Character Clues
Character Analysis
Actions
Pippi is "so very strong that in the whole world there was not a police officer as strong as she" (1.9). Indeed, she lifts police officers—and horses and bulls and burglars. She also performs nearly every circus feat better than the performer trained for it. As she tells Annika, the Mighty Adolf may be the strongest man in the world, "but I am the strongest girl in the world, remember that" (7.55). (It's kind of a tough thing to forget.) In addition, she "quickly and nimbly" climbs a rope, plank in hand, to rescue children from a burning building (10.27).
Clearly Pippi is superhero material, especially since she generally uses her superior strength for the common good… and to put meddling adults in their place. In this way, Pippi's actions demonstrate her strong will, her commitment to her sense of justice, and her determination to live life on her terms—not the terms society dictates people must follow as they grow up.
While Pippi's actions generally meet with success, the actions taken by people who try to interfere with her way of life tend to fall flat. Nothing the teacher does is sufficient to bend Pippi to her will. Neither the policemen (who Pippi carries "down the garden path, out through the gate, and onto the street" (3.39)), nor the circus security guards (who find Pippi "impossible to budge… although they tried as hard as they could" (7.38)) are able to move her an inch.
The adults who think Pippi belongs in a children's home abandon their attempts to tame her, deciding "it would be best after all to let Pippi remain in Villa Villekulla, and if she wanted to go to school she could make the arrangements herself" (3.41). Even Mrs. Settergren, who tries to physically remove Pippi from her coffee party can't keep her from coming back again. And again. And again. "Speaking of Malin…" (9.45), Pippi says.
Their ineffective actions show that they are not quite as committed to their beliefs as Pippi, and that Pippi Longstocking will indeed always come out on top. You might also say that all of these actions taken together suggest that the exuberant spirit of youth isn't something that can—or should—be crushed.
Clothing
Pippi tends to her own clothing, including the patchwork dress that she made herself: "She had meant it to be blue, but there wasn't quite enough blue cloth, so Pippi had sewed little red pieces here and there" (1.12). Along with the dress, she wears mismatched stockings and oversized shoes.
All in all the outfit is as wild and haphazard as Pippi is, and it helps us to see that she is a free spirit while also emphasizing that she is a child living alone, with no parents to help her in such matters. Tommy and Annika, on the other hand, who have both a mother and a father at home, are dressed impeccably at all times. Annika wears "well ironed cotton dresses" (1.10), and when the kids go on a picnic, Tommy has on a white sailor suit (6.50). Of course, they do tend to get a bit dirty on their adventures with Pippi.
Pippi's clothing also comes into play during the coffee party when she makes a great effort to be stylish and well-behaved. But her attempts at sophistication, such as using a crayon to "put big green rosettes on her shoes" (9.10), make her stand out more than ever, mainly because in this new role—and this new style of dress—she's not able to settle in with the children or the adults.
Family Life
Pippi's mom and dad are nowhere to be seen. We learn that in the first paragraph ("she had no mother and no father" (1.1)), but just in case we forget, Pippi reminds us of it constantly with declarations that her "mother is an angel" (1.22) and her "father is the king of a cannibal island" (1.22). With no adult influence, Pippi is firmly in the child camp, and much like Peter Pan (who doesn't have any parents either), we get the feeling she will never grow up.
Tommy and Annika, on the other hand, come from an intact family with "a father and a mother and two charming children, a boy and a girl" (1.10). In the Settergren house, Mom and Dad are always around to make sure the kids are well-dressed (1.10), well-fed ("the bell was ringing for dinner at Tommy's and Annika's house" (5.74)), well-educated ("Of course Tommy and Annika went to school" (4.1)), and well-rested (Tommy and Annika's father comes to take them home after Pippi's birthday party, as it is past their bedtime (11.77)).
Thanks to their parents' influence, Tommy and Annika have an easy time interacting with adults and fitting into adult society—which we see at school, at the coffee party, and when their parents take them along to a tea party.