Life — December 28, 1916 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Some New Year's Resolutions" (Life Magazine) This satirical cartoon presents four caricatured figures making humorous New Year's resolutions that reveal their actual vices rather than genuine self-improvement. Each character holds a sign advertising what they claim to reform, but the exaggerated drawings suggest their resolutions are insincere or impossible. The figures appear to represent stereotypical character types (possibly political or social figures, though specific identities are unclear from the image alone). The joke relies on the contrast between stated intentions and implied reality—the resolutions are transparently false boasts, mocking how people make impossible promises at year's end. The page includes Christmas and New Year greetings, subscription information for Life magazine, and a separate commentary by "Minerva" about the magazine's value. This was typical Life magazine content: satirical commentary on contemporary social behavior.