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Cartoon Analysis - 2.Version - Referat
The cartoon by Chris Weyant was published in the Boston Globe in 2018.
It shows the pedestal of the statue of liberty and a person who looks like the current president of the united states of America- Donald Trump. The poem “The new colossus” by Emma Lazarus that welcomes all Immigrants coming from the East is covered by a sign that says “whites only”. The Donald Trump depicting person is holding a hammer behind his back and is thinking “I have a dream”.
Because he is hiding a hammer behind his back it seems like he was the person who mounted the sign over Emma Lazurus’ poem. The only words that can be read are “give me your tired huddled”. The poem welcomes immigrants and represents the ideas that are important for America. It compares the statue of liberty to “the old colossus”, which is the colossus of Rhodes, a war figure. In contrast to this statue, the Statue of liberty is a symbol of education, Enlightenment, Manifest destiny and hope. Her powerful poem ends with the words “Keep ancient lands your storied pomp (…) give me your tired, huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. Those words are said by the Statue of Liberty and mean that the people should leave their riches but bring their masses of people who are wanting to work and trying to live and think freely.
The Words that Donald Trump is saying are related to Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech. He held this speech to tell people how he imagined a free America. His words were meant to end racism and show how unfair laws and discrimination (against black people) are. Because he was colored himself he knew what he was talking about and it is legitimate for him to demand change. As a white person it seems like Donald trump is abusing Martin Luther King’s ideas because he claims the American dream for the privileged white people. In addition to that he symbolizes with the sign that the content of Emma Lazarus’ poem is only meant for white people.
The unfair thing, from the perspective of a black person is that the majority of people making laws are WASP’s (white privileged men). This is also one of the reasons why the emancipation of black people in the American society took so long. People like Trump feel like they have the right to decide for everyone but forget the minorities who have not much to say in politics (despite of Barack Obama or other black politicians).
In conclusion I think that the cartoonist tried to symbolize that white people in America who have powerful positions often limit (or at least try to limit) the possibilities of minorities like black or Hispanic people. The problem with this is that the people who are affected by the choices of powerful politicians do not have a say at decision-making. A strong example for this is the wall between the USA and Mexico that Donald trump is trying to build.
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