FOXSYLVANIA

When all is said and done, Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog are just working stiffs, grubbing to make a buck just like you and I. Heck, they even punch in and out on a time clock, just as I used to do when working summer factory jobs! The difference is that their time clock is attached to a tree, rather than a cinder block wall…

Although Ralph and Sam are mortal enemies while on the job, it’s really just a job for them, and they are acting out their expected roles, Ralph Wolf trying to claim the sheep grazing in the field, and Sam Sheepdog thwarting Ralph at every turn, often with extreme force. Sam is easily the physical superior to Ralph, fully capable of giving the wolf a pounding, as he often does…

Now, an inevitable comparison must be made between Ralph Wolf and Wile E. Coyote. Ralph so resembles the coyote that you might think Wile E. is making a guest appearance in another cartoon series where he is battling a sheep dog rather than a road runner. The differences in drawing styles are so minimal that Ralph and Wile E. might be considered twins separated at birth who just chose different avenues of employment, with each remaining predators…

Now, the physical differences between Ralph and Wile E. are so minimal that they can easily be overlooked or discounted. Sometimes, Ralph is drawn with a red nose, whereas Wile E. isn’t. The real difference between the two is one of attitude and psychological disposition. Wile E. Coyote is obsessed with catching the road runner; it’s what he always plots and attempts to do all the time. For Ralph Wolf, catching sheep is strictly a day job, one which he engages in only after clocking in, and ceases immediately upon clocking out. Ralph has a life outside of the sheep fields, and in his off-hours doesn’t define himself in terms of absconding with sheep. Heck, he even retires after hours to a house, and is cordial and genial with Sam Sheepdog, because after all he’s just working a job, and doing what’s expected as a predator. Ralph’s job doesn’t define him, whereas Wile E.‘s does as a life calling, a mission, a total purpose for his existence…

As evidence of the surprising geniality between the wolf and the sheepdog, consider that they greet each other cordially each day upon clocking in and out, and cease hostilities completely to observe lunch break, which is also signaled by a whistle. Clearly, these two have good unions working for them…

Ralph Wolf does share traits with Wile E., and occasionally orders products from Acme! I would love to own stock in that company, even though many of their products are defective, or don’t work as intended. From cradle to grave, Acme has something for you to meet your every need…

Something that’s touching is the fact that Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf actually seem to respect and even care about each other. When Ralph in one cartoon came back to work one morning visibly in bad shape from the previous day’s thrashing, Sam actually advised the wolf to take the next day off! I don’t see the same element of concern between the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Arguably the Road Runner enjoys being chased, knowing that there’s virtually no chance of the Coyote’s schemes succeeding, and his being caught. At times, the Road Runner seems to enjoy taunting or startling the Coyote, although he once after the Coyote endured several falls, held up a sign indicating that he “just didn’t have the heart” to inflict another one upon the suffering canine…

Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog do talk at the beginning and end of their days to one another, whereas Wile E. Coyote can talk, but rarely does. I have upon occasion seen Ralph Wolf hold up a sign to convey his thoughts, just as Wile E. often does. I rather like the relationship that Ralph and Sam have with each other, because after all, they’re just working a job, and the mayhem on it is nothing personal…

(It all reminds me of the day I encountered Foghorn Leghorn in a henhouse…but that’s a tale for another day.)