Analysing a political cartoon
On the surface political cartoon may be humorous; but they communicate a
thought-provoking, often biting message.
An important and necessary
skill for a historian is the
ability to critically analyse
political cartoons.
•
•
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How are the main characters
drawn?
Look at what each character is
doing, or where he/she is located.
How do these actions or positions
symbolise what was happening?
Think about the significance of the
caption and labels.
Your task today, is to critically analyse
the following political cartoon.
The Mongolian Octopus
•
You must use the
questions on the
worksheet provided to
analyse, in detail, the
following cartoon.
•
Try your best to answer
all the questions
yourself, then check your
answers with those
provided.
The Bulletin, 1886
Your Task
•
Select a cartoon from those provided
and complete your own in depth analysis.
•
Make sure you use the guide questions
provided in today’s lesson to complete
your analysis.
•
Your analysis must be 300 words in
length.
•
You are expected to conduct further
research in order to complete this task
so your analysis must include a
bibliography.
•
Use the example response of the
Mongolian Octopus to help structure
your response.
The Chinese Pest,
1888
"Piebald Possibilities - a little Australian Christmas family party of the
future".
Cartoon: Livingstone Hopkins, The Bulletin, 13 December 1902
The Prohibited Chow Pest,
the Bulletin 1909
Wake, Australia! Wake,
1888