Life — October 4, 1888 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Fearing the Worst" This cartoon satirizes childhood logic and parental anxiety. A boy named Sammy refuses to attend school, claiming his classmate Howie Hurlbut hasn't come all day. When his mother asks why this matters, Sammy reasons that since Howie's mother died, Howie may stay home permanently—and if his own mother dies, he too could stay home indefinitely. His mother points out he'd still have to attend school during vacation weeks. The humor lies in Sammy's darkly morbid reasoning: he's essentially wishing for his mother's death as a loophole to escape school obligations. The satirical target is childhood selfishness and the absurd logic children employ to avoid responsibilities, presented with Victorian-era sensibilities about mortality.