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Questions
1. Editorial cartoonists often use humor to make light of serious situations. What comic device does the cartoonist use to highlight the increased security everywhere due to the increasing number of terrorist attacks?
a) caricature
b) satire
c) understatement
d) hyperbole
2. A symbol is an object, character, figure, place, or color used to represent an abstract idea or concept. What symbol(s) does the cartoonist use?
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.
Cartoon by Luojie
Answers
1. b) satire – satire is defined as: the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
The cartoonist did not use:
a) caricature: A description or characterization that exaggerates or distorts a character’s prominent features, usually for purposes of mockery. For example, a cartoon of a gaunt Abraham Lincoln with a giant top hat, a very scraggly beard, and sunken eyes could be considered a caricature.
c) understatement: A figure of speech in which statements are purposely understated. It may be used to indicate the speaker’s nonchalance (or obliviousness) regarding an often important or otherwise remarkable situation. It often results in irony where, for instance, the speaker’s response to an event does not match how the viewer expects the speaker to react.
d) hyperbole: An extreme magnification or exaggeration of actuality. It blows something completely out of proportion for a distorted effect. The purpose of hyperbole is to create a larger-than-life effect and overly stress a specific point.
2. The cartoonist uses the symbols for the old year (the old man with the beard) and the new year (a baby wearing a top hat and sash).
In cartoons, the old year is represented by an old man with a long white beard, also called Father Time; the new year is represented by a baby wearing a top hat and sash, called Baby New Year. In cartoons, Baby New Year ages rapidly over 12 months, and by the end of December, he’s Father Time.
