The humor that surrounds the character of Arnold comes from his human-like abilities and lifestyle, and from the way the people of Hooterville insist on thinking of him as a fellow human. They invite him to town meetings, they play checkers with him (and lose), and they speak English to him and can understand him when he speaks with pig squeals and grunts. New resident Oliver Douglas is the lone holdout. He tries to explain to people that Arnold is just a pig, but no one will listen to him. On the contrary, they are suspicious of Oliver, because of his inability to communicate with Arnold. This dynamic is part of a larger theme of "Green Acres", that Oliver's sense of logic is meaningless in the Hooterville universe.