This is a rhetoric analysis of a political cartoon I did for English 201

1. The Tale of The Ol’ Federal Deficit
Joshua Allen
Eng 201
12/5/2014
Visual Rhetorical Analysis
The visual Rederict I have chosen is a political cartoon. Reason behind this is because
there is so many little details artist put inside you really have to look a picture for a while to
really get the whole message. Taking a picture and turining it into a thousand words, is simplicity
itself when you can choose the right content. The message is strongly rhetorical and outwardly
speaking of the thoughts of the artist. I really like the bluntness of political cartoons, although
some could argue that their simplicity makes them rather crude, I would argue that the delivery is
the most important part. The blunt, aburpt tone that politcal cartoons take is make the message
seem obvios, so that you can’t help but to feel ignorent when you are enlightened by the details.
When I look at the picture I notice the water is symbolic to money, it’s a balance. You
would never want to go under and the goal of the main character or “senate Gop” is to make sure
that the Ol’ Fereral Deficit stays afloat. Notice how Senate Gop has his back to the sorce of the
problem, The reason they are going under. When you look at the gargantuan amphibian you

2. notice that in the water he could probably make it out on his own, if you look into its face you
can see how relaxed it is. It is not worried for what is to come. The amphibians size is
implicative of wealth, and government continues to save the wealthy because the wealthy own
the country. Now Senate Gop himself isn’t half as skinny as the rest of the wealthy though he
does seem rather well off if we go by my earlier observation. Though his hat is tattered and a
few of his teeth missing he seems more well off than the poor kitty or The jobless benefits.
Senate “Gop” or the “Grand old Party” a nickname for the republican party. This tells me this
cartoon is inheritly liberal or facing away from rebulican and capitalist ideas.
So the cat (jobless benefits), fisherman(senate Gob) and amphibian(tax cuts for the
wealthy) are on the boat. I suppose at one point you could imagine them sailing off and co-
existing trying to keep their heads afloat and their feet out of water. Although when the turmoil
strikes, the senate gob do everything to protect themselves or the wealthy. Obviously this piece is
highly liberal, but it does inspire thought provoking questions. In my time here in the great US of
A I have always wondered why they seemed to ignore problems. When you’re at your house and
you see a dirty spot you know not to sweep it under the rug. This cartoon touches on how
America for the most part tends to ignore the problem. WHY? Why would we choose to do that
if we have the means resources and brainpower to find our way through anything? The toughest
times is when humans prove to be the most adaptive. Great inventions, ideas and inspired art
tends to come from the times of depression, famine or as we are facing finaicial instability. In the
photo what do you sugguest happening next? Do you think that senate Gob will boot out the
jobless benefits and together the tax cuts for the wealthy and senate gob will sale into the sunset
perfectly living happliy ever after?

3. What if the tax cuts become to much, and finally sink the ol’ Ferderal Deficit into
the deep blue, despite senate gob’s denial? Given the chance these members that seem
more well off in the comic will ride the sinking ship until it is of no use to us, or them;
anymore. The citizens need to realize that once these people have drained all the money
and resources in the land they will not stay to lead the country, it willl be in shambles. It
will take every Tom, Dick, and Harry to rebuild it from the ground up. Sounds like a lot
of work right? In that case I sugggest we listen to the wisdom of this political cartoon,
America is suppose to be owned by its people. Currently it is owned by the wealthy
people. How can wealthy people make decisions for the poor and how could poor people
make decisions for people who are rich?
I do agree with the ideas portrayed by this work of art. Though I do not think that it talks
specifically about the things that it may have wanted to, or its desire is to be implicative to the
droves of problems that is going to leave this country penniless. “Tax cuts for the wealthy,”
though I agree this is a problem in the US I do not feel as if it is the only problem. It’s merely an
example of how our “Grand Ol Party” deals with things. We find it easy to let someone else do
the work but what we don’t realize is no one seems passionate about their carrear anymore. It’s
painfully obvious when someone has a job for the money and have no actual want or get no
satisfaction from a job done the correct way. These people are driving the country into the red
and it doesn’t matter to them as long as their pockets are lined with silver by the end of it. Do
you think that senate gop will go down with the ship or do you think that he would jump ship
before the water took him under?