Grover's Role

[GelflingWaldo]

To coincide with the release of "Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street", author Michael Davis released a list of thought-provoking questions and "discussion starters" for book clubs to go along with the book. Well, what's a better club to discuss these questions than the community of fans here at Muppet Central?

So here's one of the more interesting questions, and I'm sure it will spark some interesting discussion here:

So many of the Muppets of Sesame Street represent obvious archetypes (Bert the fussbudget, Oscar the contrarian). Grover, on the other hand, is a bit harder to pin down. Some believe he speaks for the second-born child, the one who needs to work a little harder to attention and acclaim. What do you think?

​

 

[StreetScenes]

interesting. could be. i think of grover as the kind of person who takes everything he does a little to seriously for his own good, and doesn't understand the concept of putting in the minimal effort necessary to get the job done, so no matter how small the task, he's putting in 110%. which doesn't necessarily mean he gets it right, it just means he gets flustered, stressed, and exhausted in the process.

but maybe that's just because that's the kind of kid i was--i remember being totally stressed from the homework in 7th grade. my brother wasn't phased by 7th grade--he was more like maybe ernie, who i could imagine doing a quick but good job of it and going off to play and not worrying about it.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Yeah, I'm on the same boat. I would literally slave till four in the morning over a hot homework, heh! Mainly because it the shear amount that they would give you. (It's funny because I have to wake up at five for school. ) And my brother's would just get it done in what seemed like an instant and have all this free time to do whatever.

But I was reading the book club questions and I thought that he hit it right no the mark when he said that middle children always relate to grover. Being a middle child myself I know exactly what he is talking about... The youngest one always gets the most attention and the oldest always gets extra special attention because he was the first born. And oddly or not so oddly enough, Grover has always been my favorite on the show!

 

[RedPiggy]

interesting. could be. i think of grover as the kind of person who takes everything he does a little to seriously for his own good, and doesn't understand the concept of putting in the minimal effort necessary to get the job done, so no matter how small the task, he's putting in 110%. which doesn't necessarily mean he gets it right, it just means he gets flustered, stressed, and exhausted in the process.

So, basically, my life.

I was never liked in school because it seemed like I could study for about 10 minutes and get an A. But I'm an avid reader. I didn't have to study sometimes because I already knew it.

Anyway...

I'm the firstborn, so I can't relate to Grover with middle child issues. However, I share Grover's penchant for treating even the most humiliating jobs as Important. I'm a spiritual person and I tend to believe that I'm in any job for a reason. That's how I've seen Grover. Furthermore, does he HAVE siblings? I could see middle child syndrome more if it were more apparent he has siblings. Otherwise, I can't help seeing him as an overachiever for different reasons. I tend to take "rules" very literally (it gets me into trouble a lot) and so does Grover. I'm not the type of person who can cook with "a pinch of this and a pinch of that". That kind of stuff drives me insane. I need measurements, I need objective data, I need verifiable results.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Food for thought - I'm an only and as a child I related quite well to Grover's need to please, sometimes there is alot of pressure on an only child because they are the only one, so they work super hard to keep their parents happy. So I saw a bit of that in Grover and some of that in myself as well.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Food for thought - I'm an only and as a child I related quite well to Grover's need to please, sometimes there is alot of pressure on an only child because they are the only one, so they work super hard to keep their parents happy. So I saw a bit of that in Grover and some of that in myself as well.

Gee, that's right beth! Didn't really look at it that way. It just has a lot to do with the lesson of empathy...something taught on sesame street. Putting yourself in the others peoples shoes. Its easy to look at others and to thin that have it easier. but sometimes you don't know what the other people really has to go through. Perhaps grover is something deeper that children and siblings can see on all sides?

Maybe grover is just that need in all of us to please where ever we are or Stand in life. Weather it be out boss's, parents, teachers, family or what have you... You know never wan to let the people you care about down... especially a really good customer... And that is a lot nicer then he really has to be. Just a guess?

 

[StreetScenes]

I share Grover's penchant for treating even the most humiliating jobs as Important. I'm a spiritual person and I tend to believe that I'm in any job for a reason. That's how I've seen Grover.

ah, that's a good thought. one thing that seems to be lacking and desperately needed in our society is respect for working class and service jobs. and people who work more than one job but somehow manage it. and people who change jobs and do different things over the course of their lifetimes. grover's jobs might not require years of education or training, but they're important and it's so pleasant and helpful when people care to do them well, and unneccesarily frustrating when they don't. but it's even more frustrating when they do them well and they're still underappreciated.

i think bob said in an interview somewhere that waitresses always ask him to tell grover they know how he feels, they get customers like mr. johnson all the time. as it usually actually is grover's fault when things go wrong (you! you made me miss my plane to south america!) , it must say something about his character that the effort and the hard work and the desire to please and to do things right gets more sympathy than poor mr. johnson, who gets annoyed quickly (even if he is justified).

 

[RedPiggy]

i think bob said in an interview somewhere that waitresses always ask him to tell grover they know how he feels, they get customers like mr. johnson all the time. as it usually actually is grover's fault when things go wrong (you! you made me miss my plane to south america!) , it must say something about his character that the effort and the hard work and the desire to please and to do things right gets more sympathy than poor mr. johnson, who gets annoyed quickly (even if he is justified).

Well, of the clips I've seen, Mr. Johnson tends to start in on Grover before the plot of the skit really starts. He also tends to wemble some in what he wants (sometimes, I think just for meanness so he'll have something to argue about). As someone who's been on both sides of the counter, this "I think you should do your job perfectly even though I don't do my own job perfectly" and "you're just a little servant" attitude is what gets us. Grover starts to get flustered as Johnson's temper flares, making it worse. I've always felt (though moreso now having worked in food service) that staff shouldn't be harassed unless absolutely necessary. If I'm waiting for my food and the facility is obviously not busy, I'll get upset, but I just frown and fail to tip and don't visit that establishment again until I get over it. When I went to Walmart to get Xmas presents, my credit card was denied, Visa said there wasn't any record of the transaction even being attempted (I call at the counter when stuff like that happens), and all this time, I'm trying to keep my temper in check because a technical glitch really isn't the cashier's fault. And I don't want to end up like the spoiled brats who yell at staff the moment they're inconvenienced. Life isn't perfect ... get over it.

So, I think that's why Grover gets more sympathy than Johnson. Grover tries but Johnson just can't say a nice word and has a demanding attitude.

 

[Grundgetta2800]

To coincide with the release of "Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street", author Michael Davis released a list of thought-provoking questions and "discussion starters" for book clubs to go along with the book. Well, what's a better club to discuss these questions than the community of fans here at Muppet Central?

So here's one of the more interesting questions, and I'm sure it will spark some interesting discussion here:

So many of the Muppets of Sesame Street represent obvious archetypes (Bert the fussbudget, Oscar the contrarian). Grover, on the other hand, is a bit harder to pin down. Some believe he speaks for the second-born child, the one who needs to work a little harder to attention and acclaim. What do you think?

​

I pretty much disliked Grover till I read that line in the book. Then I understood that Grover is me. I am a second born child. Hey you know what I loved? Remember when Grovers mouth was stuck together with peanut butter and the guy discussing the letter "M" had no idea?

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I pretty much disliked Grover till I read that line in the book. Then I understood that Grover is me. I am a second born child. Hey you know what I loved? Remember when Grovers mouth was stuck together with peanut butter and the guy discussing the letter "M" had no idea?

Yeah! That's too funny!