Life — October 21, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "Life" Page: "On Games" This page features an illustration titled "The Guilty Ones" depicting an adult and child by a stream, with dialogue about hockey. Below is a poem "On Games" by Carolyn Wells celebrating various sports. The cartoon's satire appears to address parental hypocrisy: the adult warns the child that the mother would disapprove of them playing hockey together, yet suggests they won't tell her. This captures turn-of-the-century anxieties about children's unsupervised activities and gender-appropriate play. The accompanying poem romanticizes games—golf, cricket, roulette, and ball sports—presenting them as noble pursuits that teach skill and character. The satire likely mocks this sentimental view by juxtaposing it with the cartoon's depiction of deception and rule-breaking in actual play.