Cartoon Analysis

The cartoon above addresses the issue of the high price of attending college. In the cartoon, a father is seen with bills in his hands and a shirt reading, "My kid went to college and all I have left is this t-shirt" while his son is driving away waving, seemingly oblivious to the pain seen in his parents' faces. The author is targeting the average American parents who understand the cost of not only college, but also the cost of just for raising a child. Joe Heller, a famous cartoonist for The Green Bay Press-Gazette, is known for producing cartoons relating to politics and the American lifestyle. The author's message is mainly an observation of the cost of college, however, an attitude of "was it worth it?" could be interpreted. Both the word and image aspects are used in this cartoon, and I would say that they are used equally. I can conclude this because of the vast array of visuals in the cartoon, however, without the words it loses its sense of humor because all that can be seen is a old sad man standing in his doorway. Other than making the characters look cartoonish for humor reasons, Heller mainly keeps the imagery realistic. His message is not based off of the image's unrealistic visuals. The fictional characters represent a middle class family struggling to pay for their teenage son's college. The father's dad-like appearance mixed with the sad emotion seen on his face gets the reader to pity him. The rhetoric used could persuade the reader to question the worth of a college education at the high cost that is required.