Life — January 28, 1915 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "LIFE" Page Analysis **Top Section:** A four-panel comic titled "LIFE" presents a philosophical progression: "Life is a jest—and all things show it—I thought so once—and now I know it." The panels show a figure moving from casual observation to direct experience of life's absurdities. **Bottom Section:** Titled "IF EVE HAD NAMED THE BEASTS," this satirical illustration depicts a woman (Eve) naming various animals labeled with male names: Orlando, Archibald, Cecil, Clarence, Percy, Ferdinand, Algernon, Aloysius, and Reginald. The satire mocks overly refined, aristocratic male names by suggesting they belong to animals rather than proper gentlemen—a jab at affected naming conventions and pretentious masculinity among upper-class society of the era.