Who is Homer Simpson 101: Everything You Wanted to Know
By Matteo Drelli. Updated Aug 23, 2023
Homer Simpson and The Simpsons
Homer Jay Simpson is the main character of the U.S. cartoon television series The Simpsons and the father of the family created by comic book author Matt Groening and voiced by Dan Castellaneta.
He first appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show along with the rest of the Simpson family. After the program aired for three years on The Tracey Ullman Show, the series made its debut with half-hour episodes on the Fox television network on December 17, 1989.
The series is still very famous today and is considered one of the world's most famous and widely seen works. In addition to the series, the film has become equally famous: The Simpsons Movie.
In 2000, Homer and his family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Homer Simpson, the Character
Homer is the head of the Simpson family and, with his wife, Marge Simpson, has three children, Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, and Maggie Simpson. He works at the Springfield nuclear power plant and personifies many stereotypes of the American working class: Homer has a low IQ (many call it ' Homer Simpson syndrome '), he's crude, overweight, clumsy, lazy, and ignorant; yet he is very attached to his family, and despite his routine life as a factory worker, he has had many (indeed, very many) notable experiences.
Homer Groening is the name of Matt Groening's father, who named the character after his father's name.
The character has appeared in other Simpsons-related fields, such as movies of the same name, video games, advertisements, and comic books, and has inspired an entire line of merchandise. His typical expression, "D'oh!" has been included since 2001 in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Homer is one of the most influential fictional characters on television and has been described by the British newspaper The Sunday Times as "the greatest comic book creation of modern times." He was voted the second best-animated character by TV Guide magazine and, by Channel 4 viewers, the most important television character of all time. Castellaneta, voicing Homer, has received three Emmys and an Annie. He has also been voted the greatest television character in many countries.
Who is Homer Simpson in The Simpsons?
Homer Simpson is the inept husband of Marge Simpson and the father of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Matt Groening said that Homer is named after his father. Gradually Homer became to be the stereotypical American man. He was born in Springfield to Mona Olsen, who ran away from home in the mid-1960s because of some run-in with the law (related to her hippie manifestations) and Abraham Simpson, a World War II veteran. Homer Simpson attended Springfield High School (so Homer does have a degree!) and, in his senior year, fell in love with Marge Bouvier. Marge later found out she was pregnant with Bart, and the two were married in a small church near the state line; later, Homer was hired at the Springfield nuclear power plant. Bart was born shortly after that, and two years later (when Lisa was about to be born), the family moved into their home at 742 Evergreen Terrace.
Homer and his family are always experiencing misadventures, which Matt Groening decided to tell us about. Although Homer and Marge are the parents, they are not the undisputed protagonists of the series. The events very often revolve around the children or individual characters. Homer and Bart seem to have picked up the Simpsons gene, which is to be stupid (even Grandpa Abraham is not very smart), while Lisa, Marge, and Maggie are creative, smart, and often astute. Although son Bart and Homer Simpson often argue (famous are the moments when Homer strangles Bart), the son has much in common with Homer.
Throughout the various seasons, events seem to follow no continuity. Except for a few exceptional cases (such as the death of certain characters), the stories happen over a cyclical period, going so far as to contradict and rewrite the information shown in previous seasons. Homer Simpson's past and his life also fall under this cartoon rule. For example, his age has varied throughout the series: in the first episodes, he is 36 years old, then he declares 37 and 38 in the eighth season. In the eleventh season, he is 39 (episode Kill the Alligator and Run), and he is 40 during the eighteenth, although even in those seasons, his age is inconsistent.
Homer has shown to get many jobs during the series, more than 188 in the first 400 episodes. In the episode Dad's New Badge of the 13th season, Homer lists all the jobs he has held up to the said episode. In most of these, he works as a safety inspector at the Springfield nuclear power plant, a role he has held since the third episode of Homer's Odyssey series. Homer often falls asleep while working, thus neglecting his duties; nevertheless, he is often ignored or completely forgotten by the plant's owner, Montgomery Burns (who often does not remember his name). Because of the ease with which Homer creates confusing and dangerous situations, Matt Groening decided to have the head of the family work in the nuclear power plant. The other jobs he got generally lasted no longer than one episode. In the first part of the series, an explanation is given about how Homer is fired and how he is later rehired; instead, he later chooses a new job with an impulsive gesture without any reference to the job at the nuclear power plant.
Personality, Homer Simpson Syndrome
Homer's personality and comic effectiveness lie in his frequent bouts of stupidity, laziness and explosive anger. He has a low level of intelligence, described by director David Silverman as "creatively intelligent in his stupidity." Homer also shows deep apathy toward work, is overweight and is "devoted to his stomach." Matt Groening describes him as "completely dominated by his impulses," while Dan Castellaneta described him as "a dog trapped in a man's body," adding that "he's incredibly loyal, not entirely honest, but you have to love him." His limited attention span is evidenced by the impulsive decisions with which he engages in hobbies and various enterprises, except to "change his mind when things are not going well." Homer often spends evenings drinking Duff beer in Moe's tavern and, as shown in the fourth season episode, No Beer for Homer, is an alcoholic.
Homer Simpson is envious of his neighbours, the Flanders family. He is easily enraged at his son Bart: Homer often strangles him impulsively in the cartoon way, and the first time this happens is in the short Family Portrait. Matt Groening determined that Homer Simpson can only strangle Bart impulsively, without premeditation, and it must be a very quick action. By the way, originally, Groening had thought of "always having something happen to make him pay or have Bart strangle him in turn," but they discarded this idea. Homer has no modesty in expressing his anger and does not try to hide his actions from people outside the family. Although he has upset several people and caused all kinds of havoc to the town of Springfield, these events are generally the result of a lack of foresight or anger rather than malice. Except for expressing his annoyance with Ned Flanders, Homer's destructive actions are generally done without voluntariness.
Homer has a complex relationship with all three children: he often scolds Bart (even strangling him), although the two often share adventures and are sometimes allies; since Homer and Lisa have opposite personalities, they do not feel close. Homer would like to get closer to Lisa and often overlooks his daughter's potential. He does everything he can to help her when he realizes her negligence; he often forgets that Maggie exists, although he has tried to bond with her. The first word spoken by his daughter was "dad."
Although his thoughtless acts often embarrass his family, Homer has also tried to be a caring father and husband: in the episode Lisa the Beauty Queen (season four), he sells his prized ride on the Duff blimp and uses the money to enter Lisa in a beauty pageant so that she would feel better about herself; in the episode The Care Bear (season five) he gave up a chance to get rich so that Maggie could keep the precious stuffed bear; in the episode Radio Bart (season three) he led an attempt to retrieve Bart after the boy had fallen down a well and in the episode Two Hearts Two Huts (season eight) he arranged a second surprise wedding with Marge to make up for their unsatisfactory first ceremony. In contrast, Homer does not have a great relationship with his father, Abraham Simpsons, who was put in a nursing home by his son as soon as he could. Everyone in the family does their best to avoid any contact with his grandfather, but Homer has occasionally shown feelings of affection toward his father.
Homer is "a happy slave to his various appetites" and would sell his soul to the devil in exchange for a single doughnut. Despite having an empty mind, he can retain much knowledge on specific subjects. However, the short periods of intelligence are clouded by longer and more constant periods of ignorance, forgetfulness and stupidity. Homer has a low IQ, around 55, which has been attributed to various facts, including the presence of the Simpson gene (found only in male Simpsons), alcohol addiction, exposure to radioactive waste, repeated head trauma, and a wax crayon lodged in the frontal lobe of his brain. In the twelfth season episode HOMR, Homer underwent surgery to remove the wax crayon from his brain, increasing his IQ to 105. Still, although he matched with Lisa, his new learning abilities made him unhappy.
Therefore, he asked Moe Szyslak to reinsert the crayon so that his intelligence would return to the previous level. Homer's brief periods of intelligence are overshadowed by ignorance. Homer often argues with his mind, which is rendered as a voice-over. His brain often gives him advice that sometimes allows him to make the right decision, but on several occasions, it fails, causing Homer Simpson to take the wrong action. Sometimes, his brain is completely frustrated and, thanks to the sound effects, gives the impression of running away. Homer's conversations with his brain were used many times during the fourth season but were later phased down after the producers had "used every possible variation of the theme." These exchanges were introduced because they served to fill time and were easy for the animators to deal with.
In the eighth season episode of Homer's Enemy, the writers decided to examine "what it would be like to work alongside Homer Simpson." The episode explores what might happen if a realistic character with a strong work ethic named Frank Grimes were in the same work environment as Homer. Homer is portrayed as the common man in the episode and represents the American spirit. However, in some scenes, his negative characteristics and stupidity are increased. At the end of the episode, Grimes, portrayed as a diligent worker, is relegated to the role of antagonist. Thus the viewer empathizes with Homer and is satisfied that he has emerged as the winner.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Heavy Is Homer Simpson?
Homer Simpson is around 140 kg (240 pounds). People with a BMI over 30, like Homer, are considered obese. Weight and consistent periods of ignorance are the protagonist's most important problems.
What Is Homer Simpson's Dad's Name?
Homer Simpson's father's name is Abraham. Name of the members of his own family: Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Abraham and Mona.
How Old is Homer Simpson?
The age of Homer Simpson is one of the things that cannot be known for sure. Certainly, however, it is around 40 years old.
Homer Simpson Quotes
Here are some of Homer Simpson's most famous quotes.
- To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.
- I’ve learned that life is one crushing defeat after another until you just wish Flanders was dead.
- Marge, you know it’s rude to talk when my mouth is full.
To see more Homer Simpson quotes, we recommend visiting the Homer Simpson Quote section in Quotes Analysis.
We hope we have been helpful to you in this "Who is Homer Simpson" article, and we hope you have a better understanding of who this amazing character of the animation world is!
