Political Cartoon Precis

Political Cartoon

Paste the political cartoon below:

Write the correct MLA Reference for the cartoon (use harford.libguides.com or mla.org for help):

Luckovich, Mike. "Anti-Mask." KHN, Kaiser Family Foundation, 6 June 2020,

khn.org/multimedia/anti-mask/. Accessed 21 Sept. 2021. Cartoon.

Observation Notes

What choices do you see? What do you notice? Analysis. (What persuasive technique is it?
What might it mean? How does it contribute
to the purpose of the artist? Is it effective?)

- One of the first things that I saw in this cartoon was
that the medical professional was wearing a mask and
a face shield.
- Another thing I noticed was that the text ended in an
ellipsis. I understood this to signify that he was dying
or that he had no energy left.
- Something else I noticed was how the patient’s eyes
were drawn. They weren’t really eyes so much as a
I think that one of the biggest techniques
that was used in this cartoon was
exaggeration/distortion .The two things my
eyes were drawn to when I first saw the
cartoon were the eyes of both the patient
and the doctor. The doctor's eyes were
bright white behind the glasses and was the
brightest thing on him, so that’s where I
black line surrounded by black circles. I think that this
was done to demonstrate how sick and tired he was.
- Based on the cartoon and the context at the time of
the cartoon, I assume that the patient has COVID
because he refused to wear a mask to protect himself
and others. Now he’s in the hospital and looks very
sick because of the poor decision he made.
- I think that the colors used were done on purpose
because it’s all pretty much light blues and whites,
which you would see in a hospital. I think that this is so
the eyes are drawn to the text or to the darker colors.
- The final thing I noticed was that even as the patient
was sick and dying he still said no to the breathing
mask because he was anti-mask. I think that was done
because it showed how strongly he felt about this and
even as he was dying he still refused to wear a mask.
looked. In contrast, the patient's eyes were
black and dark, which was the darkest color
on him. This directed the viewer to look at
the eyes of both people, where you can see
the focus and determination of the doctor
while treating the patient, and you can see
the exhaustion in the patient's eyes, even
though his eyes are just black lines with
black scribbles. The artist was able to use
these to convey the emotions he intended.
Another thing that I believe goes along with
how dark the patient’s eyes were is how
pale his skin is. This could either be because
he’s sick so he’s pale, or just to create a
greater contrast between the eyes and the
skin.

Considering the observations above, what is the message? What is the purpose of the cartoon?

I think that the purpose of this cartoon is to show how people’s actions are affecting them. FOr
anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers, it’s showing how they can be affected by COVID, and how it can affect
their lives and the lives of others. I think that another message could be to show how stubborn and
sometimes selfish we as humans can be. I know that I’m very stubborn and don’t like new things, and
many other people are like that. Even if the patient wanted the mask, he might have been too
stubborn or ashamed to admit that he had been wrong, and was now dying because he hadn’t worn a
mask.

Write a Rhetorical Precis

(follow instructions on the canvas page)

In his cartoon “Anti-Mask” (2020), Mike Luckovich, an editorial cartoonist known for his political
cartoons, shows the different sides of the debate over whether or not to wear masks, and the
consequences they can have. Luckovich uses symbolism, exaggeration, and stereotypes to support
the claim he made in his cartoon. Lukovich wants to show his viewers the opposing views of mask
wearing and how they can affect other people. Lukovich’s persuasive tone used in his comic creates
an amusing depiction of the stubbornness of people regarding masks and the political debate of
wearing them or not wearing them.