32 pages • 1 hour read
Dav PilkeyCaptain Underpants
Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Good Will Triumph Over Evil
Throughout the novel, Pilkey suggests that good will triumph over evil both on a personal and societal level. On a societal level, Captain Underpants—with the help of George and Harold— triumphs over criminals, although often in a way which is humorously haphazard and accidental. Captain Underpants stops the robbers from leaving the bank, warning them that if they do not surrender, he will “have to resort to Wedgie Power!” (63). The robbers are so amused that they “dropped their loot and fell to the sidewalk screaming in hysterics” (64). This allows the police, who arrive at the scene soon afterward, to arrest the robbers.
Good also triumphs on a societal level when Captain Underpants, George, and Harold save the world from the explosion of the moon.
On a more individual level, Captain Underpants epitomizes all that the novel represents as valuable: silliness, creativity, and humor. He maintains his hold on Krupp’s psyche; his humor and silliness triumph over Krupp’s cruelty, harsh discipline, and love of the status quo.
Good also prevails when Mr. Krupp’s plan to keep George and Harold as indentured servants fails. Instead, the boys swap the videotapes and go “back to their old ways, pulling pranks, cracking jokes, and making new comic books” (118). The “good” traits of mischief and silliness triumph over the “bad” traits of conformity, bullying, and discipline, as epitomized in Mr. Krupp.
Mischief and Silliness Are Essential to Childhood
George and Harold—who epitomize mischief and silliness—are characterized as likable characters. They are creative, have a sense of humor and entrepreneurial bent. Pilkey represents these qualities as positive forces and essential to childhood. He suggests that children must resist the forces of discipline and conformity, embodied by the antagonist Mr. Krupp, and maintain their sense of fun and mischief.
Pilkey admits that although George and Harold were perhaps not “sweet and lovable,” “they were good nonetheless” (3). The implication is that their intrinsic goodness is not negatively affected by their pranks and jokes.
Mischief is represented as having humorous, and largely positive, results. In Chapter 1, illustrations show George and Harold changing the sign reading “Pick your own Roses,” to “Pick our Noses!” (3). At the school football match, George and Harold’s preference for mischief and silliness is clear in their pranks: they put pepper in the cheerleaders’ pompoms, bubble bath in the musicians’ instruments, spider monkeys in the lemonade, itchy cream in the footballers’ muscle rub, helium in the football, and glue the toilet doors shut. Their tendency toward mischief is also clear when they successfully manage to hypnotize their principal into returning the incriminating video of them. The boys’ naughtiness results in the comedic transformation of Mr. Krupp into Captain Underpants.
Pilkey pairs mischief with individuality and creativity, as seen in George and Harold’s comic book series. Mischief, in fact, fuels their creativity. It also has entrepreneurial rewards, suggesting that as adults, George and Harold might make good businessmen—“whenever they got a chance, Harold and George would sneak into the office and run off several hundred copies of their latest Captain Underpants adventure. After school, they sold their homemade comics on the playground for 50 cents each” (8). In all cases, mischief and silliness result in humorous, benign outcomes.
Adults as Villainous Antagonists
If George and Harold epitomize youthful joy and the benefits of not being overly serious, Mr. Krupp embodies discipline, cruelty, and a strict adherence to the status quo. He is depicted as the epitome of the villainous adult, opposing what brings George and Harold, and by extension all children, happiness and joy. Despite working in a school: “He hated laughter and singing. He hated the sounds of children playing at recess. In fact, he hated children all together” (18).
Krupp is the opposite of George and Harold. George and Harold are carefree and full of mischief. Krupp is mean and stern. George and Harold love producing their comic book, which is beloved by their peers. Krupp “especially hated those awful Captain Underpants comic books” (19). An illustration in Chapter 4 depicts Krupp watching George and Harold selling their comics from his office window wearing an expression of rage and fury. Accordingly, this chapter is entitled “Mean Old Mr. Krupp” (17).
Krupp believes that children should be subservient to him, and loathes individuality, creativity, or silliness—“he hated their pranks and their wisecracks. He hated their silly attitudes and their constant giggling” (19). Krupp’s preference for humiliating discipline is clear in his desk, which bears the sign “kneel here” (37). This reveals Krupp’s attempt to establish himself as a terrifying leader. It also implies that children often beg him for mercy, as George and Harold do after discovering the incriminating video footage: “George and Harold leaped out of their chairs and fell to their knees [...] ‘Please have mercy,’ the boys cried. ‘We’ll do anything!’” (37).
Krupp illustrates his cruelty when he exploits his position and pressures Harold and George into doing a number of exhausting and demeaning tasks, such as ironing his tie, chopping his fingernails, moving his lawn, cleaning his car, and painting his house. Poetic justice is achieved when Krupp is transformed into Captain Underpants; in this role, he embodies the childhood silliness which he so despises as Mr. Krupp.
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