sleep, that's where i'm a viking

[crystalcakes]

okay, this is a quote from ralph wiggum on the simpsons.

what do you think this quote means?

[Greg Nog]

That his ability to sleep is comparable to the savagery of the Vikings in its skill and focus.

"Viking" is here used as a synonym for "Champion"

And that's what Ralph Wiggum means to me.

[crystalcakes]

this may be premature but i just want to say THANK YOU GREG!! and i agree with you.

[Greg Nog]

Was this to assist in settling an argument of some sort?

[crystalcakes]

Was this to assist in settling an argument of some sort?

yes!  

i will go ahead and say it.  but people, be honest and say why you thought it was funny.

several people told me today that the humor in that joke is that in ralph's dreams, he is a viking.  firstly, i don't see that at all and secondly, i don't think that would be funny.  i am being driven crazy by this.

[cool banana]

Yeah, I don't like Ralph at the best of times but I just laughed at the general 'randomness' of the comment - and that in his dreams he is a viking. It's pretty surface level.

[YojimboMonkey]

I like Greg's interpretation.

Here's another, though inferior, one.  Instead of "a Viking" he might be saying "a-Viking" as in "going a-Viking" which means you're becoming a raider.  So maybe he's going a-Viking in the realm of sleep, like a mildly retarded Freddy Krueger.

[dieblucasdie]

Yeah, I've always taken it that he literally has dreams about being a Viking.

[FreddyKnuckles]

no, greg is right

[jebreject]

D +

[dieblucasdie]

no, greg is right

It's funny, because I used to think so, then I re-watched that ep recently, and came around to my current way of thinking.

[El_Josharino]

I'm with Greg on this one.  I hadn't even thought that there might be other ways to interpret it until this thread.

[cool banana]

I'm with Greg on this one.  I hadn't even thought that there might be other ways to interpret it until this thread.

I'm still not sure I understand why that's funny.

[crystalcakes]

I'm with Greg on this one.  I hadn't even thought that there might be other ways to interpret it until this thread.

I'm still not sure I understand why that's funny.

because he is ralph and he's incompetant it's funny to hear that sleep is one thing he's great at.

i still can't figure out how this new way is funny.

i am VERY surprised that there have been two different interpretations all along.

[cool banana]

but I don't see how being 'a viking' means he's good at it. Surely it's just a random comment about how in his dreams he is a viking?

I thought Greg was joking, I didn't realise that was apparently a possible reading of it and even now it feels like a stretch.

I don't think either way is very funny, really.

[Wally]

were you picked on by vikings as a child?

[Greg Nog]

It never even occurred to me that he might mean he's a Viking in his dreams.  It kind of blew my mind to read that, actually.

But I think my original interpretation is correct, because of the context:

RALPH: Miss Hoover?
MISS HOOVER: Yes Ralph, what is it?
RALPH: My worm went in my mouth and then I ate it.  Can I have another one?
MISS HOOVER: No Ralph, there aren't any more. Just try to sleep while the other children are learning.
RALPH: Oh boy, sleep! That's where I'm a Viking!

So the Viking comment seems to be meant as a contrast to his earlier failure; Ralph's essentially saying, "At last, this is my time to shine, to show where I can excel."

[morgan]

I don't really know much about The Simpsons, but I do know that when I read the title of this thread, I had the same thought process as Greg.  That is all.

[dumbfish]

I've always assumed he dreamt of being a Viking.  As for the counterargument that this interpretation makes the comment a non-sequitor, I say:

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

Saying random funny stuff is the Wiggum kid's essence.  It would be more out of character for Ralph's comment to fit into context than to not.

And if you really wanna press the issue, the two interpretations might not be so different:  In his dreams, he's out sailing the seas and pillaging, which is awesome, rather than sitting in class eating worms 'n' boogies, which is not.

[Andrew_TSKS]

greg's interpretation = overthinking it.

blucas/cool banana's interpretation = the only one that actually makes sense.

[FreddyKnuckles]

no, greg is still right

[C of heartbreak]

See, I don't think it's that funny if he just means he dreams about being a viking. But I do think a big part of humor is how things sound vs how they're meant, so on a meta-humor level I think it works pretty well being ambiguous like that, whereas if it were clear what he'd said we wouldn't even remember the line.

[morgan]

Like I said, I had the same thought Greg did when I first read the title, without even thinking about it.  I'd say that's not 'over-thinking'.  Just sayin'!

[Andrew_TSKS]

weird.

i bet you could come up with some kind of pop-psych test that would divide the entire world into two categories based on which interpretation of this quote you think is correct.

[Greg Nog]

I mean, I like that it works either way, and who am I to judge, and all.  But part of what I enjoy about my interpretation is the use of Viking as a synonym for "one who excels."  It's definitely entered my own personal lexicon, that way; like:

"Hey, man.  Want to eat some fries?"
"Eating fries?  Hell yeah!  That's where I'm a Viking!"