Comic Strip or Political Cartoon Analysis

Order Description
Analysis of an Individual Comic Strip or Political Cartoon
Choose one comic strip or political cartoon. If you visit the website of a newspaper such as The
Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc., you should be able to search
for comic strips or political cartoons easily.
Which techniques does the creator of the comic strip use? How does the creator make
his/her point in the comic strip? What do we learn about the characters and/or ourselves
from this comic strip or political cartoon? If colors are available, what do they tell us about
this comic or cartoon? What language is used and how can that be interpreted?
And importantly, which of the key terms from the topic lesson can you discuss in your
analysis? For example, how do elements of imagery, symbolism, metaphor, and/or irony help
reveal the cartoon’s message?
As with all academic essays you write in this course, this essay should have a well-defined
introduction with a thesis statement, body, and conclusion.
In essence, what are some of the physical elements present in the cartoon1—characters,
text, colors, etc., along with figurative elements such as metaphor and symbolism, that help
to explain the cartoon’s message? It can be helpful to focus on a single element in the
cartoon in its own body paragraph (include the element in the topic sentence and in the
thesis) and describe how it portrays the cartoon’s message before moving to the next
cartoon feature in a new paragraph.
Sample Thesis Statement: “John Smith uses (add one element from the cartoon), (add a
second element from the cartoon), and (add a third element from the cartoon) to show (add
the cartoon’s message).”