Interpreting a Cartoon
 Question
1b on Paper 1 will
ask you to interpret a
source such as a graph,
artifact, map, cartoon, etc.
 Many times the source is a
cartoon or a photograph.
 IB’s favorite cartoonist is Sir
David Low.
According John D Clare the following three
skills should be incorporated when
interpreting a cartoon:
1. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE EVENTS OF THE
PERIOD
2. THINKING ABOUT THE CARTOONIST AND
HIS MOTIVES
3. SEEING AND UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT
OBJECTS IN THE CARTOON.
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symbolism – using an object to stand for an idea.
captioning & labels – used for clarity and
emphasis. (IB will label and give dates for
cartoons. They will also translate any foreign
words and re-type them so you can read it!)
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analogy – a comparison between two unlike
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irony – the difference between the way things are
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hyperbole (exaggeration) – overstating or
things that share some characteristics.
& the way things are expected to be.
magnifying a problem or a physical feature or
habit: big nose, bushy eyebrows, large ears,
baldness, etc.
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David Low was born in New Zealand in 1891 and
by the age of 15 he published his political
cartoons in the major news papers of New
Zealand.
At the age of 18 he was hired by a major
newspaper in Sydney, Australia and in 1919 at
the age of 28, he moved to England to work for
The Star.
He worked for other prestigious news papers and
magazines such as Punch before he finally
settled in with the Evening Standard in 1927.
Although a conservative newspaper, the owner,
Lord Beaverbrook, allowed Low creative license
for his liberal views.
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He created two characters that became very popular.
Colonel Blimp was created to represent everything
he disliked in British politics:
"Blimp was no enthusiast for democracy. He was
impatient with the common people and their
complaints. His remedy to social unrest was less
education, so that people could not read about
slumps. An extreme isolationist, disliking foreigners
(which included Jews, Irish, Scots, Welsh, and people
from the Colonies and Dominions); a man of
violence, approving war. He had no use for the
League of Nations nor for international efforts to
prevent wars. In particular he objected to any
economic reorganization of world resources
involving changes in the status quo.“
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jlow.htm
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Blimp
represented
everything that
Low hated in the
established
British political
system.
During the
1930s Low’s
cartoons
represented
most his
complaints about
British foreign
policy.
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In the 1930s with the situation in Italy and
Germany escalating, Low became particularly
critical of Mussolini and Hitler.
His cartoons would be eventually be banned
in both countries.
He faced pressure in England to tone down
his cartoons after the Munich Pact.
He was eventually persuaded to invent a
character that would embody both Hitler and
Mussolini and hopefully soften Low’s biting
and harsh portrayal of the two men.
The comic strip Muzzler: the Dictator
evolved.
MUZZLER THE DICTATOR
5 February 1938 Evening Standard
He does the
goose-step
now
John D.
Clare’s website
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David Low Cartoon
1919-1936
Individual assignment
Slide length 3-4
Citations
Context – What is happening at the time?
Content – What is happening in the cartoon?
Comment – What is the meaning of the cartoon?
Presentation
Length
Participation
Delivery
Aesthetic qualities

The British Cartoon Archive
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The Guardian (Gallery for David Low)
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The books in the room!
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IB teacher websites?
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YouTube