Summary
“I hate Mondays” is perhaps the most iconic and well-recognized quote from Jim Davis’Garfieldcomic strip. The quote’s been slapped on coffee mugs, water bottles, and t-shirts, as it’s a sentiment that practically everyone can relate to. However, upon reading the comic itself, it seems this quote may have been taken out of context a bit. To be sure,Garfield hates Mondays, but one thing people may not know is that he has more of a reason to hate Mondays than most, because Mondays hate him back.
Most people hate Mondays because that means they have to go to work or school after a nice weekend break. However, Garfield hates Mondays because it’s a day when bad things tend to happen to him. Truly,Garfield has the worst luckon Mondays, to the point where he’s putting himself in danger just by getting out of bed in the morning - and sometimes even sleeping in won’t save him. Everyone knows that Garfield hates Mondays, but they surely didn’t understand it until they’ve read these10 hilarious comics about Garfield hating Mondays.
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10Garfield’s First “I Hate Mondays” Gag Marked a Historic (& Hilarious) Moment for the Series
Garfield, 9-18
The horrendous relationship Garfield has with Mondays had to begin somewhere, and in this case, it began with Garfield wrapped up in window blinds. After playing with the blind cord while sitting in the window (as most cats do),Garfield accidentally gets a toe caught in the loop, is pulled up into the blinds, and gets trapped in them.
It’s this moment of bad luck that inspired Garfield to say the iconic words, “I hate Mondays” for the first time. By doing so, it seems Garfield somehow invoked the wrath of some ‘Monday God’, because he hasn’t had an easy start to a standard work week ever since. And it’s not just that Garfield suffers the consequences of his own actions, there are cosmic forces at work in some of these comics - and it all started right here.
9Garfield Doesn’t Need a Calendar to Know It is Monday
Garfield, 3-25
Ever since first getting wrapped up in the window blinds, Garfield and Monday have been on bad terms, and Garfield continues to suffer for it. In fact, it gets so bad that Garfield doesn’t even have to look at a calendar to know that it’s Monday, he just has to wait for something randomly bad to happen to him to know exactly what day of the week it is. In this case, Garfield steps on a box, and it pops him in the face - an immediate indication that it is, indeed, Monday.
Mondays and misfortune have become so intertwined in Garfield’s life, that one seemingly cannot exist without the other. A Monday can’t happen without Garfield suffering bad luck, and if he runs into some bad luck, then it must surely be Monday - which is definitely a far-stretch more than a relatable ‘Monday experience’.
Garfield, 6-15
This comic is one of the first times readers see that Garfield isn’t crazy, ‘Monday’ really is out to get him. In the previous strips, it could be argued that Garfield is merely suffering the consequences of his own actions, and just blames Monday. However, in this strip (and many subsequent ones), Garfield is literally doing nothing, yet Monday still finds a way to make him suffer.
Standing in an open field, bracing himself for the bad luck Monday brings, Garfield makes every effort to avoid anything that could go wrong. Then,a piano falls out of the sky right on top of Garfield, which confirms the violent extent of Monday’s hatred for Garfield, and proves that Garfield really does have the right to hate Mondays more than most (something fans wouldn’t have understood from the iconic quote alone).
Garfield, 8-3
Not only does Monday seemingly conjure a falling piano to crush Garfield, but the obviously wrathful day of the week also seems perfectly capable of breaking the laws of nature just to mess with the orange cat. In this comic, Garfield walks over to his water bowl for a drink, only to find that it’s become shark infested. That doesn’t even make sense, and totally goes against the conditions sharks need to live, even if they were small enough to fit in the bowl.
More than anything, it’s impossible for a shark to find its way into Garfield’s water bowl by itself, let alone two, and even if they did, they would surely die soon after for a number of reasons. In other words,Monday literally had to break the laws of nature just to ensure Garfield suffered- in a truly bizarre way, at that.
Garfield, 5-28
One Monday, as Garfield is lying in his bed, cursing the day of the week, Jon approaches his lazy cat and tells Garfield that he doesn’t understand why he hates Mondays so much. In Jon’s mind, Garfield should have no reason to hate Mondays. He doesn’t have a job, he doesn’t go to school, and he has no responsibilities that come with the start of a new week. And then, Jon sees with his own eyes how Monday really is out to get Garfield.
Out of nowhere,flying right past Jon, comes a pie that strikes Garfield square in the face. This happens immediately after Jon questions Garfield about him hating Mondays, and after witnessing this impossible phenomenon for himself, Jon - like everyone reading the comic - finally understands: Mondays really hate Garfield in an almost supernatural sense.
5Not Even Staying in Bed Can Save Garfield from the Wrath of Monday
Garfield, 2-1
It seems like Monday is so hellbent on making Garfield suffer, that no amount of preparation can save him. Standing in a field isn’t safe, talking with Jon isn’t safe, and even trying to get a drink of water isn’t safe. So, in this comic, Garfield decides that he’s just going to spend his entire Monday in bed. Unfortunately, as many would assume, that, too, wasn’t safe.
AsGarfield is lying in bed, a storm cloud forms over him. Rain and lightning are raging above him, soaking his bed and leaving him at risk of deadly electrocution. While it’s been firmly established that Monday has no problem bending the laws of nature to mess with Garfield, this is admittedly a bit much. Sure, the sharks and pies are dramatic, but this removes Garfield’s one safe space, which is especially grim.
4Even When Garfield Tries to Like Monday, Monday Doesn’t Reciprocate
Garfield, 9-6
While Garfield has held a firm stance on Mondays ever since first getting rolled up in the window blinds, he eventually decides that hating a day of the week isn’t worth the energy anymore. Garfield wants to be happier, and that means being more optimistic, and more loving toward everything and everyone - including Monday. However, as shown in this comic, Monday does not reciprocate.
Even when Monday pours rain down upon Garfield as he’s trying to turn his life around and be a less cynical cat, Garfield still holds on to his goal for the week. Rather than saying “I hate Mondays” after getting caught in the rain, Garfield says, “Now I’m only fond of Mondays” after proclaiming how much he loves Mondays right before leaving the house. Even whenGarfield offers Monday love, it answers with hatred.
3Monday Hates Garfield So Much, It Conjures Literal Monsters to Torment Him
Garfield, 7-21
It seems pies, pianos, and sharks aren’t enough for Monday to ensure that Garfield has the worst day possible, as this comic strip shows that this (apparently quite evil) day of the week also has no problem conjuring literal monsters to torment Garfield. When Garfield wakes up this Monday morning, he finds that he’s surrounded by giant, green monsters. Garfield quickly hides back under his covers, commenting to himself, “Mondays are losing their subtlety”.
While this comic (like many others) could be taken metaphorically, it’s much more interesting if one looks at it literally. “Mondays are losing their subtlety” becomes a much more terrifying comment if one looks at it as Garfield talking about a person (or deity) as opposed to a day of the week, especially since’Monday' is clearly out to get Garfield, and isn’t afraid to conjure monsters to do so.
2Mondays are Quite Literally the Stuff of Garfield’s Nightmares
Even when Garfield is asleep, on a day that doesn’t even have to be Monday, he is still tormented by Mondays. This comic strip gives readers a glimpse into Garfield’s subconscious mind, including his all-time worst nightmares. Among them are scenarios including dealing with Odie’s slobber, getting visits from Nermal, owning a can opener that doesn’t work, and - worst of all - experiencing “The Monday That Wouldn’t Die!”.
It’s interesting that Garfield’s nightmare didn’t say “The Monday That Wouldn’tEnd”, but instead, “The Monday That Wouldn’tDie”, implying that ‘Monday’ really is alive, using its otherworldly powers to torment Garfield - that would explain all the impossible strokes of bad luck. But, even without reading into the dream itself, the fact that he was even havinga nightmare about Mondays at all proves Garfield’s never safe from this cursed day of the week.
1Garfield Makes Readers Understand Why He Hates Mondays
Garfield, 11-15
While most of these comic strips featuring Garfield experiencing impossibly horrible Mondays imply that the day of the week itself is out to get him, this comic strip shows Garfield himself breaking the fourth wall to tell the reader directly exactly what’s going on here. Garfield explains point-blank that he hates Mondays for one reason: Mondays hate him. He says this after experiencing yet another stroke of bad luck, thereby proving his point in real time while telling anyone who will listen the truth about the horrors he’s experiencing.
There’s nothing to even read into here.Garfield is telling everyone that Monday is out to get him, and there’s literally nothing he can do but endure and return its hatred with hatred of his own. Indeed, after looking into this a bit further, it’s clear that “I hate Mondays” isn’t just a relatableGarfieldquote, it’s a battle cry, one that most people didn’t understand - until now.
Garfield
Garfield is the central character in Jim Davis’s comic strip, which officially began in 1978 under the same name. Garfield is an orange tabby cat with a love of lasagna and a disdain for Mondays. He tends to torment his owner and dog while trying to secure more food - and quiet.
