A small pie dish with a fan of brown paper feathers beside a round pink timer.

Original artwork, not a still

Sally Brown

Anyway, why should I give thanks on Thanksgiving? What have I got to be thankful for? All it does is make more work for us at school.

— A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ‧ 1973

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Sally measures the holiday against its immediate effect on her own life: more schoolwork. That practical complaint interrupts the expected expression of gratitude. Her questions give a child’s local inconvenience the power to challenge the larger demand that everyone should feel thankful on schedule.

Context reviewed

Share this quote