Judge, 1929-05-25 · page 9 of 36
Judge — May 25, 1929 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Satire Analysis: "Judge" Page This page satirizes Irish immigrants and their stereotypical speech patterns through absurdist humor. The main narrative, told in exaggerated Irish dialect ("Begob," "Faix"), describes a character named Considine who begins collecting "lawn-rollers" after receiving one from the Lord Mayor—a joke playing on Irish accent confusion or misunderstanding. The humor escalates absurdly: Considine hunts rollers globally (the Baltic, Khyber Pass), treats them like game animals with "native Dublin beaters," and even marries a woman he found "caught in one of our roller traps." The small cartoon at bottom-left features a caricatured figure boasting about attending a "Bide-a-wee Pet Home" tea-dance benefit. The satire relies on ethnic stereotyping common to early 20th-century American humor—mocking Irish dialect, perceived foolishness, and working-class status. The absurdist escalation suggests mockery of Irish immigrants' social pretensions and supposed naïveté.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘Is the wife entertainin’ tonight?’ “Not very,’ s “Begob, I've devil a place for my lawn-roller, it covered with moss and wastin’ away in the cel- lar, and the old lady jawin’ me to give it someone!’ “"Faix,’ [ says, ‘give it to me I says. ‘And strike me pink, I'll start a coll s his worship. tion af the craytures.’ “Done, Considine boyo,’ says the Lord Mayor. ‘And what's more, it’s the soft snap I'll be after givin’ you in the Sewer De- partment!" With the Lord Mayor's roller as a nucleus, Considine set about building up his collection. He sold his wife and bought a steam trawler with which he dredged the Baltic for new specimens. By the strict Irish roller laws he was compelled to throw back all roll- ers which would pass through In 1913 he or; Schwartzbard roller expedition into the Khyber Pass. With sev- enteen native Dublin beaters to flush the rollers from their lairs, he bagged twelve good specimens and stuffed them on the spot. Often a baby roller would be tied to a sapling, and when the mother roller, her tusks lifted in rage, would charge on the scene, Con- sidine would bring her down with a few well-directed oaths. “And that was how I met my second wife.” said Considin dicating Nos . who was fill- ing her husband's shoes with lemon pie in preparation for fill- ing them with lemon pic. “Some class to you. So you're going to the tea-dance benefit of the Bide-a-wee Pet Home!" “Oh, no, my dear, this place is never bothered, you see it’s quite— above—the city limits.” looked so wistful with her foot caught in one of our roller traps that I simply had to propose. When I made my first: proposal she slapped my ‘fi I apolo- tized, and we were married by a Spanish holy roller to the strains of *‘Duenna New Low-Down.’ ” Dusk was settling over Manhat- toes Island as we tiptoed noise- lessly out of Schwartzbard’s suite. Down Limehouse way slant-eyed Chinkies dreamed “neath rustling lanterns and wooed the Poppy Queen. In the compound the Kaf- firs hummed their primal chant; and Danny, the whimsical old lamp-lighter, stole along Evany Street in the violet hush of twi light. Love had come to Mr. Schwartzbard. J. Penenwan comicbooks.com