Political Cartoon Analysis 2h2w15

969279 Pd 3 Congradulations

By: Milt Priggee | May 12, 2014 | Cagle Cartoons In the cartoon, there is a man grimacing and wearing a graduation cap and gown. He is labeled as the student loan program and has a sinister look to him since the sunglasses give him a suspicious appearance. On his tassel, there is a tiny man labeled “college debt” dangling by his neck. This essentially claims that the student loan program intends for each of its applicants to forcibly graduate with the burden of debt over them. It criticizes the structure of the student loan program by implying they are aware of the overwhelming debt they end up forcing on students in the end. Priggee also portrays the man meant to represent the student loan program negatively in his enlarged facial features. For example, the man has a bulging chin and thickly outlined nose. This political cartoon is very powerful in its use of symbolism and voices a popular opinion especially as debts are more prevalent in society today. I agree since it gives the simple message that debt often accompanies those who apply for student loans.

Student Loans Bite

By: Christopher Weyant | Cagle Cartoons This political cartoon is inspired by the recent issue that student loans and interest rates have been noticeably increasing. In the second slide, the newspaper clearly states, “Student Loans Double.” As a result, Weyant illustrates the effects the increasing student loans have on the next generation. He makes a witty parallel between a child using a cliche excuse like “my dog ate my homework” to imply that some people today may blame their socioeconomic status on student loans. This cartoon could also imply that many people in today’s generation are also suffering from the burdens of debt that hinder them from employment. Some of this cartoon’s audience could be offended by this if they are unemployed and are also troubled by debt but not particularly placing the fault of their condition on their debt. I agree to this comic to some extent since while debt should be something in which people should persevere to alleviate, there are some people who will succumb to the burdens of debt and give up. However, I consider this cartoon controversial and could also understand the opposing viewpoint. Graduation Selfie

By: Nate Beeler | May 5, 2014 | Cagle Cartoons Beeler creates a powerful image of a college student taking a photo with a giant snake that has already made its way around the student and is about to choke him. The snake is meant to represent the student’s debt as a result of taking out student loans in order to graduate. This cartoon glorifies the impending doom debt can have on a college student after applying for student loans. The student is drawn as a scrawny young boy in comparison to the grander snake that is much bigger. Beeler suggests that the typical graduate student faces the inundation of student debt; knowingly or not. In the cartoon, the graduate student seems unaware of the fact that the snake of debt has positioned itself completely around the student. There is no provocation or harsh criticism involved with this cartoon. Rather, it addresses student debt as a whole and acknowledges the heavy debt students have increasingly faced. It is also powerful in its symbolism since the debt is characterized as a massive snake that is at least three times bigger than the student. It implies that as a generalization, all graduates are intended to graduate with a massive debt accumulated on them, which is a general statement most people would agree with. Congrats New What

By: Steve Sack | May 8, 2014 | Cagle Cartoons The political cartoon shows people advancing in their educations by achieving their bachelor’s, master’s and third degree. As the student continues in the process to get an education, the student is bombarded with questions after getting a third degree. The questions emanate from the students family as they lurk behind him and overwhelm him with their intensity by asking questions like, “how big are those student loans?” The cartoon is meant to announce that as a student continues their education, the burden of their debt becomes more apparent. The student after having attended so many years of school, is finally characterized as anxious as his family bombards him which capture the consequences of debt accumulated on him. Sack made no harsh criticism in the student loans system or targeted a certain company. He made a general statement that as students continue in their path to get their education, their debts soon loom over them more apparently.

By: Mike Smith | March 10, 2014 | Mike Smith’s Editorial Cartoons Smith creates a scene with two students that are both characterized as studious and are both feeble. The man on the right looks very stressed as he sorts through all the expenses in his name. In this way, Smith acknowledges the heavy debt that this generation faces as a result of accumulating tuition, books and other student expenses. I agree with this cartoon since it is true that students are forced into pay excessively if they want an education and that higher education is primarily meant for the richest who can afford it while the majority of students end up applying for heavy student loans that in turn, loom over them for most of their life afterwards. The cartoon makes a criticism to the increasing expenses of getting an education. The man on the left brings the sense of humor since Smith implies that with the debts students face, most could use an intelligent aide that helps them calculate the mass amount of debt.

By: Signe Wilkinson | March 13, 2014 | Signe Wilkinson’s Editorial Cartoons This cartoon captures a scene with an elderly couple interacting with the postman who brings them a letter from the student loans program. The postman handed them a letter labeled, “Your Last College Loan Payment!” The wife then happily tells her husband, “Yahoo! We can finally have children!” The excitement in having their debts repaid at this point is actually sarcastic since it took them so long to repay student loans. Wilkinson makes a point that people end up working their entire life to pay back their expenses that it hinders them from a full life with all opportunities like having children, since that would require more money that society does not have. I agree with this political cartoon since I do believe that with such excessive burdens looming over this generation’s heads, it could hamper them from being able to accomplish everything they would want to do as they could not afford the expenses. The increasing costs of education eventually end up consuming most lives, which is the point Wilkinson makes in this cartoon.

969279 Pd 3 Student Loans and Expenses Most of the political cartoons acknowledge the heavy debt this generation faces as a result of the increasing costs of getting an education. After analyzing many cartoons, it has become apparent that many people agree education has now become more convenient and easily accessible to the higher elite class that can afford the excessive expenses of an education. Instead, majority of society, the middle class, hold the burdens of debt that loom over them for majority of their life and are a major cause in the anxiety students face. The student loans program has been characterized as avarice in the way they charge students for something as fundamental as college education. Many cartoonists have recognized the consequences of this heavy burden graduates hold and how since they work most their lives trying to pay back the debt and must, in some cases, prioritize that before accomplishing other life goals such as having children (as in Signe Wilkinson's political cartoon). A trend I noticed was that this generation was characterized as overworked and stressed that struggle to keep an adequate socioeconomic status. It has been implied that the typical graduate student is entitled to an automatic load of debt just for working towards a higher education. Graduate students have been portrayed as inferior to the student loans programs in the way they are consistently drawn smaller in comparison to any other form of debt that’s been illustrated in the following cartoons. It shows that they have no control over today’s condition. The tone in majority of the cartoons are mostly sarcastic and are also witty in capturing how corrupt today’s education system is to essentially rob students for trying to educate themselves.