In this cartoon we see Kaiser Wilhelm II trying to disguise a snake as the dove of peace. As the referance to the snake as a symbol of evil goes all the way back to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, in which the serpent is really the devil in disguise, it is evident that the cartoonist wants to present Germany's actions to the public in the most severe fashion. The detailling of Kaiser Wilhelm II has also been exagerated so that he appears as a comedic bumbling old man. Through this image the cartoonist is telling us that Germany has shown the world so many lies and forms of trickery, that why shouldn't their offer of peace just be another one of their lies. Yet we should be able to recognize the act as another form of trickery, and not be fooled by their offer. This comic really interested me, because it was different then many of the other comics I looked at. The idea of the snake being hiden inside a dove's costume seems to fit the anti-German nature of the war. It was also interesting to see the German's attempting a peace offering, when in actuality they had little to do with establishing peace after the war, being that they were not even allowed to defend themselves when the Treaty of Versailles was written.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Political Cartoon from WWI
In this cartoon we see Kaiser Wilhelm II trying to disguise a snake as the dove of peace. As the referance to the snake as a symbol of evil goes all the way back to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, in which the serpent is really the devil in disguise, it is evident that the cartoonist wants to present Germany's actions to the public in the most severe fashion. The detailling of Kaiser Wilhelm II has also been exagerated so that he appears as a comedic bumbling old man. Through this image the cartoonist is telling us that Germany has shown the world so many lies and forms of trickery, that why shouldn't their offer of peace just be another one of their lies. Yet we should be able to recognize the act as another form of trickery, and not be fooled by their offer. This comic really interested me, because it was different then many of the other comics I looked at. The idea of the snake being hiden inside a dove's costume seems to fit the anti-German nature of the war. It was also interesting to see the German's attempting a peace offering, when in actuality they had little to do with establishing peace after the war, being that they were not even allowed to defend themselves when the Treaty of Versailles was written.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment