Blog Post #3C

As a young child, I watched tons of cartoons on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. My favorite show, by far, was Tom & Jerry. I vividly recall a scene from that show that taught me a lesson that I later encountered again in my life. 

There is an episode where Tom, the emotionally and neurologically-damaged cat, chases Jerry and his friend, Quacker the duckling, with a lawnmower. Jerry and Quacker run into Quacker's mom and tell her about the dilemma. Momma duck then calls her husband, a large and muscular man-duck, to deal with Tom.

What I remember most vividly, however, is how man-duck ruthlessly caught Tom and annihilated his pride by repeatedly mowing Tom (with the lawnmower) against a tree to his very bones.

I learned something about ducks that day. I had always pictured ducks as docile animals until that episode. Although I hadn’t personally had a bad experience with a duck yet, I kept the idea that ducks may be homicidal in the back of my head. 

As the years passed, that scene from Tom & Jerry was remained away from my memory. Then, I had the brilliant idea of giving bread to a duck at a park. I don’t know why I did such a thing; I should have known that ducks prefer male genitalia over a silly slice of bread.

That scene upheld my lifelong belief that ducks are bloodthirsty in cartoons as well as in real life. The fear that I felt during that Tom & Jerry scene consumed me once again on that awful day at the park.

I always knew cats were evil creatures but I never suspected ducks to hate mankind.