Analyzing Political Cartoons
Political cartoons are used as propaganda, to draw attention to an ideas, event, or person, to present a point of view, to encourage or deter a course of action, or to stimulate debate on an issue, event, or person.
Look For:
Once you've identified the persuasive techniques the cartoonist used, ask yourself:
Additional Resources:
Look For:
- Analogy: This is a comparison between two unlike things that share some characteristics. By comparing a complex issue or situation with a more familiar one, cartoonists can help their readers see it in a different light.
- Symbolism: Cartoonists use simple objects, or symbols, to stand for larger concepts or ideas.
- Irony: This is the difference between the way things are and the way things should be, or the way things are expected to be. Cartoonists often use irony to express their opinion on an issue.
- Exaggeration: Cartoonists overdo, or exaggerate, the physical characteristics of people or things in order to make a point.
- Labeling: Cartoonists often label objects or people to make it clear exactly what they stand for.
Once you've identified the persuasive techniques the cartoonist used, ask yourself:
- What issue is this political cartoon about?
- What is the cartoonist's 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?
Additional Resources:
- Harper's Weekly (http://www.harpweek.com/)
- Herblock's History: Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/herblock/)
- Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index (http://www.cagle.com/)
- Analyzing Political Cartoons from the National Archives (http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon_analysis_worksheet.pdf)
Resources from the Library of Congress
Analyzing Political Cartoons
Lesson Plan: It's No Laughing Matter
Primary Source Set of Political Cartoons
Analyzing Political Cartoons
Lesson Plan: It's No Laughing Matter
Primary Source Set of Political Cartoons
Political Cartoon Analysis Guide
political_cartoon_analysis_guide.pdf | |
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