The Wasp — November 1, 1879 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of This Political Cartoon Page This page from *The Wasp* contains two satirical pieces mocking what appears to be aristocratic or wealthy social events in San Francisco. The upper left advertises "St. Andrews Masked Ball" with costumed figures and descriptions of attendees' outfits—satirizing the pretentious pageantry of high-society masquerade balls. The larger lower illustration, titled "Morbid Entertainments for Geese, Gulls and Donkeys Under the Patronage," depicts grotesque animal-human hybrids engaged in dangerous acts like acrobatics near a circular saw. The caption "Go as You Please Somersaults Against a Revolving Circular Saw" suggests *The Wasp* is ridiculing wealthy society's appetite for increasingly absurd, dangerous entertainment—comparing their tastes to those of barnyard animals. The satire targets upper-class decadence and poor judgment through crude visual exaggeration.