Life — October 4, 1917 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is the cover of *Life* magazine's "Cooks' Number" from October 4, 1917. The cartoon depicts a jovial cook in a kitchen, juggling frying pans with the caption "THE MAN BEHIND THE MAN BEHIND THE GUN." The phrase "man behind the gun" was WWI-era slang referencing soldiers. This satirical inversion—focusing on the cook who feeds soldiers—humorously elevates the cook's role as essential to military readiness. The timing (1917, when America entered WWI) suggests the joke celebrates home-front workers, particularly food providers, as crucial to the war effort. The exaggerated, caricatured expression and domestic kitchen setting emphasize how ordinary civilians contributed indirectly to military success through their labor, especially food production and supply.