Labels and Symbols

The trenches and the reference to the war to end all wars indicate that the scene is WWI. There are no specific labels in the cartoon, and most of it is meant to be taken quite literally (war, soldiers, etc.). The second soldier does represent the American population, as he forgets the lesson immediately after the first soldier talks about it.

Dialogue
The dialogue is the main part of the cartoon. The message comes straight from the dialogue, and the images support it. In it, a soldier talks to another soldier about how he hopes the horrors seen in WWI will prevent other wars in the future. This is obviously ironic, as the reader knows that several other wars will be fought afterwards. The dialogue even quotes a famous phrase from H. G. Wells, The war to end all wars, a phrase that is now only used sarcastically.

Target/subject
This cartoon was published exclusively in The Economist. Therefore, this cartoon was obviously targeted at an educated audience, or the type of audience that would subscribe to The Economist.

Message
The main message of this cartoon is that the Americans have forgotten the horror of previous wars, and fail to learn from the past. Although we saw and experienced the horrors of numerous wars, we continue to involve ourselves in foreign conflicts. The illustrator is criticizing the USs aggressive foreign affairs.

Imagery
The cartoon displays a war zone. Trenches, explosions, biplanes, barbed wires, and the horrors of no-mans land are all clearly visible. The comic attempts to display the repulse of the carnage that the soldier mentions in the dialogue, and successfully does so. Explosions are present in almost every panel, further emphasizing the horrors of war.