OConnor

Vitaly OConnor
Mrs. Olivia Rines
UWRT-1101
25th January 2015
Political Cartoons
Political cartons are a form of conversation. I remember being a child and viewing
political cartoons in different newspapers, I would always recall accumulated information Ive
heard or seen in the news or overheard from elders. But even then I never truly comprehended
the dry, crude, sarcastic etc. humor in such art until I was older. I remember the ill abstract
drawings that sometimes scared me of from further investigating a piece, the wording was
sarcastically crude and I rarely understood the ambiguous humor that so many others may have
found funny. Giving reality a unique twist to the truth we see and hear about political or social
events, political cartoons are brought to life though an ambiguous illusion of persuasion. In this
paper my purpose is to introduce you political cartoons, to be exact ill explain how one is
created, how it can be interpreted and understood. Ill also focus on what the purpose political
cartoons is.
Political cartoons are also known as editorial cartoon, pictures with a point that usually
appear funny, but have one purpose alone. This purpose is to sway the viewer into understanding
the artists point. This form of art has validated its need in our society by expressing political
thought and through visual art affecting social change. Political cartoons make the viewer think,
analyze, and understand current events. Tries to sway the viewer in comprehending the
cartoonists point of view. (Citation 4) One may see a political cartoon on the editorial page or

OConnor

comic strip page in a newspaper, political news websites etc. Political cartoons trace back to the
sixteenth century, but before they were known as amusing, witty illustrations. They were used to
get messages across to those who could not read. The first political cartoon acknowledged in
America was the Join or Die by Benjamin Franklin, it was a message to persuade the colonies
to join and survive the British or die divided. The sliced up snake represents the broken colonies,
but the concept was based on a popular superstition that a snake cut in two, if put back together
by sunset, would indeed come back to life. The bigger picture was the lost unity within the
colonies; Benjamin Franklin was trying to get the people to understand that if they were to fight
the British one colony at a time, then they would fall one by one. It was the division that was to
break them apart and a humble understanding was to save them from the unfortunate event.
(Citation 2) In the beginning political cartoons were used in a more serious manner, it wasnt till
later that comedy became part of the field.
Political cartoons are a fascinating way of showing the behind the science in political
issues or events. Humor may be found if an individual understands the issue behind the
drawing. . Sadly humor is not the soul purpose of such project, but instead it is to persuade or
manipulate the viewer to understand and perhaps take part of what the creator intends. The
persuasion breaks down in a category of its own, depending on exactly what the artist intends to
bring to life. It may be sad, happy, funny and always the truth regardless of the way the viewer
may comprehend the material. It all depends on what the purpose of the persuasion is by the
creator. One mustnt only understand this genre, there are many small significant and some
insignificant but non the less just as important when it comes to creating this genre. In this case
its to persuade a viewer to perhaps take part in understanding an event through a illustration,
simple and awkwardly directly specified (if one can understand from previous sources) or series

OConnor

of events within the topic, it may be news, random conversations about a certain accumulation of
the topic, radio, etc. Its not as much of how one receives the information, its more of the
perception and understanding they achieve from the event or issue. That allows them to
comprehend a political cartoon based on the information already known. Trace Hodgson I found
to give a very understandable accurate description. He states the following: Political cartoons
(also known as editorial cartoons) are defined as illustrations or comic strips containing a
political or social message that usually relates to current events or personalities. (Trace
Hodgson1) He goes on to state several techniques that an individual editorial cartoon artist may
use to persuade the audience. Such as Symbols, caricatures, stereotypes, analogies etc. One of
the most important things to look for in order to understand a political cartoon is to look for
widely recognized symbols. Here is a list of symbols commonly known.
Uncle Sam or an eagle for the United States
John Bull, Britannia or a lion for the United Kingdom
A beaver for Canada
A bear for Russia
A dragon for China
A sun for Japan
A kangaroo for Australia
A donkey for the Democratic Party in the U.S.
An elephant for the Republican Party in the U.S. (Citation 5)

Alone they may be simple qualities that do not fall to important or significant, but together they
stand to bring forth a beautiful form of life. Charles Press, author of Political Cartooning states

OConnor

four qualities necessary to accomplishing effective political cartons. The first according to
Charles Press is artistic quality. Artistic quality may be the last thing a viewer thinks of when
picking up the paper and smirking at the witty political cartoon, but it may be if not the most
important quality for an artist to have when bringing such material to life.
When it comes to creating a political cartoon an artist may use several methods (tools) to
get the message across. Caricatures; exaggerating characteristics for visual effect, such as big
years, . Stereotypes; refers to generalizing, and mostly always offensive. Analogies; or
comparisons, such as this is like that referring to a current well-known event or myth. Watch
out for the different labels that appear in a cartoon, and ask yourself why the cartoonist chose to
label that particular person or object. Juxtaposition, positioning people or things side by side.
Irony is a form in that an outcome of events contrary to the original expectation. It would be like
saying clear as mud, cartoonists often use irony to express opinions of an issue. Captioning
and labels is used to clarify or emphasize, usually the message at the top or bottom of the piece.
Author of Political Cartooning, Charles Press, suggests four qualities for a political cartoon to be
effective. And they are: artistic quality, genuine sentiment, uncomplicated imagery and lasting
importance.
Understanding a political cartoon is the first step in eventually creating one. In the best
instances, the cartoon cannot be read or understood by only looking at the words or only looking
at the picture. Both the words and the pictures must be read together in order to understand the
cartoonists message. In order to understand one must learn to blend. When combining the source
space with the target space of that piece of art, it creates a new blended space, space with a
combination of source space and target space. And after that cluster of the idea is cleared,
Finalized by a generic space that overviews and describes the previous three

OConnor

(source/target/blend). During the blend, one must use rules of thumb to understand the basic
meaning of the source and target. When breaking down a political cartoon, questions should
always be asked. Such as what issue is this political cartoon about?, what is the cartoonists
opinion on the issue?, what opinion can you imagine someone else on the issue?, do you find
this cartoon persuasive? If yes, why so? And if no, why not? Not all cartoons are meant for
humor, some have more depth and are done in a more serious manner. A simple cartoon with a
message of importance and direct truth may be taken more seriously by the audience, then a
jocular one with little or no true importance. Once youve identified the persuasive techniques
that the cartoonist used, ask yourself:

What issue is this political cartoon about?

What is the cartoonists opinion on this issue?

What other opinion can you imagine another person having on this issue?

Did you find this cartoon persuasive? Why or why not?

What other techniques could the cartoonist have used to make this cartoon more persuasive?
(Citation 4)
Truth in simplicity is key to this form of art. The message of a political cartoon is immediate and
constant. If one was to read a form of truth in a form of illusion, then pick up a political cartoon
and take a look at the disturbing, odd, manipulating, captivating dramatic image. That viewer is
more than likely remember the drawing over the words he/she read. Form of art as such simply
strikes in a more peculiar way. Leaving the viewer thinking twice, perhaps even persuade
toward the truth.
Political cartoons have the power to captivate and draw in a larger group of audience,
reaching people of all classes, regardless of educational background or intellectual ability. Being

OConnor

that political cartoons bring simplicity to complicity, a viewer may understand a situation without
even having to read of or investigate any further on the topic. Political cartoons are a way of
connecting the political world with the rest of the real world in a way that all may know and keep
track of the evolution we are experiencing in politics.

1.

Hodgson, Trace. Political Cartoons. Wellington, N.Z.: Wellington City

Art Gallery, 1986. Web.

OConnor

7
<http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2history/at-a-glance/political-cartoon-snapshot.pdf>.

2.

"Part I: A Brief History of Political Cartoons." Part I: A Brief History of

Political Cartoons. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
<http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma96/puck/part1.html>.

3.

"Political Cartoons in U.S. History." - Primary Source Set. N.p., n.d.

Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

4.

"2.9 Analyzing Political Cartoons." Analyzing Political Cartoons. N.p., n.d.

Web. 27 Apr. 2015

5.

"How to Analyze Political Cartoons." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.