Throughout history, political cartoons have been used to express an individual or a group of people’s perspectives on certain political or social issues. Through various visual techniques, the cartoonist can portray their values and beliefs on diverse subjects, such as immigration. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Chinese immigration in the United States rose to unprecedented numbers which prompted many xenophobic Americans to speak out. In “The Chinese Must Go,” the symbolism of the Chinese man running away with a money bag to China represents the belief that Chinese immigrants are exploiting the American economy. In “The Great Fear of the Period,” the symbolism of the Chinese man swallowing Uncle Sam conveys the idea that Chinese foreigners are destroying American culture. Ultimately, “The Chinese Must Go” and “The Great Fear of the Period” both utilize symbolism to portray the United States nativist negative perception of Chinese immigrants in the late nineteenth century. In “The Chinese Must Go,” the cartoonist depicts a Chinese man running with a bag of money to China, symbolizing the American conviction that Chinese immigrants were taking advantage of the American economy in the late nineteenth century. The Missouri Steam Wash chest that is chasing the Chinese foreigner has red and white pants to symbolize that it is an American business. This is done to portray the Chinese as making money in the American economy, but then taking this acquired
As time goes on, definitions of words change. In the Elizabethan era, the word shrew has been used to define ill-tempered and sharp-tongued women. Yet in present day, associating a specific gender with a word is not as important as it was in the past. The noun shrew could be used to define any human, despite their gender. In Taming of the Shrew, Katherina Minola is supposedly the shrew which the title of the play has labelled. However, when Petruchio is introduced to the play, it is easily apparent that he is a significantly more accurate depiction of a shrew. Petruchio, from Taming of the Shrew, accurately portrays a shrew because of his unpleasant characteristics and the cruel way he treats Katherina.
In the mid 19th century, America was viewed as a hotspot for freedom and wealth. When the noise of the gold rush flooded the world, immigrants started to see America more appetizing than ever. The Chinese saw America as a place to have a fresh start and as a place of refuge because of it’s generosity, so they immigrated to the west in great numbers. There was a large Chinese population in Virginia and all along the Pacific coast. Writers Mark Twain and Maxine Hong Kingston both wrote in great detail about the Chinese Immigrants. They went into detail about the immigrants and how they came over and why. Although Twain and Kingston both wrote about the immigrants in a positive light, Twain was sympathetic of the immigrants and Kingston focused more on their image and her ancestors.
The Chinese were excluded to allow Americans to get jobs. These jobs would help feed and put up a roof for their family. In the Chinese play, “The Chinese Must Go,” it mocks the fact that the Chinese have no families they have to support. The Nast political cartoon shows Columbia protecting a Chinese man from a gang of thugs. In the Workingmen speech, Americans say that they slept with security until the Chinese came.
Dry from the Prohibition Era, the Tammany Tiger from Nast’s strips, and the comic strip Pogo from during Mccarthyism. In each of these sections Pitz discusses how political cartoons use and create symbols to make political statements. In the case of the Tammany Tiger, Pitz discussed how Nast used the tiger that Tweed wore on his equipment when he worked as Forman of New York’s Big Six Fire Company, and adopted it to represent the man himself and the voracity of all of Tammany Hall. This article comes from a fairly reputable source, and information similar to other sources. It is also consists almost entirely of examples and states very little in the way of opinion.
The document was produced at this time because it was a time when the Chinese where treated bad, and it helps because it achieved some peace towards the Chinese. At some point it might of lowered the Chinese death rate. This picture was created by Thomas Nast, and his perspective was to protect Chinese immigrants from violence of evil people. This relates to the Chinese exclusion act by showing violence. This portrait is important because it demonstrates the good examples and it offers protection to the Chinese. This contradicts the exclusion act because it shows Irish and Germans being cruel to a Chinese man because they are immigrants too. This is ironic because they were once going thru the same troubles to be in America. Also “Columbia” is supposed to agree with her U.S. laws but disputes the laws in every way. According to Thomas Nast in his cartoon points out how the Chinese immigrants where brutally treated by, also, former immigrants. Although there is much evidence to show that U.S. laws exclude Chinese people, an analysis of the document contradicts that not all American great names and great people support with this act. This is demonstrated by showing Ms. Columbia protecting poor Chinese immigrant and stating that “America means fair play for all men”
As the recession hit, it became attractive to hire Chinese immigrants because they were willing to work for less while whites were not. The presence of Chinese labor became an insecurity for whites as it reminded them that they could easily be replaced as assumptions about white superiority and non-white inferiority came to influence views on work and immigration. As the economy worsened and the panic of 1857 began, racist anti-Chinese rhetoric emerged and spread among labor organizers and “Chinese were accused of being dangerous, deceitful and vicious, criminal, cowardly and inferior from a mental and moral point of view.” White labor organizers used this rhetoric to portray Chinese immigrants as dangerous and as unchristian in ways in
Ancient Greek poetry is celebrated for portraying classic tales of heroics and epic legends, yet very few poets were concerned with the unpretentious livelihoods of the common man. Among these Greek poets is Hesiod, whose works have been sourced for its depictions of early social customs and economic practices. Hesiod is distinct from other ancient singers because he may have been a tangible person, and not simply a figure pieced together from a cluster of other bards. His surviving piece, Works and Days, demonstrates his physical existence as a guide for his inept brother, Perses. He warns Perses that the unscrupulous road he is following would lead only to calamity and despair.
Cartoons have been a prominent and interesting apparatus for politics throughout the ages. Political movements, parties, and groups using propaganda to further their beliefs dates back to the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Though America faces an austere history, lighthearted propaganda colors its decades and gives them life. Political cartoons are so widely used in America that they have become a significant piece of pop culture. Moreover, because of their ability to capture the reader’s attention, propaganda is exploited throughout politics.The cartoons are wonders of the human imagination; illustrators create comical images and intertwine profound political opinions to influence their viewer’s mind. For example, one movement that abundantly grew from propaganda was the women’s rights movement. The artists of the seemingly despised cause drew controversial cartoons that set a fire in the hearts of women all over the world. Consequently, the same cartoons ignited a passionate war between women who wanted freedom, and those who believed that women could not handle that freedom. Through the use of colorful concepts and daring expressions, political cartoons display the influence of the women’s rights movement throughout history, while the cartoons of Anti-Feminists demonstrates the world’s reaction to the movement.
The tale “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luch Wang depicts the story of three characters, Monkey, Jin, and Danny. They all have the problem of fitting into their new environments. Jin Wang has to deal with Asian stereotypes. Danny has to deal with embarrassment of his cousin. Lastly, Monkey has to deal with the fact that there is no position for him in the heavenly ranks. However, over time, these characters have to come together to fit in. Yet the question remains: what exactly about fitting in is the problem? Although Jin Wang takes the form of Danny to reject his Chinese roots, the embarrassment of Chin-Knee shows he cannot hide behind a false American identity, thereby delineating that race is the source of his problem.
In the book The Quiet American Phoung, the beautiful Vietnamese girl caught in a love triangle with an American spy and a war correspondent, is seen as a commodity, something to be bartered, without actually taking her feelings into consideration. She is treated as a delicate victim who needs saving by the men in the book but although it seems like Greene is portraying Phuong as nothing more than an object, he means for her to represent much more than that. Greene’s portrayal of Phuong as an object represents the treatment of the Vietnamese people in the hands of the Americans. She is meant to be symbolic of her country, both men, American and British want to possess her, much like the war raging in Vietnam.
Pun Chi said in his appeal to congress, “... we came here presuming that our arrival would be hailed with cordiality and favor… we Chinese are viewed like… enemies….” He then continues further in his appeal multiple injustices that have been happening to Chinese immigrants, that include Chinese not being allowed to bring action or testify against white men, humiliation of the Chinese, and others. Men went over to China and painted such a beautiful picture of America, but when the immigrants arrived they were treated with such disrespect and so cruelly that it is unjustifiable. One can argue that the men who journeyed to foreign
The article begins by describing the National Review cover that featured President Clinton, the first lady, and Vice President Al Gore all in yellowface. The article was meant to show the political corruption during Clinton’s campaign since he solicited donations from the Asian community in return for favors. The National Review did not make it seem as though Clinton was at fault, instead, they created the image that Asian money had polluted the political process. For many years and still to this day to some extent, Asians have been seen as a pollutant to American society, or they are perceived to be out of place and therefore have been cast as an economic, social, and sexual burden to the American society. Matthew Fong is one example of this. He was a fourth generation Californian who ran for secretary of state. During his campaign, he was asked if his loyalties were divided between the United States and China, just because of his appearance. Even though the events described happened over twenty years ago, there were still issues surrounding race in the past election. One example is Pepe the Frog. This started out as an innocent online comic that turned into a meme and eventually became offensive and racist as the alt-right began to use Pepe. The number of offensive Pepe memes grew in number before eventually disappearing from the everyday person's
In China,many people think the magpie as omens of auspicious birds,and hearing magpie’s call is considered to bring luck.In contrast,the crow is a symbol of ill omen for some people,the place where many crows appeared on is meant to have wars,disasters,or other bad thing in ancient China because crows are
When thousands of Chinese migrated to California after the gold rush the presence caused concern and debate from other Californians. This discussion, popularly called the “Chinese Question,” featured in many of the contemporary accounts of the time. In the American Memory Project’s “California: As I Saw It” online collection, which preserves books written in California from 1849-1900, this topic is debated, especially in conjunction with the Chinese Exclusion Act. The nine authors selected offer varying analyses on Chinese discrimination and this culminating act. Some give racist explanations, but the majority point towards the perceived economic competition between
Sui Sin Far’s short story, “In the Land of the Free” touches on the reality of being a Chinese immigrant in late-19th century America. The story revolves around a Chinese couple. The husband is ready for his wife, Lae Choo, to arrive from China with their new son, later named Kim. However, due to policies on immigration, the American government was forced to take possession of the child due to a lack of paperwork. However, Far’s short-story has a deeper meaning than just focusing on unfair immigration policies. She takes advantage of the story’s ending to symbolize a rejection of immigrant culture, most especially Chinese immigrant culture, by taking advantage of Kim’s change in behaviors, appearance, and dialect.