Judge — April 6, 1889 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This two-panel cartoon satirizes Irish immigration to America through ethnic stereotyping common to the era. **Top panel ("In Ireland"):** An Irishman named O'Reagan boasts to neighbors back home that New York streets are paved with gold—a common immigrant fantasy/rumor. **Bottom panel ("In New York"):** The same man, now called "Casey," is shown doing manual labor (appears to be railroad or street work). He admits to a fellow Irish worker that despite a month of hard "pickin'" (labor), they've found no truth to O'Reagan's claims. **The satire:** The cartoon mocks both the naive optimism of Irish emigrants and the disappointing reality they encountered. It portrays Irish immigrants as credulous, perpetuating stereotypes about their dialect, naiveté about American opportunity, and relegation to backbreaking manual work. The joke depends on anti-Irish prejudice typical of 19th-century American publications.