Life, 1917-01-04 · page 25 of 38
Life — January 4, 1917 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American rudeness through mock-earnest instruction. The central article ironically teaches readers how to be *deliberately* impolite by combining selfishness, thoughtlessness, and hypocrisy—then concealing it under false politeness. The satire targets the contradiction between Americans' claimed gentility and their actual behavior. Key satirical points: interrupting conversations, appearing bored at social visits, bullying service workers (shop girls), and exploiting others' weaknesses. The humor lies in Life *endorsing* bad manners as a refined art form requiring practice. The surrounding fake advertisements extend this mockery—a poultry incubator that causes constant bother, a sweater that shrinks immediately, a hot water bag that explodes. These absurdist ads mirror the article's deadpan tone, suggesting consumer culture itself promotes frustration and failure. The final cartoon about hippopotamuses wanting servants to "turn on the mud" in their bath mocks wealthy people's absurd entitlement and reliance on domestic labor. The satire critiques American rudeness, class snobbery, and consumer culture.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Our School of Bad Manners ‘O be ordinarily impolite is the priv- ilege of every American. But while dmit freely that bad manners come lly to most people, can it be said that we are doing all we can to give them : proper finish and direction? The lowing suggestions may be of service to all those who feel that their manners are not so bad as they ought to be, We should first bear in mind that the basis of all bad manners is selfishness. lf you can add to this enough thought- lessness and ignorance, your progress will be rapid. On the other hand, your success will only be commonplace and crude unless to these necessary fundamentals you add enough hypocrisy to make it appear that you are a gentleman, Your finest success will come when you are thus able to con- ceal your bad manners under an outward show of politeness. This principle, how- ever, you should not carry too far; other- wise you may wake up some day to find yourself under the necessity of strug- gling to become unconsciously over-con- siderate. Practice daily at the following: Never let the person with whom you are talking finish what he has to say. Always captrive, in some ingenious man- ner, to interrupt him at some point, and switch off on some story of your own. If you happen to be visiting at the house of a friend, insist upon being en- “LIFE: Advertisements You Have Never Seen Poultry Is Such ABotherBut- . FYou Use A DOUBLE MINUS NO-GO INCUBATOR, YouLL Never Be DoTHerep By Ctttckens. time, impression tertaincd every moment of the while conveying the subtle that you are being bored to death, Always browbeat those beneath you in the social scale. When you are being waited upon by some shop girl, for ex- ample, forget that she is tired out and has troubles of her own. Threaten to re- port her. Above all things, make a rule to dis- cover the weaknesses of others. Armed with this knowledge, you can, by dwell- ing upon them in many obscure and ap- parently unnoticed ways, cause more real misery than in almost any other manner. Taken for Granted LET: A lady called while you were cut, suh. Bacuetor: Was she young? Vatet: No, suh! No, suh! She was an experienced lady. RUIN YOUR GAME InA Shrinking _ Violet 8s. Sweater. Lista it ‘Shrinks By The Minute And Doesrit Fit When You Buy Ht. HOT WATER BAG. “Tue Bac Ta Busts Wirt Exrrususe, In the Toils IRST HIPPOPOTAMUS : the matter, my dear? Stcoxo Hirro: I sometimes wish you had never been so prosperous. I simply cannot get a servant to turn on the mud in my bath every morning. What's