Life, 1923-06-28 · page 6 of 37
Life — June 28, 1923 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Main Article:** "Analyzing the Average Man" by Stephen Leacock satirizes conformity. The author critiques how the "Average Man"—described as five-foot-eight, mediocre in intellect and religion—dominates society through mob mentality and media influence. Leacock argues this ordinary person dictates culture, fashion, and policy for everyone else. **Cartoon:** The illustration depicts multiple newspaper mastheads (NY Times, NY World, NY Post, NY Mail, Tribune) depicted as small children/goblins at the foot of a bed beneath a "God Save Our Home" sign. The caption reads: "And Mr. Munsey'll git you ef you don't watch out." This references **Frank Munsey**, a newspaper magnate who consolidated media ownership. The cartoon warns of media monopolization threatening home and family values.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE Analyzing the Average Man HAVE of late been gathering up facts and statistics in re- gard to the Average Man. And I don't think much of him. In appearance the fellow stands five feet eight and a half inches high, with a chest measurement of thirty-six and a_ half inches. His age is twen- ty-seven years and two months; his hair is the color of mud, and he has lost one and a half teeth, He has had a certain schooling and has put in six and a half months at a high school. He has never traveled farther than Philadelphia. He lives, I suppose one may properly say, at the centre of population, which is somewhere in Eastern Indiana. But he is moving gradually west, so that in time he will be living in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I do not regard these as good places to live in—at least, not for a leader of men. In point of religion the Average Man is a Christian to the extent of ninety per cent. and on being ana- By Stephen Leacock lyzed further he is one-third a Metho- dist and is also decimal two a Pres- byterian. Among the fellow’s leading ideas is a belief, or rather more than half a belief, in Prohibition, but he consumes, it seems, ten gallons of whisky per annum. But it is charac- teristic of the creature that as soon as he gets half an idea he imposes it on all the rest of us. Therein lies my principal cause of quarrel with him. I could overlook all the faults and shortcomings of the Average Man, were it not for one fact that the whole tendency of our time is to make him the leader of the nation: to follow the ideas and judgments of this poor five foot eight inch shrimp. Personally I would rather follow the lead of a man six feet high and broad in proportion. But it seems that by an ingenious system of ballots and votes and the press and the censor- ship we have got ourselves so disci- plined and schooled that this little shrimp walks along first and we all troop in behind and follow him. What . | GOD FAVE OUR HOME YP the Average Man dictates we do. We imitate his clothes, we adopt his hal its, we assume his ideas. Let any may depart from the ideas of the Aver: Man and all the others will at him like a pack of wolves and have him down. What I would like to do would lx to lead a revolt against the domi: ance of the Average Man. The idea of the revolt would be that somebod should get a mask and a dagger ani! a bomb and go out and kill him. Only I would prefer not to do the actual - assassination. Being only an Averag: Man myself, I would rather that some other person should undertak that. And now I think of it, I suppos: that is the reason why the Ay Man goes on living and dominating Prima Facie TRANC (at mother at home? Youncster: Say! Do you suppos: I'm mowing this yard because the grass is long? gate): Is your “AND MR, MUNSEY'LL GIT YOU EF YOU DON’T WATCH OUT.” comicbooks.com