Life — November 11, 1920 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page titled "SMILES" by W.J. Enright presents a series of character sketches exploring different types of smiles and facial expressions. The cartoons depict men in business suits displaying various emotional states: confusion, suspicion, anxiety, forced cheerfulness, and desperation—often while interacting with women or dealing with apparent misfortune. The humor derives from exaggerating how men's expressions betray their true feelings despite attempts to maintain composure. One figure sports a thought bubble labeled with dollar signs; another appears to be hiding distress. The sketches satirize masculine pretense in early 20th-century society, suggesting that men's carefully constructed public facades of confidence frequently crack under social or financial pressure, revealing underlying worry and insincerity.