2013-03-25
Explanation
This comic is one of SMBC'''s more poignant and philosophical entries. Two children are lying outside under the stars, and one tells the other that his uncle is "going crazy." He explains that his uncle was thought to be just odd, but turned out to be a paranoid schizophrenic who is getting worse. The child observes something unsettling: the reason everyone is worried about his uncle is that the uncle believes the universe cares deeply about his behavior -- that his actions have cosmic significance.
The comic then pivots into existential territory. The child notes that they call his uncle "crazy" because he doesn'''t accept that he'''s "just a tiny nothing in a giant indifferent cosmos." But then he acknowledges a painful irony: the rest of us don'''t truly accept that either, because if we did, we'''d be the ones going nuts. He expresses a deeply moving thought: he loves and pities his uncle, but can'''t shake the feeling that when his uncle dies, he'''ll at least think it was for a reason, while the child himself will die "wide-eyed, scared, and alone, not knowing why I'''m here or why I can'''t stay."
The punchline abruptly breaks the heavy mood. The other child mentions that the uncle buys him action figures and cookies, and the first child coldly responds, "Then I guess he'''ll die alone too" -- suddenly abandoning all his philosophical empathy in favor of petty jealousy over cookies and toys. The votey panel reinforces this comedic deflation, with one child asking "Also are you sharing those cookies?" The joke is that even the most profound existential reflections are no match for childhood materialism.