Chapter 17 Section 1 Critical Thinking #4

Chapter 17 Section 1 Critical Thinking #4

The cartoon of Carry Nation and her hatchet shows her in a way that suggests the cartoonist had an unfavorable view of her. The cartoon depicts a sour-faced Nation with her well-used hatched standing in the wreckage of a saloon she has demolished, as customers and a bartender cower in corners. For one, if the cartoon has been meant to show Nation as a hero, it is doubtful that it would have been drawn the way it was. When you look at the cartoon all you see is a bitter old woman who has destroyed the livelihood of the poor man crouching behind the counter; it is so mundane, it almost asks why she even bothered with doing this, and what effect she thought it could possibly have. One would think that if the cartoonist meant for this to be seen as “Carry Nation is doing the right/Christian thing”, there would be perhaps be Christian references, maybe a depiction of her as a religious icon, , or something suggesting that she is a savior. But there is none of that grandeur to it, and all you see is some crazy old woman with her hatchet. There is nothing to suggest that what she is doing is truly significant and would change the country. The way that the men in the background are hiding also makes it seem like she is hurting innocent people, and the state that the saloon is in suggests that maybe she takes too much joy in ruining people’s businesses. Altogether, the picture is not a flattering portrayal of Nation, and the cartoonist doesn’t seem to be very fond of her.