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Political Cartoons
Political cartoons express opinions about political events in a humorous and pointed way. Since most cartoons use very few words to make a point, it makes many assumptions about what you know. To understand a political cartoon, you must recognize the cartoon's assumptions. Some are harder to figure out than others, depending on your background in social studies, but, with a little practice, you'll be able to learn how to analyze and interpret the political cartoons for the high school equivalency test.
Here are 3 things that will help you understand the meaning behind a political
cartoon:
- Background knowledge. Most political
cartoons are about current events. However, you may be presented with a cartoon
that is about something in the past. A key in understanding what the political
cartoon is trying to say is knowing what time period in which the cartoon
takes place.
- Symbols. A symbol stands for something; for example, the dollar sign ($) represents
money, a donkey may represent the Democratic Party, and an elephant may represent
the Republican Party. Political cartoons use many symbols; keep your eye open
for them.
- Titles and labels. Always read every word on a political cartoon. Notice especially when words label a particular figure or part of the cartoon; this will help you figure out the meaning of the cartoon.
Let's take a look at an example (it's not exactly political, but let's do a fun one for the first try!):
Marshall Ramsey, Jackson Mississippi, The Clarion Ledger
www.cagle.com
Now you try some.
Obviously, everyone will have slightly different answers for the questions, but check the answers listed and let's see how we compare.