Judge — June 3, 1922 — page 18: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This single-panel cartoon satirizes working-class pride and delayed gratification. An onlooker questions a construction worker about his meager four-dollar daily wage—already modest compensation. The worker's response reveals the satire's target: he claims his *real* reward comes later, when he can show his family the completed building. The joke critiques how workers accept low pay by romanticizing their labor's end product. Rather than demanding fair wages now, the worker finds satisfaction in future pride of accomplishment. This reflects early 20th-century attitudes about manual labor, where personal dignity and family recognition supposedly compensated for economic exploitation. The detailed urban construction scene emphasizes the scale of the work versus the worker's meager compensation, sharpening the satirical contrast between labor invested and reward received.