Judge — June 5, 1909 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This two-panel cartoon uses racial caricature to depict a character named "Rastus" (a derogatory stereotype common in early 20th-century American media). **Panel 1:** Rastus dreams of "fishes in abundance"—depicting aspirational fantasy with exaggerated imagery surrounding a sleeping figure. **Panel 2:** The "awakening" shows Rastus confronting harsh reality, surrounded by scattered, broken objects and deprivation rather than plenty. The satire appears to mock the gap between poor Black Americans' hopes and their actual living conditions, though the cartoon's crude racial caricature and stereotyping reflect the publication's deeply racist perspective. The "Rastus" character was a common minstrel-era figure used for dehumanizing comic effect in this era's mainstream media.