Judge — July 4, 1925 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Cartoon Analysis: "Atlas, Jr." This cartoon depicts a figure labeled "Atlas, Jr." struggling to support a house-shaped structure containing multiple scenes of domestic chaos and financial burden. The roof bears the label "MORTGAGE," emphasized as a heavy weight crushing downward. Inside the building, various vignettes show struggling families and what appears to be a car, suggesting economic hardship. On the left, a figure labeled "GOVERNMENT" appears to be adding additional burden. The satire critiques how ordinary citizens—positioned as modern-day Atlas figures—bear the weight of mortgages, government taxation, and economic obligations that keep them perpetually strained. The cartoon likely comments on post-WWI economic pressures or Depression-era financial hardship, portraying homeownership and government burden as crushing weights on the working class.