Life — November 1, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page This page contains three distinct pieces of social commentary: 1. **"The Toy Shop of Arras"** (Charlotte Becker poem): A melancholic piece about a destroyed toy shop during wartime, with an elderly toy-maker salvaging broken toys amid soldiers and destruction. References WWI damage to the French town of Arras. 2. **"Brain-Workers and Their Habitat"** (Kenneth L. Roberts): Satirizes urban professionals forced to work amid constant noise pollution—automobile sirens, street cars, and city chaos. The critique targets how modern city life undermines intellectual work through relentless acoustic assault. 3. **"High Scholar"**: A brief joke mocking an overly erudite person who knows obscure literary references ("The Star-Spangled Banner's" second verse). The main illustration depicts a woman with two children, captioned "Another Conscientious Objector"—likely satirizing pacifist opposition to WWI.