Life — November 22, 1917 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cover cartoon titled "Polley vos Fransay?" depicts a tall American soldier in WWI uniform bending down to communicate with a small French child. The soldier appears to be asking the child a question in broken French ("Do you speak French?"). The humor relies on the language barrier between American troops and French civilians during World War I. American soldiers, newly deployed to France, often struggled with the French language. The exaggerated height difference and the soldier's earnest attempt at communication satirize the cultural and linguistic challenges American soldiers faced while fighting alongside their French allies. The background shows a rural French landscape, emphasizing the foreign setting.