Life — May 31, 1883 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a four-panel satirical comic strip depicting monkeys mistreating each other, told as a narrative sequence: **Panel I:** A monkey steals peanuts from "Polly" (likely a parrot), injuring her. **Panel II:** Another monkey adds insult by mocking the injured bird in a cage. **Panel III:** The first monkey faces consequences—"retribution is at hand"—depicted being trapped or crushed. **Panel IV:** The second monkey achieves "entire satisfaction," sitting contentedly. The strip appears to be social satire using animal characters to illustrate a moral lesson about wrongdoing and comeuppance. Without additional context about *Life* magazine's specific concerns at publication, the exact human figures or situations being lampooned remain unclear. The anthropomorphized animals likely represent recognizable contemporary figures or social groups.