Draft 1:
Draft 3:
In this political cartoon titled “Calvin and Hobbes”
by Bill Watterson, a boy and a tiger are walking in
the woods and discussing ethics. The tiger
pushes the boy into the mud to prove a point.
Watterson uses image and humor? irony?
Juxtaposition? To show that we really should
treat others the way we wish to be treated.
The cartoon begins with the boy, Calvin, claiming
that he “doesn’t believe in ethics any more.” He
makes an allusion to the famous philosopher
Niccolo Machiavelli when he says “As far as I’m
concerned, the ends justify the means.” Calvin
goes on to share a series of sayings: “Get what
you can while the getting’s good!” and “might
makes right!” and “the winners write the history
books!” The emanata surrounding his fist shows
that he means what he says and that he is
passionate about his selfish beliefs. His face in
the third panel is frowning, and he is shown in a
mid-shot, so that we can see his expression. He
continues the tirade in panel four, falling back on
the cliche “it’s a dog-eat-dog world,” and deciding
that he will let other people worry about what is
right and what is wrong.
In the next moment (panel five), Hobbes the tiger
gives Calvin a good hard shove from behind. The
force of his push is shown through the emanata
of Hobbes’ shoulders, lines of emanata near
Draft 2:.
In this political cartoon titled “Calvin and Hobbes”
by Bill Watterson, a boy and a tiger are walking in
the woods and discussing ethics. The tiger
pushes the boy into the mud to prove a point.
Watterson uses cartooning techniques and
irony to prove an ethical point: that we really
should treat others the way we wish to be treated.
In the first two panels, the boy and the tiger are
classic icons of childhood, playing games,
balancing on logs and hopping from one rock to
another. They behave like children, so it is a bit of
an ironic surprise when Calvin opens the
dialogue in the first panel by claiming that he
“doesn’t believe in ethics any more.” In the
second panel, Calvin’s words are an allusion to
the famous philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli when
he says “as far as I’m concerned, the ends justify
the means.” In panel three, Calvin goes on to
share a series of aphorisms: “get what you can
while the getting’s good!” and “might makes
right!” and “the winners write the history books!” In
the third panel, Calvin is shown in a mid-shot, so
that we can see his frowning expression. The
emanata surrounding his fist shows the force
behind his words, and demonstrates that he
means what he says and that he is passionate
about his selfish beliefs. He continues the tirade
in panel four, falling back on the cliche “it’s a dog-
eat-dog world,” and deciding that he will let other
people worry about what is right and what is
wrong.
In the next moment (panel five), Hobbes the tiger
gives Calvin a good hard shove from behind. The
force of his push is shown through the emanata of
Hobbes’ shoulders, lines of emanata near Calvin’s
In this political cartoon titled “Calvin and Hobbes” by Bill Watterson, a
boy and a tiger are walking in the woods and discussing ethics. The
tiger pushes the boy into the mud. Watterson uses cartooning
techniques and humorous irony to make an ethical point: that we
really should treat others the way we wish to be treated.
In the first two panels, the boy and the tiger are classic icons of
childhood, playing games, balancing on logs and hopping from one
rock to another. They behave like children, so it is a bit of an ironic
surprise when Calvin opens the dialogue in the first panel with a
rather mature topic: he claims that he “doesn’t believe in ethics any
more.” In the second panel, Calvin’s next words are an allusion to the
infamous philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli when he says “as far as I’m
concerned, the ends justify the means.” In panel three, Calvin
reinforces his opinion with a series of aggressive, selfish
aphorisms: “get what you can while the getting’s good!” and “might
makes right!” and “the winners write the history books!” Furthermore,
in the third panel, Calvin is shown in a mid-shot, so that we can see
his frowning, dissatisfied expression. The emanata surrounding his
fist shows the force and passion behind his selfish words. He
continues his tirade in panel four, falling back on the cliche “it’s a dog-
eat-dog world,” and claiming that he will “do whatever [he has] to,”
and let other people worry about what is right and what is wrong.
In the next moment (panel five), Hobbes the tiger gives Calvin a good
hard shove from behind. The force of his push is shown through the
emanata of Hobbes’ shoulders, lines of emanata near Calvin’s feet,
and the little word “shove!” with an exclamation mark behind Calvin.
This sudden transition causes Calvin to shout “HEYY!” The energy
behind this shout is shown by the capitalization, the exclamation point,
and the extra “y.” The word is so loud that it cannot be contained by a
speech bubble.
Calvin ends up in the mud, angry and shouting “WHY’D YOU DO
THAT?!?” in large capital letters with multiple punctuation marks.
Hobbes throws Machiavelli’s quotation back in Calvin’s face: “You
were in my way. Now you’re not. The ends justify the means.”
Calvin’s feet, and the little word “shove!” with an
exclamation mark behind Calvin. In addition,
Calvin is shouting “HEYY!” The energy behind
this shout is shown by the capitalization, the
exclamation point, the extra “y.” The word is so
loud that it cannot be contained by a speech
bubble.
Calvin ends up in the mud, angry and shouting
“WHY’D YOU DO THAT?!?” in capital letters with
multiple punctuation marks. Hobbes throws
Machiavelli’s quotation back in Calvin’s face:
“You were in my way. Now you’re not. The ends
justify the means.” Hobbes’ face is drawn with a
smug expression, and his words convey both
irony and a lesson for Calvin: that ethics DO
matter and that Calvin’s attitude is wrong.
The last panel shows Calvin trying to claim some
authority for himself: “I didn’t mean for everyone,
you dolt! Just me!” The italics of his words
reveal Calvin’s immaturity, and perhaps a bit of
authoritarian impulse as well. There is a satirical
tone here, implicitly criticizing people’s selfish
nature and mocking Calvin’s double standard.
Hobbes walks away, only saying “ahh….”
feet, and the little word “shove!” with an
exclamation mark behind Calvin. In addition,
Calvin is shouting “HEYY!” The energy behind
this shout is shown by the capitalization, the
exclamation point, the extra “y.” The word is so
loud that it cannot be contained by a speech
bubble.
Calvin ends up in the mud, angry and shouting
“WHY’D YOU DO THAT?!?” in large capital letters
with multiple punctuation marks. Hobbes throws
Machiavelli’s quotation back in Calvin’s face: “You
were in my way. Now you’re not. The ends justify
the means.” Hobbes’ face is drawn with a smug
expression, and his words convey both irony and
a lesson for Calvin: that ethics DO matter and that
Calvin’s attitude is wrong.
The last panel shows Calvin trying to claim some
authority for himself: “I didn’t mean for everyone,
you dolt! Just me!” The italics of his words reveal
Calvin’s immaturity, and perhaps a bit of
authoritarian impulse as well. There is a satirical
tone here, implicitly criticizing people’s selfish
nature and mocking Calvin’s double standard.
Hobbes walks away, only saying “ahh….”
Hobbes’ face is drawn with a smug expression, and his words convey
both irony and a practical lesson for Calvin: ethics DO matter, and
Calvin’s attitude is wrong.
The last pane shows Calvin trying to claim authority for himself: “I
didn’t mean for everyone, you dolt! Just me!” The italics of his words
reveal Calvin’s immaturity, lack of empathy, and perhaps a bit of
authoritarian impulse as well. Hobbes walks away, only saying
“ahh….” There is a satirical tone here, mocking Calvin’s double
standard and implicitly criticizing people’s selfish nature.
Hobbes’ last sentence is left unfinished, leaving the reader to
interpret closure. The author implies that Machiavelli (and Calvin)
are wrong in thinking that the ends justify the means. Calvin is a
hypocrite; to borrow another aphorism, “actions have consequences,”
and in this cartoon, Watterson shows us why we should always treat
others the way we wish to be treated. He shows us that ethics AND
empathy are integral to social peace.

This “ahh” is voiced in a satirical tone and the
sentence is unfinished, leaving the reader to
consider closure. The author implies that
Machiavelli (and Calvin) are wrong in thinking that
the ends justify the means. This is true only if
you have power over others, and empathy and
ethics are integral to social peace. Calvin is a
hypocrite; to borrow another saying, Calvin-style,
“actions have consequences,” and Watterson
shows us that we should treat others the way we
wish to be treated.
This “ahh” is voiced in a satirical tone and the
sentence is unfinished, leaving the reader to
consider closure. The author implies that
Machiavelli (and Calvin) are wrong in thinking that
the ends justify the means. Ethics AND empathy
are integral to social peace. Calvin is a hypocrite;
to borrow another aphorism, “actions have
consequences,” and in this cartoon, Watterson
shows us why we should treat others the way we
wish to be treated.