Before getting to know in depth the meaning of the term good-natured, it is necessary to proceed to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can say that it is a word of Latin origin that is the result of the sum of two different parts:
-The adjective “bonus”, which can be translated as “good”.
-The augmentative suffix “-achón”.
According to DigoPaul, the adjective good-natured is an augmentative of good (something with values or characteristics that are considered positive). It is said that an individual is good-natured when he has good character, is kind and supportive and is always cordial.
For example: “My uncle was a good-natured man who helped his friends and neighbors”, “Marcos is good-natured, although his clumsiness leads him to make many mistakes”, “I would like to meet an attractive, intelligent and good-natured man”.
Someone good-natured is a good person. It is about a human being who does not act with evil or with bad intention: on the contrary, he seeks that his actions do not harm others. He also tries to collaborate with others and seeks to be useful to the community.
“The Great Good-natured Giant”, on the other hand, is the title of a book written by Britain’s Roald Dahl, which features illustrations by Quentin Blake. This work was published in 1982: seven years later, it had an animated adaptation.
This work is aimed at children and young people, which begins when, one night, the good-natured giant enters the orphanage and takes the girl Sofía to the land of the giants. There the two of them will not only be happy but they will also have to face the dangerous and evil giants that exist there. Something the Queen of England will help them with.
In the comic strip and cartoons starring Garfield the cat, a character named Jon Arbuckle appears, who in our language is known as Jon Bonachón. This man is the owner of Garfield and also the dog Odie. Good-natured lives with his pets and is in love with Garfield’s vet, but his clumsiness means that he can never establish a romantic relationship with her.
The comic strips of Garfield, Jon Bonachón and company began to be published in 1978. Ten years later the animated series was released, after some television specials. In 2004, Garfield starred in his first live-action film.
However, in literature we find many other characters that we can also qualify as good-natured. One of the best known and most universal is, without a doubt, Sancho Panza, Don Quixote’s faithful squire. And it is that he is a good man, who is always next to the gentleman, who does not leave him at any time, even despite the madness he possesses…
In the same way, we cannot ignore another series of literary characters who can also be defined as good-natured. This would be the case, for example, of Jean Passepartout, who is Phileas Fogg’s servant in the play “Around the World in 80 Days”. A novel this that was published in 1873 and that was written by Jules Verne.
