Pooh
Winnie the Pooh is often described as 'a bear of very little brain', however this in no way detracts readers from Pooh. The bear of very little brain is amiable, bumbling, warm, loving character who's flashes of inspiration and outlook on life endear him to everyone. Pooh does on occasion show signs of being egocentric and greedy, these in no way spoil his character or outweigh his good points.
Benjamin Hoff in his book The Tao of Pooh argue's that Pooh's outlook on life is consistent with the principles envisaged by the Chinese founders of Taoism. The actual characterization of Pooh is thought to have been very much influenced by Christopher Robin and a 'childs' outlook on life and owes little to A.A.Milne.
On
Monday, when the sun is hot,
I wonder to myself a lot:
'Now is it true, or is it not,
That what is which and which is what?'
Eeyore
Eeyore was brought for Christopher Robin as a Christmas present
in 1921. The Gloomy Place, was "a very wild, tussocky, thistly field with
a suitably marshy bottom corner" and in the Pooh stories that was where Eeyore
lived.The old, gloomy, dispirited, droopy necked donkey is so blatantly egocentric
in A.A.Milne's writings that he rarely evokes much sympathy from the other
animals. His bitterly self depreciating comments and incoherent speeches make
it clear that his characterization was developed by an adult and can therefore
be attributed directly to A.A. Milne and his wife.
Despite his outlook on life Eeyore is still loved by all the animals in the forest and has great appeal to many readers who's find his comment's on life particularly apt.
Eeyore, stood by himself in a thistly corner of the forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes, he thought sadly to himself, 'Why?' and sometimes he thought, 'Wherefore?' and sometimes he thought, Inasmuch as which?' and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.
Piglet
Piglet was a gift from a neighbour of the Milne's in Chelsea and provides
the perfect foil for Pooh as his best friend. He 'finds it very hard to be
brave being such a small animal', but nevertheless shows tremendous courage.
Piglet lived in a house in the middle of a beech-tree at "Trespassers W",
an area that Piglet claimed was named after his Grandfather and was short
for Trespassers William. Piglet's characterisation is down to A.A.Milne and
his wife.
"I shall call it Pootel,' said Christopher Robin. 'Henry Pootel for short.' And just when it was decided Henry Pootel wriggled out of Kanga's arms and jumped to the ground. To his great joy Christopher Robin had left the door open. Never had Henry Pootel Piglet run so fast as he ran then, and he didn't stop running until he got quite close to his house. But when he was a hundred yards away he stopped running, and rolled the rest of the way home, so as to get his own nice comfortable colour again".
Kanga & Roo
Kanga and Roo made their fist appearance in the Pooh books in 1925, they were
purchased by A.A.Milne especially for their literary possibilities. Kanga
provides a Motherly influence and is the only 'female' among Christopher Robin's
toys.
Sadly Roo is one of the original toys that has not been preserved. His disappearance
was described by A.A.Milne in a "Birth Certificate" that he wrote to accompany
the toys on a tour of the U.S.A. Milne says Roo "is believed to be somewhere
in Sussex, but no details are available. A subsequent dog who became part
of the establishment, took him for a walk once and left him in a hollow tree,
from which he was extracted a year later. But the spirit of adventure was
now strong upon him and soon afterwards he was off again -- whether or not
with the co-operation of the dog this time is not known".
Tigger
Tigger
didn't appear in the A.A. Milne's writing until after Now We Are Six. He was
chosen with Kanga and Roo by A.A.Milne because he wanted to extend the number
of animals in his stories. Tigger is portrayed as a 'bouncy' and uncontrollable
and is cast with Roo in the part of a small child. It has been suggested that
Milne introduced 'child' characters into his stories in order to give children
reading Milne's books someone who they could sympathise with and feel superior
to.
"Excuse me a moment, but there's something climbing up your table', and with one loud Worraworraworraworraworra he jumped at the end of the tablecloth, pulled it to the ground, wrapped himself up in it three times, rolled to the other end of the room, and after a terrible struggle, got his head into the daylight again, and said cheerfully:'Have I won?".
Owl & Rabbit
Owl and Rabbit based on animals that lived in the area surrounding Milne's
Cotchford Farm, they were imaginary creations, not based on any toys that
Christopher Robin played with and given their characterisation totally by
A.A.Milne.
Owl, although cast in the traditional 'wise' role, is actually rather hard put to live up to this image as he has difficulty spelling, reading or make decisions, which is what makes him so endearing
Rabbit's character is bossy and almost entrepreneurial. He likes to take charge of situations and is good at thinking of clever plans but unfortunately not good at carrying them out successfully. His ideas also contain a certain amount of malice, like getting rid of Kanga and Tigger
"'Owl,' said Rabbit shortly, 'you and I have brains. The others have fluff. If there is any thinking to be done in this forest and when I say thinking I meant thinking - you and I must do it.' 'Yes,' said Owl. 'I was.' 'Read that.' Owl took Christopher Robin's notice from Rabbit and looked at it nervously. He could spell his own name WOL, and he could spell Tuesday so that you knew it wasn't Wednesday..."
Pooh and all the animals lived with Christopher Robin in Surrey until 1947, when complete with a passport supplied for them by A.A. Milne, they embarked what turned out to be a ten year tour of America. During this period the toys were insured by Milne's publisher for $50.000. Their tour terminated in 1956 at the American offices of the publishing company E.P.Dutton. They were then offered for display to both the Smithsonian and the Victoria and Albert Museum but both institutions declined the gift. Finally on September 11th 1987 the toys found a new home at the Central Children's Room at the Donnel Center, a branch of the New York City Library, where they are on display in a large glass case inside a room with a viewing window. They toys have been left uncleaned an unmended and look as if they are awaiting the return of Christopher Robin.
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