Throughout my childhood, I have watched all sorts of cartoons, from Tom and Jerry to the Pink Panther, nearly everything on Cartoon Network from Dexter’s Laboratory, PowerPuff Girls, and Jonny Bravo to Scooby Doo and the Flintstones, Topcat, etc. When I came home from school everyday there was always CITV with a range of its own. GMTV during the weekends and holidays. All of them had captivating characters with interesting stories and memorable moments. They played an important role in my childhood because they inspired me to draw characters of my own and tell stories. I had a happy childhood because of them. But none of them made an impact on me as Wile E. Coyote.
He resonates with me on so many levels.
So what is he all about?
Wile E. Coyote wants to eat the fast bird Road Runner, but things keep going wrong for him.
There are some laws in life we cannot escape, such as the laws of nature, the law of gravity, the laws of physics. But there is one law he is a victim of and he can never shake off is the Murphy’s Law. Anything that can possibly go wrong, does go wrong, in the worst possible moment, and sometimes, only gets worse. The tragedy is he cannot escape from it no matter hard hard he tries. On many occasions absurd things happen that turn against him and he still loses. Such as cutting a rope bridge and then the cliff falls instead. He’s that unlucky.
One might look at Wile E. Coyote and call him a loser. But he isn’t. A loser is someone who gives up easily, doesn’t persist, or doesn’t try hard enough. A feckless individual. But Wile E. Coyote is nothing like that. His drive, determination, and unwillingness to give up is what makes Wile E. Coyote a hero. Sure, he can be careless in attempts and make mistakes, but who doesn’t? He’s so unfortunate I feel sorry for him. At the same time I can’t help but cheer him on because I want him to win. But the thing is, he himself wants to win. And that’s what inspires me about him. He doesn’t give up.
As an adult I empathize with him more and more as I look at all the injuries and all the things he suffered. He has been hit by cars, trucks, and trains. He has been crushed by boulders and blown up by bombs. He has been flattened and fallen countless times. And yet, he doesn’t give up. He is still hellbent on getting Road Runner.
After nearly every failed attempt, his prey Road Runner would go right up to him and taunt him with his iconic “Beep Beep”. He is mocking him and Wile E. knows it. Which drives him mad and even more determined. As if life was mocking him for his failed attempts. Life can be cruel.
When I look back upon my life, very little went according to plan and things went wrong most of the time. My social life, my career, my dating life. The amount of times things went horribly wrong is enough to drive anyone insane to the brink of depression. There was a time in my life when I wanted to give up. I had hit rock bottom, I was in a dark place that I thought there was no hope.
Not everyone is lucky. Not everything works out for people. Things can go wrong for so many people when it’s not even their fault. Not every person has a success story. All they can do is deal with it and move on. We are not meant to live perfect lives. And that’s okay.
After I graduated in 2008, no employer would hire me, I lost all my friends, no girl wanted to date me, I had no direction, I was all alone. There was a time when I went through all the effects of all the worst emotions at the same time:
Rejections, frustrations, heartbreaks, sadness, grief, pain, betrayal, loneliness, hopelessness, powerlessness, devastation, depression, suffering, misery. Countless people made bad decisions of which I was on the receiving end of and as a result I suffered the consequences. I thought I was never going to get out of this. I thought things were only going to get worse.
One day I was reminiscing the good times I had when I was a kid, listening to the music from the past, playing some old video games, watching movies and some cartoons, and there he was, Wile E. Coyote. Still trying no matter what life threw at him.
Of course the cartoons were made long before I was born but the message was still there.
It’s easy to dismiss him as a silly cartoon character who is “just for kids”, but the message and the philosophy behind him is so divine that even adults, such as myself, can relate to him; “Don’t give up! Keep going! Try again!”
And so I picked myself up and began a life of self improvement. Things may have went wrong but at least I was in a better place than I was before because I made the effort to change.
I continued my job search, but it didn’t go anywhere.
I started a business, but that went wrong.
I failed two karate gradings, but I carried on training.
I dated lots of girls, but the relationships didn’t develop further.
I made friends and enemies along the way.
That may have been the case, but once again, these were not as bad as the problems I had earlier. I learned from them. I gained experience. And pushed forward. But here’s the thing, things were better than they were before. I didn’t give up. I picked myself and carried on. If I wanted to I could have just given up and done nothing. But I chose not to. I chose to persevere. And that’s what Wile E. Coyote does.
One trait that Wile E. Coyote has is his flexibility and his willingness to try anything new. A mad person would try the same method over and over again expecting different results. He would set a wide range of traps to catch Road Runner. Or even buy things that would somehow enhance his speed, whether they be rockets, or just a spring. He changes his tactic every time which goes to show he is willing to try anything to get Road Runner. He has bought so many faulty items from the fictional ACME corporation that it’s amazing that he he hasn’t sued them for causing him so many injuries.
It’s amazing how indestructible he is. He could collaborate with Captain Scarlet. He might as well be his rival.
Another interesting trait Wile E. Coyote has is that he is a good artist. He can paint a tunnel on the side of a cliff. Not only does it look convincing enough for Road Runner to run into it, bit it comes to life for a moment in order to let him pass through it. Unfortunately when Wile E. Coyote himself tries to run though the tunnel he just painted, he simply crashes into the wall or a vehicle comes out and hits him. How unlucky is that. A talent that backfires on him.
Regardless, a trying man is everything. Part of self improvement is not giving up. It’s persistence. If you try and then fall, you pick yourself up and go further. You get stronger after taking every hit. Once you commit to a goal, there is no stopping you.
Overall, what Wile E. Coyote teaches us is not to give up no matter how many times you fall.
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