Charlie Brown

Everyone knows the story: Lucy keeps telling Charlie Brown he can kick the football and then pulls it away at the last moment, while Charlie Brown keeps trying because he’s just not very smart. But there are two other versions of the story. In one, Charlie Brown knows Lucy will pull the ball away but keeps trying to kick it because he has internalized everything people have said about him and believes repeated disappointment is all he deserves. In the other, he’s waiting for Lucy to grow bored and ask, “Why do you keep trying?” so that he can say, “Because I love you and am here to help you get past this.”

From the outside, it’s hard to tell these stories apart.