Life, 1920-05-06 · page 24 of 56
Life — May 6, 1920 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains two distinct pieces of social commentary: **"The Search for an Immortal"** mocks the literary establishment's tendency to declare contemporary writers "immortal" based on passionate advocacy rather than proven merit. It specifically names Bernard Shaw, Samuel Butler, and H.G. Wells as examples of authors whose admirers make inflated claims. The piece satirizes how repetition and coteries of supporters create false certainty about literary legacy—a problem only time can resolve. It extends this critique to American writers like Dreiser, Bierce, and W.C. Brann, noting two are already dead. **"Triangles"** is a satirical section using geometric imagery to reduce social/political situations to three-point conflicts: the tired husband versus millinery expenses; Woodrow Wilson versus Lodge regarding the League of Nations; economic forces (bull/bear) versus the vulnerable; corrupt politicians versus the voter; and Time's indifference to the disabled soldier. Each represents contemporary anxieties compressed into dramatic tension. The cartoons mock both literary pretension and contemporary political/social imbalances with biting brevity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
She: MOMENT? © BRAVE SIR KNIGHT, WILT TAKE MY SHOES Ake NOT A PAIR! Ra ME BACK TO MY BOUDOIR BUT A The Search for an Immortal HE game of pick- ing immortals out of the present-day crop of mortals is always interesting, because nobody knows who wins. We can elect our candidates with passionate certainty, knowing that posterity alone can prove us right or wrong. Searcely a month goes by that some immortal doesn’t spring up among us. His claims are usually recorded by a coterie of admirers, who declare that his works will be read as long as there Constant reiteration of this statement begins to make it ap- pear true. immortal has to work alone—as in the case of Bernard Shaw. Mr. Shaw has said so many times, and so positively, are eyes to see, Sometimes, however, an he is even better than Shakespeare that we are coming to believe it—particu larly Hearst. But Mr. Shaw is not selfish. It was he who, more than anyone else, starte«! Samuel Butler on his career of im mortality, by first calling attention 1 Mr. Butler's The Way of All Flesh and Mr. great self since he has been writing for haw slowed in this respect megation, for hy revealing Butler he revealed the fact qhat he f inspiration: His effor immortal out of himself had drawn his chi from that to make an caustic writer. Jutle looks more promising than the effort put forth by the backers of Geo admirable as are the works As for M Galsworthy Gissing of that interesting writer. Wells, Mr. Bennett, Mr. and a host of lesser lights, they are running more or less neck and neck and nobody knows what the result will be. Only one writer in England seen certain to achieve immortality—kiy ling—although we are fully aware that the admirers of Joseph Conrad will But Conrad is, after all neither full British nor full rave at this, American As for Henry James and Robert Louis Stevenson and George Meredith, w« are not going to commit ourselves, as life is precious to us. In this country we have, also run ning about neck and neck, Theodor Dreiser, Ambrose Bierce and Icono clast W. C. Brann, never hea Maybe you have d of any of these gentlemen One of them is alive, and the othe two are dead, both apparently shot hy enemies. Read what is said by thei admirers, and you will agree that Shakespeare, Homer, Gocthe, Moliér< and Moses were all back numbers toddling literary infants. Triangles LEOPATRA, Asp. The tired husband, the H. C. of 1 and the millinery establishment. Woodrow Wilson, The League of ions and Lodge. The bull, the bear and the nice little lamb, The lazy voter, the political boss and the depleted treasury. The disabled soldier, the heedless Republic and Father Time. Antony and the comicbooks.com