HOMER SIMPSON

Denotative:

When one gets their first glance at Homer Simpson you can't help but feel sorry for him. He is a middle-aged man that is over weight. He also has three pieces of hair on his whole head. Two pieces that show a very poor attempt at a comb over and the long zigzag strip that goes around the back of his head. His clothes are a very simple a white short sleeve polo shirt and a pair of blue paints.

Connotative:

Although Homer seems to have the simplest appearance, no one would guess that he is the most complex character on the show. For one, Homer has the role to be the father figure, which is supposed to symbolize him as a leader. Anyone that has seen this show will immediately know that Homer is a follower, not a leader. Unfortunately for Homer he is as dumb as he looks, but that is a fortunate thing for the audience. His son addresses him as "Homer" and for the most part has no real respect for him intellectually. His wife will rarely support any of the ideas that he has, but with good reason a lot of them are no good. At the same time even though he is not the most intelligent person on the show, Homer is without a doubt the nucleus of the show. It is because of his very stupid nature that viewers constantly tune in daily and weekly to see how someone of his intellect deals with various situations. One can say that he is the answer to that question that we all ask ourselves when we know the answer is something stupid, but can't help it. Like "what would happen to me if I put my hand in that electrical socket?" We know that we would die, but Homer doesn't die and we get pleasure from seeing being stupid for us. It is through a character like Homer the audience can get the comical relief in situations that no one would believe that humour would fit.

Bart - Lisa - Marge - Intro

By: Jeffrey Lyons