Life — September 2, 1926 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine Page Analysis This page from *Life* magazine contains travel poetry, a short story titled "The Nonconformist," and a satirical cartoon at the bottom. **The Cartoon:** Titled "Sunday School Teacher: AND WHO CAME TO NOAH'S ARK ON THE FORTIETH DAY?" with the caption "Pupil: THE REVENUE OFFICERS." The joke targets **revenue officers** (federal tax collectors/Prohibition agents) through a child's innocent misunderstanding. During Prohibition era America, revenue officers were widely resented for enforcing unpopular alcohol laws. By having a Sunday school pupil unwittingly associate them with Noah's flood—a biblical catastrophe—the cartoon satirizes how unpopular and unwelcome these officers were perceived to be in American society. The humor relies on the child's accidental wisdom revealing public sentiment.