and clothes.
In the episode Lisa's Substitute, Homer concentrates such a great amount of consideration on Bart and his battle that he can't see that his little girl is taking a substitute instructor as her new father figure. Notwithstanding when he brings an excursion with Lisa and Mr. Bergstrom, Bergstrom tries to instruct him to be a superior father figure to Lisa, yet he doesn't think he should be in spite of the way that all through the outing, she invests more energy with Berstrom than her own dad. It heightens to the point where during supper Lisa's dismal over Bergstrom's flight and Homer doesn't comprehend why she's miserable. Notwithstanding, Homer makes up for himself by perking up Lisa and Bart with some discussions which demonstrated that his heart's in the opportune spot, regardless of the fact that his mind isn't. For instance, in one episode of The Simpsons, Homer's son Bart comes home from school crying that he doesn't get all the computer games and his friends do. Many parents today will understand just what that pressure is like. But rather than dashing out with expensive presents, Homer has a foolish mind, but he is still able to retain a great amount of knowledge about very specific subjects. He often shows short bursts of amazing insight, memory, creativity and fluency with many languages. Homer is also extremely confident; no matter how little skill or knowledge he has about anything he tries to do, he has no doubt that he will be successful. Homer is an overweight, lazy and ignorant individual, but is strongly devoted to his wife and children. Despite this and his below average intelligence, Homer has shown moments of great intellect, and can be a caring parent and husband at times.
The Simpsons deals with social issues because it portrays the family and the role that the parents play in raising children. The show depicts a family where the father is not well educated, lacks some moral values, has disregard for health, but in spite of all of this, he loves his family. One reason for the show's success is how The Simpsons use different blends of personality to bring forth issues in our society. The Simpsons are made up of a set of parents and three children. Each character has its own identity, basing them on others view of people in society. Homer is the ignorant father figure who spends his days at work and nights in a bar. Marge is the typical housewife who cooks, cleans and tends to the kids. Bart is the oldest child. He is rebellious and looks for trouble. Lisa is the younger sister who is very studious and independent, and Maggi is the baby. This family mirrors many families in our society and many families deal with the same issues as the Simpson family in each of their episodes.
Let's be honest, we've all had that "Homer Simpson" associate or cohort at one point in our lives. That one person who appeared to drift through, doing as meager work as could be expected under the circumstances but then in some way or another ending up as the winner. This was highlighted in Homer's Enemy where Grimes was the encapsulation of a persevering individual who has been cheated over and over, while Homer symbolized everything amiss with America. In any case, despite everything this works on the grounds that while it demonstrated how far expelled The Simpsons was from reality, regardless it could keep some kind of connection to that same reality. Homer is not the perfect specialist and essentially the inverse end of the range of what a business would need (A quality that would be overlooked totally by the Modern Simpsons). While this is a bad habit of his, it's still a characterizing character characteristic that must be specified.
The Simpsons may or may not be the favorite television show for many, but in some way you can relate something in your life to this cartoon family. Homer Simpson’s character may not be a favorite of many, but he is a good father and does his best to provide, support and protect his family. Although The Simpsons is humorous and enjoyable to watch, it still manages to portray social and moral issues (such as love, drugs and money) through the unusual medium of a cartoon format. Many people have criticized The Simpsons for its portrayal of the father as dumb, uneducated, weak in character and morally unprincipled. Homer is all those things, but at least he is there. Homer is not effective in many of his actions and behaviors, but he loves and cares for his family.
Although Homer tries to be a good father, his lack of intellect, character and social values makes him a poor father figure. There are many fathers who have good character traits and who also are good providers for their families, but their actions and behaviors can negatively impact their overall father image. Homer’s intentions of being a good father were often overshadowed by his negative influences. These behaviors and the character that Homer portrayed on the show demeans dads that work hard.
Works Cited
McMahon, M. “What is Psychological Criticism”? Conjecture Corporation 2003-2013. Web.
<www.wisegeek.org/what-is-psychological-criticism.htm>
Warner. “The Simpsons: History”, 2007, PND, Web. <http://www.infoplease.com/entertainment/tv/simpsons.html>
