Cartoon and Prewriting Checklist

Topic: Technology replacing older forms of information.

Story: A student is asking another student how to operate a book.

Audience: This cartoon was produced in the USA and it is current. This cartoon appeared Online.  This text is moderate, because media is supposed to be non biased. Cagle has a range of cartoons with different views so this cartoon speaks to a variety of people.

Author:  Mike Keefe lives and publishes in Denver for The Denver Post. Based on the few cartoons Ive seen he mainly creates social commentary cartoons. Mike also writes books.

Argument: The cartoons message about the issue of technology is not negative, it is simply saying that often kids are mainly exposed to computers and do not often read books. The ironic part of the cartoon is that the boy expects this foreign object to turn on when it's only a book.

Composition: The cartoon is a single frame.

Word and Image: The word and image are both used in this cartoon and rely on each other because without the visual the question posed would not be out of the ordinary. But, when combined with the visual it creates the message. Both the text and visual have equal priority.

Imagery: The artist chooses cartoon imagery of students in a class. He refers to old technology and new technology to make his point.

Tone: This cartoon is comic. The tone makes the subject seem silly to show that it is outlandish for kids to not know what books are.

Character and Setting: This cartoon is composed to 2 main characters in a classroom setting. Both characters are white, school aged, middle class, and male. They are fictional creations. The make up of the class represents the make up of the U.S.

Cultural Resonance: The cartoon explicitly refers to the popularity of personal advanced technology. There is no symbolism, its actual subjects are in the cartoon. The cartoon deals with popular objects that everyone can relate to.