Life, 1920-12-23 · page 3 of 44
Life — December 23, 1920 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **subscription advertisement** for *Life* magazine itself, using humor to persuade readers to subscribe. **The Satire:** A character named Griggson deliberates over spending $5 on a *Life* subscription. His internal monologue humorously lists self-improvement justifications—improved artistic sense, literary taste, and social awareness—before he ultimately decides to take a cheaper trial subscription instead of committing fully. **The Joke:** The visual metaphor shows a figure literally struggling under the weight of "CONSCIENCE," representing the internal conflict between wanting self-improvement and financial caution. The accompanying figure with the balloon represents the lighter relief a trial subscription offers. **The Point:** This satirizes readers' rationalization of their purchasing decisions, while gently mocking penny-pinching hesitation about cultural refinement—a common concern during this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What Would You Do? Griggson looked at his five-dollar bill for a long time in deep silence. Then he folded it up and pug it in his pocket. Then he took it out again. “Tf I do it,’’ he reflected, ‘‘I shall feel better at the end of the year. My sense of art will be improved; my literary taste will be clarified; I shall be tided over certain inevitable melancholy moments—fortified against de- pression. And I shall be duly informed of the progress of certain customs and manners of which I could be informed in no other way. Still—’” He hesitated again. “I ought to do it,’’ he said. ‘But just now I will wait. I'll take a trial subscription to twelve issues of Lire, send them the smaller amount and later on—" He paused again. “After all,’? he said— Special Offer Open only to new subscribers; no subscriptions renewed at this rate LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York. Enclosed find One Dollar (Canadian $1.20 Foreign $1.40). Send Lire for three months (twelve issues) to Grrr rrr rrr ec nee nn ee One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.80: Foreign. $6.60) comicbooks.com