Let us get back to analysing the funnies again. In the first part of this series on how to analyse GAMSAT cartoons, you learnt of a very effective cartoonist's technique where he uses analogy to make a point regarding some social issue. In this second part on GAMSAT based MCQs on cartoons, we'll learn about another trick they often use: symbolism. What exactly is a symbol? A symbol is something that represents something else, either by association or by resemblance.* For instance, the rose has commonly been regarded as a symbol of beauty. Cartoonists often employ symbolism in more subtle ways to make their point. Knowing how they do this will help you with analysing cartoons more effectively during GAMSAT. Let's see an example:



This is cartoonist David Low's precise depiction of the results of appeasement. Using the "spineless leaders of democracy" as stepping stones, Hitler marches towards his final destination. Here, each of the national leaders symbolises or represents democracy. As we all know, Hitler too has gone on to become an iconic symbol of despotism. By portraying Hitler, a figure of terror and militarism, in a nose thumbing posture, the cartoonist invites you not only to laugh but also further emphasises the stark gravity of the situation during the world wars. It was chaos and mayhem all over the world during those times.

Observe the next one:



Symbolism is using a concrete picture or concept to represent something abstract. The above cartoon shows Uncle Sam, a universal symbol of the United States of America, stalled in a car representing the doomed financial system of the nation. The elephant and the donkey, here, are symbols of American political parties. The former stands for the Republican Party whereas the latter symbolises the Democratic Party. If you keep a track of American politics, you will get the humour in this cartoon. This makes it important that you are up to date with current affairs, not just local news but also international, for GAMSAT Section I questions. Going back to the cartoon…we see how the two political parties are trying to pull apart the car. The cartoonist uses symbols to persuade readers that the two political parties have conflicting personal aims that could prove detrimental for the nation in the long run.

Cartoonists use symbolism to a double advantage as they get the creative freedom to depict controversial issues, people and organisations in a not so flattering manner without being called to the bar for it.

Editorial cartoons are often accompanied by a few lines of text describing people or things. Make sure you read the ‘fine print' in a cartoon carefully during the GAMSAT Test in order to get a clear idea of what the cartoonist is trying to say. Hope you found some help on how to deal with questions based on cartoons found in Section I for the GAMSAT paper.

References

http://www.worsleyschool.net/socialarts/symbolism/page.html

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