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Vitaly OConnor Note1: (Header should read OConnor 1)

Mrs. Olivia Rines
UWRT-1101
25th January 2015Note 2: (Margins Should be 1)
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. Note 3: (Thisisastrong
introductionbutIwouldlikeyoutoextendiffurther.Whatisthepurposeofthepaper?Whatisthe
audienceabouttoread?Also,dontforgettoincludeastrongthesisstatement)

Political cartoons are also known as editorial cartoon, pictures

with a point Note 4: (The font should be times new roman throughout
your paper). that usually appear funny, but have one purpose Note 5:
( Which is?)alone. 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, understand
current events and tries to sway the viewer in comprehending the

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cartoonists point of view. Note 6: (Where did you get this information)
One may see a political cartoon on the editorial page or 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. Note 7: (Make sure you cite information)
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

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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 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. Note 8: (these are important ideas, expand on them) 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 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. The first (order

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depends on artist) is symbols; know as simple pictures that stand in for
ideas or groups. Some examples are peace- dove, olive branch, etc.;
Democrats- donkey; Republican-elephant; USA- Uncle Sam etc.; Herowhite; Villains- black and so on. 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 wellknown event or myth. Watchoutforthedifferentlabelsthatappearinacartoon,
andaskyourselfwhythecartoonistchosetolabelthatparticularpersonorobject.
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,

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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 (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. Note 9: (Where did you get this information)
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

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educational background or intellectual ability. Being 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.PoliticalCartoons.Wellington,N.Z.:
Note10:(refertoPurdueOwlforhowtocorrectlyformat
yourworkscitedpage)WellingtonCityArtGallery,1986.
Web.
<http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for
students/ww2history/ataglance/politicalcartoon
snapshot.pdf>.

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2.

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

3.

"PoliticalCartoonsinU.S.History."Primary
SourceSet.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Feb.2015.

I really enjoyed reading your paper. I think that this is a strong start. However, there are
also some significant issues that need to be resolved, specifically in terms of following
directions. A number of the questions (please see rubric below) were not answered in
your paper. Specifically, you did not address any examples in your paper, which means
you are missing the entire second half of your paper. I would strongly encourage you to
reread the assignment sheet and come to me with questions. Also, please make sure that
every claim that you are making in this paper is supported by evidence and/or citations.
All facts, unless they are commonly known by the general public, must be supported by
evidence/citations. This means that you should have at least one citation per paragraph,
unless it is the introduction or the conclusion.
The following is the rubric for the assignment, including what you would have received
had this draft been your final draft. This grade will not be recorded anywhere. It is simply
a chance for you to see where you stand.