WWI Political Cartoon Analysis

This cartoon shows how WWI started in a nutshell. figure A represents Serbia, B is Austria, C is Russia, D is Germany, E is Britain and F is America.

A terrorist group from Serbia known as the “Black Hand” was trying to assassinate the Duke, after a failed attempt leaving many of the Duke’s men injured, the duke decided to visit his men at the hospital. On the way there the Duke was assassinated. Austria declared war on Serbia, Russia mobilized troops to defend Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia for being against Austria, Britain wanted to defend Russia and or Serbia, America only joined the fight 1 year before it ended to help Britain.

Serbia is depicted as a child due to the scale of their military compared the other more significant forces such as Germany and Russia. The title is ironic because the cartoon shows countries going to war and the title is “The Chain Of Friendship”, which is verbal irony because it is sarcastic. Sarcasm by definition is meant to hurt another individual and irony is used to convey a message, this cartoon is ironic because it does not hurt anybody and it convert a message on how wars start.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *