Life, 1922-11-02 · page 15 of 40
Life — November 2, 1922 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two domestic humor cartoons from *Life* magazine satirizing parent-child dynamics around Thanksgiving. **Top cartoon:** A family dinner scene where the mother refuses her son Billie more pumpkin pie. Billie protests that children should be allowed to overeat on Thanksgiving without parental interference—a humorous assertion of childhood autonomy versus adult authority. **Bottom cartoon:** A boy tells his father that if he were a parent with a son like himself, he'd help the boy first and wouldn't resort to "old drumsticks" (likely meaning spanking or physical punishment). The satire mocks how children justify their misbehavior while simultaneously criticizing their parents' disciplinary methods. Both cartoons humorously invert the typical parent-authority dynamic, with children making surprisingly logical arguments for why parents should cede control.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mother: No more pumpkin pie, Billie; you’ve had enough. Billie: Well, I think a fella ought to be allowed to eat too much on Thanksgivin’ without anyone buttin’ in. The Boy: If I was a father like you an’ had a boy like me, I'd help him first and I wouldn't spring any old drumsticks on him either. comicbooks.com