Life — December 20, 1917 — page 13: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts a young boy feeding a dog outside a doghouse while daydreaming (shown in the thought bubble above). His fantasy imagines himself as a soldier in combat—lying wounded alongside another soldier, with a dog nearby on a battlefield with cliffs in the background. The satire contrasts the boy's humble present duty ("his bit") of caring for a pet with his romanticized vision of military heroism. This likely reflects WWI-era sentiment, when citizens were encouraged to contribute to the war effort. The cartoon gently mocks how children fantasized about glorious combat while performing mundane domestic tasks, suggesting the gap between wartime romantic ideals and actual responsibility.