Jimmy, the Hideous Penguin Boy by Tim Burton

My name is Jimmy,

But my friends just call me

"The hideous penguin boy."

This is the entire poem. At first glance it looks cruel and pointless. Then you realize it addresses nicknames associated to a person's greatest flaw. However, there is a certain hint of love involved, since it is his friends or family calling him, "The hideous penguin boy." Maybe the nickname is more interesting than his regular name. Jimmy could be an interesting person or ugly and squat.

Still the name hurts. It is meant to put down; instead of, building up a person's self image. Jimmy's friends and family must be hurtful pessimists who enjoy tearing at each other and Jimmy goes along with everyone else. Understanding Jimmy is developing an overly critical and pessimistic viewpoint on life at a young age. We should still feel sorry for him.

It is sad when people are hardly given a chance in life. Even when recognizing they have low self-esteem because they were always told how awful they were growing up, they can't help passing on the same angst they suffered from.

I am focusing on analyzing on Tim Burton's poems that I like. It is more productive. Burton has a sense of style to his writing, though focusing on the inhumane aspects of humanity. The reader has to find sweetness. Often it is buried and still bitter.

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