Life — September 24, 1903 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 289 **The Cartoon "Aaron's Rod":** This depicts a biblical reference—Aaron's rod from Exodus, which miraculously produced serpents. The sketch shows two figures in Egyptian dress (representing Moses and Aaron from the biblical narrative) performing magic before what appears to be Egyptian royalty seated on a throne. **The Satirical Point:** The caption's crude dialogue ("By jigs! snakes! The Queen: Nonsense, Egypt! You've been drinking. They are only the latest thing in sticks") mocks Egyptian royalty as gullible or intoxicated, while the "latest thing" quip suggests contemporary fashion or fads. **Context:** This appears to be satirizing both biblical literalism and perhaps contemporary fascination with Egyptology or archaeological discoveries popular in early 20th-century America.