Judge — July 6, 1929 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Judge Cartoon Page This cartoon satirizes class consciousness and social anxiety among working-class men. Three working-class laborers sit together on what appears to be public transit, reading a newspaper. The middle figure asks, "Do yer think it would be all right if I turned over nose, Bert?"—a humorous reference to "turning up one's nose," an expression meaning to show disdain or superiority. The joke plays on the irony of people with limited social standing worrying about appearing "elevated" or snobbish. The title, "How Low the 'Elevated' Can Make One Feel," references the elevated train system while suggesting that even riding on modern infrastructure makes ordinary workers anxious about maintaining proper social dignity. It's gentle satire about class self-consciousness.