Life — November 29, 1917 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 864 This page contains wartime satire about food rationing and sacrifice during what appears to be WWI (based on references to draft exemptions and Liberty Bonds). **"Hobson's Choice"** depicts a domestic argument where Mr. Hobson presents his wife with extreme rationing: one chop, minimal bread, no desserts, five meatless days. He justifies starvation as patriotic duty to avoid German invasion. The satire mocks both strict home rationing policies and husbands using patriotism to justify deprivation. **"The Test"** and accompanying sketch appear to critique class disparities—one illustration shows a well-dressed woman with a car, contrasting with rationing rhetoric. **"Bucolic Climaxes"** sarcastically praises farmers' wartime benefits: high prices, draft exemptions, low taxes, and bond purchases—suggesting farmers profited while civilians starved, exposing hypocrisy in "shared sacrifice."