Political Cartoons

Imperialist England

This cartoon depicts John Bull of England with tentacle arms reaching out toward various countries all throughout the world. It is symbolic of the phrase, "the sun never sets on the British empire." Britain occupied territory on nearly every continent which made it so that the sun was always shining on at least one section of the British empire. This is a satire of England, mainly due to the fact that the artist chose to depict Bull as an octopus, which is commonly perceived to be a savage beast. I think that this piece is effective because it illustrates how much power the British truly had at that point, and with two countries already being constricted by the tentacles, it also shows how little compassion the British government had for the lands it ruled.

The White Man's Burden

Based off of the widely read poem by Rudyard Kipling, the cartoon shows a white adventurer carrying a wild beast over his shoulder. The white man is labeled with "U.S." written on his canteen, so he is representing the imperialist United States during the late nineteenth century. The beast he is carrying represents African civilians, which shows that Americans perceived Africans to be uncivilized monsters. He is carrying him to the school house because Europeans believed that it was their responsibility to educate and civilize the monsters of Asia. The American flags in the background show that the land is occupied by America. The man is shown going uphill to emphasize the struggle it took to force the natives into the schools the U.S. established there. I feel that this piece could also be criticizing "The White Man's Burden" because the beast does not appear to want to be educated , and it is not right for the man to be carrying it to the school house against its will.