Life, 1916-07-13 · page 25 of 40
Life — July 13, 1916 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon satirizes childhood mischief: a gang of children runs wildly through a rural setting, apparently having been offered money to fetch a man from a garage—likely depicting the chaos and pandemonium such an offer would create among rowdy kids. The bottom illustration shows a child boasting to his mother about winning an English composition prize, with the caption using period slang ("cinched," "skinned a mile") to convey youthful pride. The accompanying essay mocks parental pretension. While parents claim to want their sons reading "good literature," the piece argues this is meaningless moralizing. Boys prefer dime novels, and parents might better serve them by teaching discernment between quality and poor writing rather than simply demanding they read "proper" books. The satire targets the gap between what parents *say* they want and what actually interests children—a gentle critique of Victorian-era parental sanctimoniousness about cultural improvement.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ MOTHER, I CINCHED THE PRIZE IN ENGLISH COMPO AND HAD THE REST OF THE BUNCH SKINNED A MILE.” PD | What We Really Want You want your boy to read good literature. Every thoughtful mother and father wishes the same thing. —Advertisement in The Independent. Ss° do all the fathers and mothers who are not thought- ful, and doubtless they are in the majority. It is rfectly proper, and possibly useful, to wish for some- ing which appears to be such a good thing that nobody ight to question it. But, in this instance, is there not mething to be said on the other side? What good does do for any “thoughtful” parents to “want” their boys read good literature, when the boys would rather read Ime novels? It may be much more sensible to want your y to know the difference between good and bad literature learning both kinds. Besides, literature in the form of dime novel may be the best kind, Difference of opinion iS to what good literature is makes it always possible to baits as bad literature that which is good. comicbooks.com