Life — March 30, 1922 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Pan in Pandemonium" by Berton Braley This poem celebrates Pan, the classical Greek god of nature and fertility, discovering modern urban life. The satire contrasts Pan's mythological essence with 1920s city chaos: he finds unexpected beauty in jazz, romance on park benches, and sensuality amid the noise and crowds. The accompanying illustration shows anthropomorphic pelicans in formal dress on a beach, apparently arrested for performing a "mussel dance"—a pun-based joke playing on the word "mussel" (shellfish) versus "muscle." The pelicans' human clothing and judicial arrest parody Prohibition-era law enforcement's zealousness in prosecuting even absurd offenses. Together, the poem and cartoon suggest how modern civilization constrains natural impulses and joy.