Life, 1916-11-09 · page 15 of 40
Life — November 9, 1916 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the contrast between public and private behavior. The left panel shows men arguing loudly on a crowded city street, seemingly disturbing the peace. The right panel depicts a domestic interior where a man reads calmly while a woman sits nearby. The caption's rhetorical question suggests irony: if people struggle to keep peace in public spaces, why should homes be sanctuaries from conflict? This likely critiques either male behavior (aggressiveness in public but expecting quiet domesticity) or domestic discord being ignored while public disturbances receive attention. The cartoon appears to comment on gender dynamics and hypocrisy regarding civility standards across different social spaces.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: A Contest in Criticism —$500 Reward the best criticism of Lire, comprised in a letter or article not exceeding two hundred and fifty words in length, and complying with the con- ditions of the contest, we will award a prize of five hundred dollars. The award will be made on the merit and enter- taining quality of the criticisms, whether favorable or otherwise. We shall print a number of the best of them if they seem worthy of that distinction, regardless of their severity. Here are the conditions. Please, please read them carefully and comply with them exactly, so that we won't have to throw your contribution out as being ineligible. CONDITIONS All contributions must be addressed to The Con- test Editor of Lire, 17 West Thirty-first Street, New York City. The criticism must be clearly written or, better yet, typewritten on one side of the paper. The writer’s name and address should appear in one of the upper corners. Envelopes should contain absolutely nothing but the criticism and sender’s name and address. If you have anything else to say to Lire, send it in a separate enclosure. . It is not necessary to be a subscriber to Lire to enter the competition. It is open to the world, but no competitor may send in more than one criticism. In case of ties the full amount of the prize will be given to each tying contestant. Contestants are advised to keep duplicate copies of manuscripts sub- mitted, as no contributions will be returned. The Editors of Lire will be the sole judges of the comparative merit of the contributions, and in all matters their decision will be final. Just the same, you needn't be afraid of hurting their feel- ings. All contesting criticisms must positively be in Lire Office not later than noon, December 26, and the award will be announced in the issue of January 18. In other contests competitors have been barred out because they figured the time limit too closely and did not allow for delays in the mail. Send your contribution early so as to avoid this chance. KEEPING THE PEACE IF ON THE STREET, WHY NOT IN THE HOME?