S. Müller 2010 12

ENGLISH

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Books
2 Homework
3 How to answer questions
4 NEWS Presentations
5 Presentations

Klausur 11/1

31. Januar 2012

Books

Dan Brown. The Lost Symbol. ISBN 978-0-552-16123-7. 6,65 €

Words in Context. ISBN 978-3-12-519940-8. 18,99 €

Homework

Describe the following cartoon

Cartoon

This is an analysis of this cartoon Cagle Cartoons. It might help you to write YOUR analysis.

In this cartoon by John Darcow which was published in the Daily Tribune you can see an elephant and a soldier walking away from a donkey and a man who is lying on his back on the ground. The elephant is smoking a cigar and has written "GOP" on his butt which refers to the Republican Party, which is also known as the "Grand Old Party". Next to him there is a rather small man who is wearing an old- fashioned uniform and carrying a rifle. On his hat one can read "tea" which obviously refers to the Tea Party which is a conservative wing of the Republican Party who see themsleves as the descendents of those Americans who protested against the British ruler in 1773 during the Boston Tea Party. The pair is casually walking away from the scene laughing about the man who is lying on the ground. This man has rather large lips and ears and is wearing a school uniform. Around him you can see pieces of paper and coins scattered and next to him there is a briefcase or schoolbag on which reads "Obama". A speech bubble says "Why do those bullies keep taking my lunch money?" to which the donkey, who is wearing a suit, responds in a resigned way "Because you keep letting them". This animal is the symbol of the Democratic Party in the USA to which President Obama, who is lying shocked on the ground, is belonging to.

With this cartoon John Darkow refers to the current problems in regard to the US national budget. The Republican Party is basically blackmailing Obama as they will only provide their consent to the national budget in Congress if the Democrats will agree to some financial cuts. These cuts will affect governmental institutions like the EPA or some welfare programs. Obama feels robbed by the GOP which is represented by the act of stealing his lunch money. The Republicans, like most bullies in schools, don't care much about other people but only focus on their interests. Unfortunately, it is Obama's lax way of responding to the GOP bullies' threats which prevent the budget from being passed by Congress.

The cartoonist wants readers to realize that the Republicans have not Americans' interest at heart but only their own, which makes them no good alterantive in the race for the White House in 2012. Though he seems to feels sorry for Obama he criticizes his lack of leadership which would put an end to the negotiations regarding the national budget and the threat of having to close down governmental agencies because of the inability to pay the employees.