How do you analyze a political cartoon?

2. On the guide to analyzing political cartoons that I found, I already knew to look for the irony in the images, the labeling of certain objects to give them more meaning, and the use of symbolism for an object to stand for a certain idea. I learned about exaggeration, where the physical characteristics of something or someone can be changed to make a point, or that each cartoon has an analogy to it to make their point stand out.

3. Going forward when I look at political cartoons, I will look for the exaggeration of the physical attributes in the images, and look and see if I can find the analogy to the message of the cartoon. The guide I will use is The Library of Congress Guide.

4.

This cartoon is meant to symbolize that the Americans were giving Hawaii, the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico lessons on how to become civilized and like America. In the background I observed a Native American boy reading his book upside down. This shows irony because the Americans also tried to teach the Indians to become a part of their society. The children who represent Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Cuba are drawn smaller because they are less powerful territories, whereas Uncle Sam is tall and towering over them because the US is such a super power. At the bottom of the cartoon Uncle Sam is saying "Now children, you've got to learn these lessons whether you want to or not! But just take a look at the class ahead of you, and remember that, in a little while, you will feel glad to be here as they are!"

This cartoon shows the Philippines or the Filipino people depicted as a wild dog barking "WAR". Uncle Sam is standing to the left of the Filipino dog cringing up at the dogs barking. The Philippines is shown as a wild dog to show how the Americans believed they needed to be civilized to the American way of life. 

This cartoon shows Uncle Sam chasing a wasp and trying to catch it under his hat. The sign in the corner says "The Philippine Islands". I believe the wasp is being used to portray the Philippines, and how the United States was trying to catch the Philippines and take them over.