Late October Cartoon Analysis

• Cartoon date: fall of 1939
• This cartoon is satirizing the relationship between Hitler and Stalin after they agreed on a non-aggression pact (1939) that Germany and Russia will not invade each other
• The sarcasm of the writing, "wonder how long the honeymoon will last?" implies that they are going to break up just like a marriage when there are ups and downs
• I believe that the color of this cartoon is in black and white because it is drawn back in 1939
• Hitler is the groom (has Nazi symbol on his suit) / Stalin is the bride
• Personally, I think that the artist made the bride (Stalin) looking very happy and trusted to depict how naive and gullible Stalin is compared to Hitler--> Hitler invaded Russia only after 2 years he signed the pact with Stalin

Metacognitive

The cartoon above is illustrating a marriage between Germany's leader, Hitler, and Russia's leader, Stalin. The drawing portrays Stalin's facial expression to be very cheerful but it is rather implying that Stalin will be tricked and backstabbed later on. This impression positions Stalin as a 'clown' who is dimwitted and easily manipulated. Although the drawing does not write or include any clues about the event the artist satirizes, he assumes that the viewers would know the occurrence in 1939 where Hitler failed to follow the terms in the non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia.

Furthermore, I believe that this cartoon represents the artist's view towards non-aggression pact between Stalin and Hitler. The sarcastic tone through the writing, "Wonder how long the honeymoon will last" shows that he disbelieves the non-aggression pact will work since the cartoon is drawn prior to the failure of the agreement. Not only that, I feel that the artist drew this picture to persuade people in his decade that the agreement between their leaders is just a fraud. On the other hand, because the artist is anonymous, we can also interpret that the artist might be a witness from another country in World War II but not Germany and Russia. The way the message is portrayed shows that the artist treats the agreement between this two leader as a joke. Therefore, it can be inferred that he/she ridicules the non-aggression pact as a senseless agreement. 

I feel that this cartoon is very enjoyable and creative on the ideas of satirizing these two leaders. The use of humor and sarcasm plays a role in making the viewers reminded of the failure of the nonaggression pact.