Life — March 22, 1917 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page contains two distinct pieces: **"Modern Confessions" (left):** A first-person narrative from a man obsessed with hats. He owns eight hats, hides this from his wife, and becomes increasingly anxious about acquiring more. The piece satirizes male consumerism and obsessive collecting, portraying the hat-buyer as psychologically troubled—unable to stop despite knowing it's irrational. It mocks both the compulsion and the secrecy men employ around purchases. **"The Great Need" (right):** Commentary on a new Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union branch in Duluth, Minnesota. The satire criticizes unions as arriving "too late" and sarcastically proposes manufacturing standardized "servants" via machine—a Henry Ford-style assembly line for domestic help. It mocks both unions and the wealthy's desire for perfectly efficient, obedient servants, questioning whether such automation is progress or absurdity. Both pieces satirize modern American consumption and labor anxieties.