Life — November 11, 1915 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Page 896: "Sights I Yearn to See" This page presents a satirical wishlist of everyday observations the author desires. The left cartoon shows a child ignoring a "NO SWIMMING" sign at a pond, with the caption "The Duck: 'ISN'T BELIEVE THAT SIGN, SONNY. I'VE BEEN IN ALL DAY AND IT'S FINE.'" This mocks children's tendency to disregard safety warnings and animals' apparent indifference to rules. The right illustration depicts "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe"—a nursery rhyme character with so many children she sends them to factory labor while she stays in bed. This satirizes both the nursery rhyme's dark implications and perhaps contemporary child labor practices or family management struggles. The upper text lists humorous desires: witnessing architects carrying trunks, subway guards being gentle, rain-coat manufacturers testing products—ordinary life moments presented as remarkable or worthy of witnessing.