Life — August 2, 1917 — page 36: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page combines a **tire advertisement** (top) with a **satirical cartoon** (bottom). The **ad** promotes United States Tires' "Royal Cord" brand with typical marketing language about durability and quality. The **cartoon** below is the satirical content. Titled "Levels: The Man Who Hates Women, Children, Dogs," it depicts a staircase showing progressively lower figures descending in order: a woman, a child, a dog, a man (appearing angry or gesturing), another man, and finally a man at the bottom. The satire appears to mock misogyny by literally ranking women, children, and animals as superior to—positioned above—men who hate them. It's a biting critique suggesting such a man occupies the lowest social rung, less worthy than those he despises. This reflects early-20th-century *Life* magazine's frequent satirical attacks on hypocrisy and social vices, using visual hierarchy to make its moral point.