Garfield, the fat, orange tabby cat which has made us laugh with its sardonic personality, will celebrate his 38th birthday today! Here is what has endeared him to his readers over his lifetime:
Relationship with Jon
Jon Arbuckle is the quintessential bachelor. Simple-minded and unable to get a girlfriend, most of his time is spent taking care of the whims and fancies of Garfield. And Garfield essentially makes him his slave, ensuring that he always gets his attention, just like a real cat does (sorry guys, I am a dog lover). But he never leaves an opportunity to tell him how stupid he thinks Jon is.
Relationship with Odie
Garfield is a cat. Odie is a dog. While Garfield is sly and lazy, odie is simple-minded but full of energy. Complete opposites of each other but living in the same house, they have lots of hilarious confrontations. On more occasions than one, their fights and banter remind me of the sibling rivalries which run in most families
An unbounded love for sleep and food
If Garfield had created the world, there would have been no purpose to our lives other than eating and sleeping. And there would have been no Mondays! Talk about a bachelor’s ultimate fantasy!
When it comes to his appetite, there is always room for more. And no one can dare to disturb his sleep! His alarm clock has had to face his ire on more occasions than one.
Disgust of Old Age
No one likes getting old. Neither do we nor does Garfield. Over the years, if he has had contempt for anything consistently, it is old age. A birthday cake brings both joy to him (it is food after all!) and sorrow (the number of candles shows how old he is).
Garfield’s relationship with Arlene
Over the years, Garfield has had an on-off relationship with Arlene. On some rare occasions, they do hang out with each other, but when he does come back to his normal self, he never misses an opportunity to take her case.
Jon’s Attempts at a Love Life
Frequently, we are introduced to Liz, Jon’s love interest, and Garfield’s veterinarian. Smart and independent, she is the yin to Jon’s yang. It is fun and cute at the same time to see how Jon tries to woo her unsuccessfully (just like most guys) but still she sticks around.
Garfield does have some respect for Liz, many times discussing with her how hopeless Jon really is (now that he finally finds someone of his own intellectual level).
You might also like to read this:
