Why Pennywise?

[-=Seeker=-]

Hi, why do you think King called his clown Pennywise? Does this name have any meaning?

[sam peebles]

Hi, why do you think King called his clown Pennywise? Does this name have any meaning?

Yes, it has meaning. Although I'm not positive, I think it is in regards to her ability to exploit people's fears, to use her glamour ability for the maximum effect. She is "pennywise", or thrifty, when it comes to terrifying and eating little children. Plus, it's an awesome name for an evil clown deity.

[Nero]

Great question and answer, I'd never thought about this :)

[-=Seeker=-]

Yes, I thought about it too ("penny-wise and pound foolish" etc.). I was just wondering, whether Stephen gave him(it) such a name bearing in mind your explanation (or something similar) or just because it's "an awesome name for an evil clown deity" (which it certainly is). I know that only King can give an exact answer but I still wanted to hear an opinion of an English speaker (my mother tongue is Russian).

[Jake Featherston]

Keep in mind that "Pennywise" was really more of a transient nickname it'd merely been using for 100-150 years, during its interaction with its human prey. Its not like the name probably had much significance to the entity itself. As I recall, wasn't there a real clown (from the perspective of the novel) named Pennywise that had come to Derry in the late 1800s, and that the entity simply found it effective (apparently) to use that person's likeness when interacting with its prey? The main reason it used the name Pennywise was probably because it didn't feel like concocting another. I imagine the author selected that name because it has the potential to sound very creepy (although there's nothing innately creepy about it, but within the context of a demonic, super-natural killer clown, it definitely comes off as creepy).

[-=Seeker=-]

On one of the Russian boards I've read such an opinion: It calls Itself "Pennywise"
in a self-disparaging way. Although it realizes It's immense power, It prefers to kill in small numbers (or even one by one). An anthill was given as a comparison: instead of pouring some gasoline on it and striking a match you're satisfied with squashing the ants up one by one... Sounds pretty far-fetched to me, actually...

As for the clown that came to Derry in 1800s and whose name and looks were adopted by It... I remember no such thing (but probably I have to refresh my memory).

[Jake Featherston]

On one of the Russian boards I've read such an opinion: It calls Itself "Pennywise"
in a self-disparaging way. Although it realizes It's immense power, It prefers to kill in small numbers (or even one by one). An anthill was given as a comparison: instead of pouring some gasoline on it and striking a match you're satisfied with squashing the ants up one by one.

Sounds like a good theory to me, actually.

[wally wonder]

some long dead guy wrote: be not penny-wise; riches have winges, and sometymes they fly away of themselves. and It is thrifty in small matters while careless of wasteful in large ones, no? maybe to do with the we all float down here phrase, becoming untethered. wasn't that an image in the movie/the book, an untethered balloon flying away? :dunno:

[Bob Ross]

I have a theory about this. It's a pretty simple theory that's completely unsubstantiated but it's mine. I think Bob Gray AKA Pennywise the Clown was a real person who made some kind of impression on It. Enough of an impression that It continues to take his form time and time again. Maybe he was some kind of child murderer who was never caught. Maybe It came across him and killed him (very much like It killed Patrick Hockstetter) and upon entered his warped mind It fed on the fear Gray's victims felt as he killed them. Perhaps this how (a) It got a taste for kid-meat so to speak and (b) maybe it took his warped soul upon his own because It somehow "related" to him.

Hey, it's possible. I still find it strange that King went as far as to give Pennywise the specific name of Bob Gray and never explained why.

[It'sNineInTheAfternoon]

Wow. I'd never even considered any of this. I feel like such an ignorant kid. My theory was just that Mr. King was just like thinking of clown names and that sounded good to him. Heh. I need to really go back and read his books more slowly and ponder. Ah, i dont do enough pondering recently.

If it makes me sound less ignorant and naive, i name a clown doll that sits on the headboard of my bed Pennywise. [Ha. Wow, i just sound more childish the longer i write.]

[Robert Gray]

It is an interesting theory but rather unlikely. The Pennywise "guise" is just that, a face It puts on when it doesn't want to terrify but attract. I know that seems odd, but a clown back in the day was more like a guy in a big purple dinosaur costume today. It disarmed. When it wants to attract Georgie it takes on a look that will get the boy to come closer. This isn't unlike when it used the sounds and smells of a carnival to try and lure Stan Uris further into the Standpipe. It also used the clown shape to try and get closer to Ben. When it doesn't need to use such devices, It doesn't bother. That is very telling in and of itself.

Look at the various attacks (successful and unsuccessful) again. Pennywise only appears now and again and always when the victims are in inconvenient places for It. When the victims are alone in some secluded area and more or less trapped, It goes right for whatever scares them worst. Examples are the bird, creature from the black lagoon, leeches, and so on. What this implies is that Pennywise isn't a first choice, buta fallback. It is useful to creep around in plain sight. The guise was clearly developed a long, long time ago based on the woodcut that Mike Hanlon showed the other Losers. This also implies something else which I will get to shortly.

It can shapechange. This is true, but it is a spiritual entity a dark God from beyond which takes on the flesh. It is a negative, "bad" thing which can sense things in the minds of others. It is particularly good at discerning fear, empty hollows, and weakness. People give it forms to take. Being spiritual creature, it lacks the context to come up with them on its own. It doesn't appear to be good at all (or perhaps incapable entirely) of reading/sensing the positive emotions and thoughts of others. This may be because it is incapable of such things itself. This means it isn't any good at taking on friendly forms. This must require a great deal more effort and come from a stock it has managed to achieve from the past. This is why it doesn't just turn into some child's parent and order it to come over. It can't do that. The clown is one of the few non-terrifying forms it has on tap. It has it practiced and is one of the few it can do without tapping into the fears of someone else.

While I like the fact you applied some critical thinking to the problem of "Why Pennywise?" I don't think your theory holds water. Human beings, no matter how vile, make no "impression." We are ants compared to this utterly alien intelligence. The most prolific serial killers in history are nothing compared to body count It has accumulated in Derry. More to the point, why It has a "taste" for kids is explained directly in the book. Their fears are simply more primal and easier to channel than the complicated stress that adults churn up. A child is frightened by something that goes bump in the night, all jagged tooth and rending claw. An adult fears financial disaster, getting fired from a job, and so on. The fears of children are thus easier to tap and manipulate. It is perfectly capable (and willing) to torment adults and eat them. Why It eats the flesh at all is bound up in the fact that to come here to the material world it must take on physical form. That comes with hunger.

Since I have disagreed with your theory, I really should come up with one of my own. I think that Sai King probably had a notion of doing something with the name "Robert Gray" when the novel started. He doesn't plot everything out in advance. He starts with situation and follows the characters from there, often knowing no more than we (the reader) do until the story is complete. As the tale unearthed itself from the rock it became clear that It was beyond (way beyond) any single name. The nature and origin of It is beyond the world. I think that the story itself revealed that the names of Pennywise and Robert Gray were nothing but affectations, masks selected for convenience but with no deeper meaning. The only name that matter is "It."

[adamdean]

There's actually a historical figure known as Pennywise; A court jester known to be mischievious and wicked. Near his home was a forked road, one path leading to the village, the other leading to quicksand and <supposedly> certain death. His chief pastime was to sit at the fork and misdirect passers by.

I doubt there's a relation, but I've always enjoyed the startling (If unintentional) similarity.

You can watch the segment about Pennywise on a show called "Castle Ghosts of the British Isles". Plays from time to time on the History Channel. It's also available on Amazon, and while the entire dvd is entertaining, Pennywise makes up roughly five minutes and you proboably don't want to buy the whole thing for that.

[DancingCorpse]

Fantastic post up above there, i agree with all of it and appreciate the depth to which you shared your thoughts.

[ZBliss]

I have an idea and it's probably a connection or me just looking too hard into it. Someone mentioned earlier that they were surprised that King gave him the name "Bob Gray" but never really explained it. Well I don't think there are any loose ends in a Stephen King novel, however the name Pennywise kinda has some similarities to his description as well as the things he says. For instance:

His eyes were described as Silver Dollars, which are coins like a Penny.

Second of all, when he was tormenting Eddie he always said something along the lines of "I'll do it for a quarter, for a dime, 15 cents for over-time" or something almost exactly like that. Well he only mentions coin values no dollars.

The last one I can think of, is during their final encounter as a group, IT offers them money, power, and supernatural lifespans. Even though it was probably bluffing, It seems likely enough that their could have been a connection.

[GNTLGNT]

Uh, coz "Poundfoolish" would be dumb...(as the attendants continue to chase Mr. Giant thru the threads, so he can receive his lithium cocktail...):laugh: