The Philosophy of Popeye

 

Popeye in his quest to be authentic -

 to act from his values and principles, 

and remain loyal to himself, his friends and community.

"I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam," declared the existential philosopher, Popeye the Sailor Man.

 "The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." - C.G. Jung

Self-acceptance that you have to embrace who you are. 

• Who am I really? 
• Who am I at the core of my being? 
• What do I really want to do with my life? 
• What will make me happy?

Psychologist Erich From wrote: "Modern man lives under the illusion that he knows what he wants, while he actually wants what he is supposed to want."

 From: Fast-Pitch-9517 

He's a stereotype of a sailor from the time. They had big forearms from handling tensioned ropes on deck all the time, which required (and continues to require) exceptional forearm strength and endurance. The sailor stereotype is also the reason for his weathered face, incomprehensible dialect, surly attitude, poor dental health, bad eye, and anchor tattoo. Naturally, being a cartoon, everything is exaggerated to comical effect.

The person believed to have inspired Popeye was Frank "Rocky" Fiegel, a tough laborer from Chester, Illinois who was always getting in fights. It was believed he could have been a professional boxer. However, he also gave out candy and treats to children, including E.C. Segar, who remembered Fiegel when he created Popeye. Fiegel was described as "[j]ust like the fictional spinach-loving mariner ... a one-eyed, pipe-smoking curmudgeon with a jutting chin."

The History of the Real Popeye

His real name was Frank "Rocky" Fiegel.

He was born in 1868, in Poland and, as a child, immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled down in a small town in Illinois.

As a young man, Rocky went to sea.

After a 20-year career as a sailor in the Merchant Marines, Fiegel retired.

He was later hired by Wiebusch's Tavern in the city of Chester, Illinois as a ‘Bouncer’ to maintain order in the rowdy bar.

Rocky quickly developed a reputation for always being involved in fighting (and usually winning). As a result, he had a deformed eye ("Pop-eye").

He also ‘always’ smoked his pipe, so he always spoke out of one side of his mouth.

In his spare time as a bouncer, Rocky would entertain the customers by regaling them with exciting stories of adventures he claimed to have had over his career as a sailor crossing the ‘Seven Seas.’

The creator of Popeye, Elzie Crisler Segar, grew up in Chester and, as a young man, met Rocky at the tavern and would sit for hours listening to the old sailor’s amazing ‘sea stories.’

Years later, Segar became a cartoonist and developed a comic strip called ‘Thimble Theater.’

He honored Fiegel by asking if he could model his new comic strip character, ‘Popeye the Sailor Man,’ after him. Naturally Fiegel was flattered and agreed.

Segar claimed that ‘Olive Oyl,’ along with other characters, was also loosely based on an actual person. She was Dora Paskel, owner of a small grocery store in Chester.

She apparently actually looked much like the Olive Oyl character in his comics.

He claimed she even dressed much the same way.

Through the years, Segar kept in touch with Rocky and always helped him with money; giving him a small percentage of what he earned from his ‘Popeye’ illustrations.

Who didn't love the cartoons??? We watched them religiously ... so funny, so moral ... each story had a good ending ... Who knew he was a real man??