Judge — January 29, 1887 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This appears to be a satirical illustration titled "Mephistopheles" depicting Joseph Pulitzer (the famous newspaper publisher). The cartoon shows a demonic or Faustian figure in dark robes on the left confronting a reclining man on the right, with chaotic scenes of revelry and excess depicted above in clouds. The satire likely critiques Pulitzer's sensationalist journalism methods and his influence over public opinion—comparing his media power to the devil's corrupting influence. The reference to Mephistopheles (Faust's demonic tempter) suggests Pulitzer is portrayed as a seductive corruptor of society through his newspaper empire. The scene above may represent the chaos and moral degradation the cartoonist believed resulted from his yellow journalism tactics. This reflects late 19th-century tensions regarding media moguls' growing social power.