Recession Cartoon

I think the artist was trying to appeal to pathos in this picture. He wants the reader to feel a sense of helplessness when they realize how this picture applies to them. He illustrated this family living in a cave because that is how many families that have been hit hard by the recession feel. They feel cold and are just trying to get through one day at a time. The family is huddled together to give the view a sense of the fact that family is always important. It is important that they are asking the grandfather to tell them a story since story telling is such a ritual of the past. They are reaching for any shred of normalcy in these harsh times.

The cartoonist put the cave drawing in such close proximity to illustrate how they are dreaming and hoping for better times. They remember when they had a real house and were displaced and huddling together for warmth. I think interesting that their do not appear to be parents in the picture. I think that the fire signifies hope for the family. Maybe the parents are out at work but they probably started the fire for the children before they left. The fire gives off warmth and shows that eventually they will get out of the cave and have a normal life again.

Source used:

http://ants-and-grasshoppers.blogspot.com/2011/06/great-recession-v-great-depression-diff.html