Life, 1923-02-01 · page 31 of 40
Life — February 1, 1923 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks early-20th-century parenting attitudes and children's precocious maturity. A child explains why their father is injured: he volunteered to demonstrate ice-skating tricks (specifically the "triple figure eight") to impress the child, and fell badly. The satire targets two things: fathers attempting to bond with children through vigorous activities they're too old for, and children's guilty complicity—the narrator feels responsible for the father's injury yet prioritizes not hurting his feelings over safety. The child also boasts of being "champion of the Fifth grade" at skating while pretending incompetence to flatter the father's ego. The piece satirizes both the sentimental "modern" parenting style and the sophisticated, manipulative awareness children supposedly possessed. It's a gentle critique of miscalculated attempts at companionship between generations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ix Authors in Search of a Character” (Continued from page 15) captive exhibitors—bound with gold and staggering under the it of huge First Runs. In the rear of the parade is a phalanx of cameramen. Davip Crockett FItLuM: You must come with me. I need you for my new feature, “The Birth of the Storm.” I am having a sce- nario prepared from Webster’s Dic- tionary. For this masterpiece I have secured the exclusive rights to the next carthquake. (The Character begins to voice a feeble protest but Fillurt waves a silencing hand.) Your salary will be a million a minute. CHARACTER: At last I hear the call of Art. Fittum: Shoot. As ‘1c Cameras begin to turn the other Hunters fade out. M.S. The Confidences of a Modern Child “y' )U can’t see Father now. The doctor has just been here and said to keep him quiet for three or four days. His skull isn’t fractured, after all; but he has some concus- sion. I really feel awfully guilty for ii I had had the moral courage to make an excuse when he proposed taking me to the rink to give me MADISON AVE;, 43rd TO 44th STREETS NEW YORK Tea in the Palm Room Dancing in the Supper Room HAMILTON HOTEL BERMUDA 3 qGolt Courses Fireproof— N. Management Sherra Mia ea td aaa Ae Summer Hotel Preston, Beach Bluff, Mass. TIFFANY & CO. JEWELERS SILVERSMITHS AND STATIONERS FOUR SCORE AND SIX YEARS OF EXACTING STANDARDS PURCHASES MAY BE MADE BY MAIL FIFTH AVENUE & 37! STREET NEW YORK skating lessons this never would have happened. “T knew how it would be. Last summer he took me out for a day in the woods to be what he calls good pals and after that he was in bed for a week. But I don’t like to hurt his feelings. So I went along and let on I couldn’t skate much, though as a matter of fact I am champion of the Fifth grade. “I guess I flattered Father too much for the first thing I knew he volunteered to show me how he used to cut the triple figure eight when he was a boy. Fortunately some men were near and they helped me carry him to the.car and one of them of- fered to go ahead and prepare Mo- ther. I told him it wasn’t necessary, that Mother was prepared before we started this morning.” McC. H. by noted specialist. Tells how to FEED AND TRAIN KEEP fim (HEALTHY CURE DOG’ DISEASES How to put dog in condition, kill fleas, cure scratching, mange. dis- temper. Gives twenty-five famous Q-W DoG REMEDIES and 150 illustrations of dog leeds, training collars, harness, stripping combs, dog houses, etc. Mailed free. L: W a Dept. 19 Bound Brook, New Jersey comicbooks.com