Political Cartoon 4 (3/23/11)

1. This cartoon has no caption or title but it hardly needs one. The artist makes it very clear that he is poking fun at Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and the recent no fly zone imposed on Libya to try to subdue the Gadhafi's reign of terror over the people of Libya.

2. In this cartoon there are several objects and symbols. First is Gadhafi himself who appears to be scared and running from fighter jets, most likely representing the recent no fly zone that has been approved by the United Nations to calm the violence in Libya. Also present is a butchers knife covered in blood that appears to be flying from Gadhafi's hand, symbolizing that he shall kill no more.

3. The action in the cartoon is Muammar Gadhafi running from fighter jets that have been sent to enforce the no fly zone that has been set to try to ensure the safety of many Libyan civilians. In his motion, Gadhafi looks to be scared, the artist most likely does this because he thinks the no fly zone will have a major impact on Gadhafi and his violent ways.

4. The message of the cartoon is that the no fly zone will have a major impact on the current status of Libya, specifically on the way Muammar Gadhafi has gone about dealing with the protests put fourth by his people. To me, the artist appears to have a lot of confidence in the recent efforts to aid the Libyan people and has faith that the current action will work. I don't think this clearly represents any ideology, as many people, both Liberal and Conservative support the actions taken in Libya.

5. This cartoon directly relates to the current uprisings in Libya and Muammar Gadhafi's reign of terror over the people of Libya. This is perhaps one of the most important and memorable events that our political world has seen in some time.

6. There is little evidence of satire and irony in this cartoon. I think this cartoon is very straight forward, and although comical, has little in the way of irony or satire.

Source- New York Times: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/ta/
Artist- Tony Auth