Analyzing Political Cartoons

In the 1890s, political cartoons provided important commentary on the major economic, political, and social issues of the day. Cartoon artists employed symbolism, exaggeration, labeling, analogy, and irony to express their viewpoint.

Select one of the following cartoons:

The Big Stick in the Caribbean Sea

School Begins

Look closely at the cartoon you have selected and write down your initial reactions, you will not need to include these initial reactions your assignment, but they will help you complete the assignment once you have finished the exercise.

Then go to the Chapter 4, Section 4.3 of the textbook and look at the activity "Analyzing Primary Sources." You will find it under the section on Yellow Journalism. (This is very important.) Please note you will not be able to view this on some devices and will need to use a computer.

After completing the activity, answer the following items:

Explain the character(s) in the cartoon.

Describe the symbols and actions the artist employs in the cartoon.

Describe the issues the cartoon raises.

Analyze and explain what the cartoon says about the consequences of the Spanish American War for the countries occupied.

Describe how your understanding of the cartoon changed after doing the analysis portion of this exercise.

The combined answers should be one page, including your reference list. Your answers to these questions should be accurate, thorough, and written in complete sentences. Be sure to cite the textbook at least once and reference the textbook in APA formatting. If you need more guidance, you can read this Sample Assignment , so you will have an idea about the type of response your instructor will be looking for.

In this class, you have three tutoring services available: Paper Review, Live Chat, and Tutor E-mail. Click on the Ashford Writing Center tab in the left-navigation menu to learn more about these tutoring options and how to get help with your writing.