Political Cartoons

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Political Cartoons

• A picture is worth 1,000 words

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What is a Political Cartoon?

• Political cartoons are a way to capture important
  times or events in history.
• They use a picture instead of sentences to get
  their idea across.
• Their main purpose is to PERSUADE you.

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To read a political cartoon you must

• Identify the elements in the picture (you need to
  figure out who or what the picture is about.)
• Understand the meaning of each element and piece
  them together.

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Cartooning Techniques

• Cartoonists use a number of methods, or
  techniques, to make their point more obvious.
• You can look for exaggeration, labeling, analogy,
  irony, and symbols in their pictures to see what
  story they are trying to tell.

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1. Exaggeration

• Sometimes cartoonists overdo, or exaggerate, the
  physical characteristics of people or things in
  order to make their point.
• Often artists will make facial features or
  clothing bigger or more exaggerated than normal.

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2. Labeling

• Often, cartoonists will label objects or people
  to make it clear what they stand for.
• Ask yourself why a cartoonist has labeled
  something.

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3. Analogy

• An analogy is a comparison between 2 things.
• By comparing a big issue with something familiar,
  you can better understand the issue.

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4. Irony

• Irony is the difference between the way things
  are and the way things should be.
• If you see a difference in what you see and what
  you would expect to see, ask yourself why.

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5. Symbolism

• Sometimes, artists use simple objects or symbols
  to stand for larger ideas.
• Ask yourself what each symbol stands for and why
  it was included.

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Check list for understanding a cartoon

• What issue is this political cartoon about?
• What do you think 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?