Wednesday 6 April 2011

E is for... Eeyore

Eeyore is the ‘grumpy old man’ of donkey-dom, and for that I am rather fond of him. He lives in the southeast corner of Hundred Acre Wood in a place labelled ‘Eeyore’s Gloomy Place – Rather Boggy and Sad’. I suspect if he was a teenager he would paint his walls black, write Poetry Full of Meaning, and listen to Pink Floyd. We’d probably have been friends. In fact, he sounds just like my first boyfriend.

Eeyore is suspicious of merriment and plain old cynical about happiness, but he has a soft heart hidden away under those wary layers. As if to emphasise this, Disney added a pink bow to his tail. He doesn’t expect a lot from anybody, so is therefore pleasantly surprised when his friends show they care. His main worries in life are losing his tail or his home – losing identity and security – so we can understand his concerns and even sympathise. Eeyore is a bit of a glass half empty sort of soul, not the sort of animal easy to strike up a jaunty conversation with, but for all that, he is rather loveable.

The Disney images of Eeyore and chums may be more wide-spread, but the original illustrations, done with such gentle style by E.H Shepard, really seem to capture the heart of the books as well as the melancholy and occasional joy that permeates through Eeyore. As much as I am familiar with the first, it is the latter that sings to my imagination.

Winnie-the-Pooh
Published: 1926
Author: A.A. Milne
Illustrator: E. H Shepard

Grumpy fact one: Waking up two hours before my alarm and then not being able to get back to sleep again.
Grumpy fact two: Stepping in a regurgitated present from the cats.
Grumpy fact three: Delayed trains. In fact, anything to do with commuting usually makes me grumpy.
Grumpy fact four: Drinks that leak in my bag, making everything smell like apple juice.
Grumpy fact five: Not being able to find a pen that works when I want to write down an idea.

Three A-Z Highlights from 'E' and 'D'
Sue at I Refuse To Go Quietly shares a fab clip of the wonderful Gene Kelly dancing on roller-skates, as she posts about Entertainers
Kit at Kit Courteney Writes shares a great story about creating Nurse Daphne Peachbloom
Oak Lawn Images shows some wonderful photos from Edelweiss to Early morning sun

32 comments:

Áine Tierney said...

Love Eeyore! With you on the grumpy over lack of pens just when you need one.

Liz P said...

I always felt bad for Eeyore as a kid because he was always so depressed and sad. I wanted to give him a big hug.

Unknown said...

Oh I love your choices for A-Z challenge! I am going to follow you so I can come back...

Unknown said...

I love Eeyore. He's one of the best characters in Winnie the Poo.

Eliza said...

I'm so Eeyore at the moment, I love him :-)

Stina said...

I love Eeyore. He was always my favorite. We still have a huge, talking Eeyore somewhere in the house. Now I have a weird desire to track him down and give him a big hug. :)

SueH said...

I like Eeyore - sometimes you just want to wallow in your own misery, rather than being told to 'snap out of it' by well-meaning friends!

Grumpy fact 1 - more irritating when you wake up really early on a day when you could have had a lie-in!

Grumpy fact 3 - been there, done that, given up work... ;-)

(and thanks for making me one of your 'highlights' today! )

SueH I refuse to go quietly!

Out on the prairie said...

Oh dear, oh my, I know this fellow well.With a deep voice it is easy for me to imitate this fellow wel. I only learned about him through Disney, but love the books and illustrations better.

Old Kitty said...

I love Eeyore!!! My favourite Winnie-the-Pooh animation episode was when Eeyore thought no-one remembered his birthday! Awwwwww what a cutie!!!!!

It's good to be grumpy! Yay! Take care
x

Summer Ross said...

Love your grumpy facts- not finding a pen that works right is at the top of my list!

Kathy said...

Hi Jayne,
Thanks for coming by my blog and for mentioning Oak Lawn Images at the bottom of today's blog. I feel honored! :-)
I, too like Eeyore. He's so sad he's cute.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I feel the same about the original illustrations. They charm my socks off. I always loved PIglet. "Oh, ddddddear dear"."

Laura S. said...

I love the original illustrations, too. Tigger is my favorite character, but you gotta love Eeyore!

Anonymous said...

Aww, I love Eyore, especially in the birthday episode someone mentioned earlier.
*laughing at the "regurgitated present from the cat" line*

Fran Hill said...

Everyone needs to be able to release their inner Eeyore at times.

RosieC said...

I think you're right about how the image of Eeyore is different in the original book than it is in more modern Disney renderings. The character in the book has more glimpses of the positive occasionally. I find Disney's portrayal to be annoyingly morose. But maybe that's just me. :)

Rosie
East for Green Eyes

Ann said...

Eeyore is my favourite!!! He is just so sweet. I have such a soft spot for Winnie the Pooh and friends. I visited the 100 acre wood last year and played Pooh Sticks but didn't see any Heffalumps.

Anonymous said...

I always felt bad for Eeyore...he's his own worst enemy, LOL!

Kittie Howard said...

I honestly don't think anyone could describe Eeyore better than you have. He's one of the best characters ever - and a great E. BTW, I kinda always thought Eeyore had a secret!

Jan Morrison said...

I've always liked Eeyore - he is quite compelling for a sad sack! The power of the victim, I guess...
Jan Morrison

Ladydragonfly1958 said...

I love Eeyore. He is my very favorite! Great post. :)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Jayne .. wonderful post - certainly reminiscent of Shephard's days .. I'm grumpy too with a head cold .. I need a hug from Eeyore I think! Cheers Hilary

Tina said...

Eeyore is my Best's favorite character, as she is a bit of an Eeyore herself. Loved this post! And your list of grumpy facts. I'm so stealing that idea for another post! Nice to meet you. Visiting from AZ Challenge!
Tina @ Life is Good

Happy Frog and I said...

I always had a soft spot for Eeyore. Also Marvin the Paranoid Android in HGTTG. Both realists I guess!

Mimi said...

Aw yes, I love Eeyore too!

Cindy said...

Eeyore.. poor donkey.

Catherine Denton said...

Eeyore is my favorite!! And I love your grumpy facts. :)
My Blog

Belle Wong said...

I've always liked the older illustrations from the books. Great post for E!

Deniz Bevan said...

Loving your characters series. I always had a soft spot for Eeyore - and definitely with the older illustrations [s]

music obsessive said...

I have a set of tapes of the WTP stories narrated from the original text by a small cast of wonderful actors (Pooh - Stephen Fry, Piglet - Jane Horrocks and so on). Eeyore is played by Geoffrey Palmer and I'll never be able to hear anybody else do it now, so utterly 'right' is his portrayal. Geoffrey was born to play Eeyore, world weary, a little sad yet braced with military correctness and just a little underlying anarchy. Wonderful!

LORI said...

The original illustrations are truly wonderful. Thanks for that reminder.

Eeyore - I know him well. :)

Carol E Wyer said...

Eeyore rocks and I'm married to him :)