Life, 1892-08-04 · page 12 of 16
Life — August 4, 1892 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Satire Analysis This page satirizes **W.D. Howells**, the prominent American writer and critic, for his public statement that he cannot love New York City. **The Main Satire:** Life's editors mock Howells mercilessly for failing to appreciate NYC's "charms"—which the magazine lists ironically: being cursed at by police, struck by Broadway streetcars, enduring rude Elevated guards, paying inflated cab fares, and tolerating tyrannical janitors. The satire suggests that accepting these urban indignities with good humor is the mark of true American spirit. **The Political Dig:** The piece concludes with a barbed jab at **Tammany Hall** (NYC's notorious Democratic political machine run by immigrant-dominated corruption). Life sarcastically suggests that if Howells wants to truly love New York, he should join Tammany and gain political "pull"—implying that Tammany's foreign-born control of city government is both absurd and inescapable. **The Joke:** Howells is portrayed as insufficiently patriotic for not embracing NYC's chaos, corruption, and rudeness as lovable character traits.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ANNIVERSARIES OF THE WEEK. AvousT 2, 1781. E MAKES THE FIRST ASCENT OF MONT BLANC, AUGUST 2, 1100, WILLIAM RUFUS II, KILLED BY AN ARROW IN THE NEW FOREST. AUGUST 5, 1807. FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE HUDSON RIVER. HE wages of sin is death, and up to date the sinners have never struck for an increase. “ MARIAR, YER AIN'T CHANGED THAT MUCH THAT I KIN SEE YER TER WHAT YER WUZ AS A CHILD!” LOOK TER ME JUS’ FUR ALL THE WORLD AS. R WUZ A SCHOOL GIRL I” R. W. D. HOW- ELLS has given utterance to the almost sacrilegious sentiment that he does not see how any one can love New York City. This was all that was to be expected from a man of Mr.Howells’s cali- bre. He has not yet reached that stage of ethical culture where it becomes an ineffable joy to be cursed at and per- haps clubbed by a Chester- fieldian New York police- man. His soul does not rise to the bliss of being thrown off of and perhaps run over by a Broadway car which refuses to stop for him. His ignoble spirit cannot take pleasure in walking through dirty and truck-lined streets. Heis too slow to enjoy the poignant wit of the guards and gatemen on the Elevated. His mean spirit will not permit him to pay three fares every time he rides ina cab. Perhaps he lived in a flat and was too dense to appreciate that the tyranny of the jani- tor was exerted altruistically and for the well-being of Mr. Howells and his family. And, finally, we do not think Mr. Howells possesses that true American spirit which should enable him to view philosophically the interesting experiment in government now going on in New York City. The spectacle of a great metropolis permitting itself to be ruled by foreign-born inhabitants isn't to be seen every day. If Mr. Howells really wants to love New York he should join Tammany Hall, acquire a good-sized pull, and then see what a lovable city this is. This stor, pot the cr p the grea jk of afters ste is gig Home Jo! PaTHeR comicbooks.com