Life — December 15, 1927 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political & Social Satire in Life Magazine This page contains three distinct satirical pieces: 1. **"The Urge of Night"** - A poem by Carroll Carroll about nighttime anxieties and supernatural torments, likely reflecting post-WWI anxieties about modern life's psychological pressures. 2. **Top cartoon** - Shows a "grim lady" confronting a bootlegger about her husband's liquor purchases, satirizing Prohibition-era bootlegging and marital discord over secret drinking. 3. **"Glossary of Drug-Store Terms"** - Humorous definitions mocking American drug-store culture, including patrons ("your wife"), waitresses, and cashiers. The accompanying cartoon shows a "p-p-prize-fight re-re-referee" - likely mocking speech impediments or nervous mannerisms of working-class men. This satirizes both drug-store social hierarchies and stereotypes about working people. The page reflects 1920s concerns: Prohibition, marital tension, and class-based social observation.