Life — April 5, 1917 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising and literary promotion**, not political satire. The main content concerns a debate about whether students should read "old books or the new"—a commentary on literary taste and cultural modernism. The central illustration depicts a classical or mythological scene of figures by water, accompanying promotional text for **Morgan Robertson's love stories**. The advertisement emphasizes that Robertson's work offers timeless romantic narratives ("her wooing was like the first love story"). The left column presents a dialogue mocking both traditionalists ("Back Number") and modernists ("Modern Literary Critic") as equally dogmatic about reading preferences. The satire gently critiques rigid cultural positions from both camps—not a political cartoon, but rather commentary on contemporary debates about artistic merit and relevance.