Analyzing Political Cartoons with P.O.S.T.

Decoding a political cartoon can be tricky, so remember the acronym P.O.S.T. to help you analyze these valuable sources of information. P.O.S.T. stands for people, objects, symbols, and text. When examining a political cartoon, P.O.S.T. it to determine its message.

P People Who do you see? Do you recognize anyone? Who is center stage? Who is in the background? How are people dressed? Are there any caricatures or exaggerations? Is anyone abnormally larger or small? Is any action taking place?

O Object What do you see? What is center stage? What is in the background? Is anything abnormally large or abnormally small?

S Symbols Do you recognize any symbols that give information? Do any objects have meaning beyond there literal meaning?

T Text Read any words, slogans, captions, or titles. What information do they tell you?

Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed Cartoons

Let’s Review. Briefly Answer the questions below. 1. Who was Boss Tweed? 2. Where was Boss Tweed’s headquarters? 3. How did Tweed “earn” his money? How was he corrupt? 4. How was Tweed’s corruption exposed? Activity Directions: On the following pages, study cartoons by Thomas Nast that depict Boss Tweed. Then, P.O.S.T. each cartoon to determine its message. What is the message of each cartoon? Bonus: if you are feeling especially creative – write an original caption or title for each cartoon. Use the space below to write the message of each cartoon. 1. ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 4. ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 5. ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 6. ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________