Group names: Claire Nielsen, Nathan Thomsen, Devika Rajeev
Satirical Illustrations Analysis
Pawel Kuczynski
Instructions:
● Box 1: Type your name
● Box 2: Type the name of the illustration and paste the actual illustration into the box
● Box 3: Individually identify the rhetorical situation (SPACE). Then, identify the specific rhetorical
choices/strategies used (CAT). Remember to support your answers with evidence from the illustration!
● Box 4: Write a clear thesis for the illustration. What choices/strategies contribute to the meaning and
purpose of the artist? Remember what you have learned about good versus better, and if necessary, use
the thesis template on slides 2-3 on canvas.
Student Name: Claire Nielsen
Illustration 1:
Rhetorical S: Pawel Kuczynski, a Polish satirical illustrator. Kuczynski mainly focuses on
Situation: the modern-impact that issues can cause, mainly focusing on politically
related issues.
P: The purpose of this picture is to address the impact that the internet has on
our lives, and how it has endangered in-person communication. The illustrator
gives the audience the opportunity to visualize the impact of the internet on
families.
A: The audience of this illustration could be multiple audiences. One of the
primary audiences is a family, as that is what is illustrated in the picture.
However, this picture could also be a message to anyone that has access to
the internet, and are constantly using the internet, or see it interrupting their
family’s personal connection.
C: When this picture was illustrated, the internet was becoming more
prevalent in people’s lives. Many people were outraged at the fact that
technology was the center of discussion, while others were happy about it and
how it was easily accessible.
E: The illustrator’s use of the internet modem in the center of the table, infers
that the family is centering themselves around the internet. Each family
member has their own device, while some are even bigger than the others.
The illustrator drew these symbols in order to recognize the problem that we
are facing as a society, showing that we are not focusing on in-person
relations.
C: The illustrator made the choice of using a boring color palette, which
correlates to the mental state that the internet can cause on people. The
author uses grey colors, except for the blue that is used on the internet device
and the tablets. The author chose to have the people appear to be praying, as
they are at a dinner table, which shows how disruptive the internet has been.
A: Pathos is used in this illustration by the choice of including a family. By
illustrating a family, this allows the audience to create a personal connection,
as if their family were not able to communicate with one another personally.
T: The tone of this illustration is melancholy and depressing. The author is
conveying the negative effects that the internet has caused on the
relationships within families. The dark tone creates a strong message for the
audience, making the overall message more impactful.
Thesis: In order to convince the world about the negative effect the internet has on family
communication, the Polish satirical illustrator, Pawel Kuczynski, conveys the
message by using a depressing tone, finding a somber connection with the
emotions of the audience, and avoiding the use of bright colors, illustrating the
importance of in-person human contact and why it is valuable in the daily success
of the world’s mental wellness.
Body To start, the illustrator’s choice of using a depressive tone allowed the audience
Paragraph: to visualize the personal feeling. Most of Kuczynski’s illustrations have a neutral
color palette, as they relate to the satirical theme, but this picture seems to be
more depressing than the others. For example, Kuczynski’s choice to have the
family’s heads pointed down, allows the reader to suggest their attitude, or their
mental state. This strategy is successful because of the emotional connection that
it brings to the audience from the illustration. The author’s choice is successful, as
it connects the audience, raising the importance of how the internet is damaging
in-person communication. These rhetorical choices of a depressive tone, help
convince the audience of the negative effects that are caused by the consistent
use of the internet.
Student Name: Shawn Spencer
Illustration 2:
Rhetorical S: Pawel Kuczynski, a polish satirical illustration artist.
Situation: P: likely to expose the detriment of phones
A: could be targeted to both people consumed to phones and those who
would find this cartoon funny or pragmatic
C: as it is widely known, technology is bad for you and everyone is becoming a
zombie because of it
E: Kuczynski's work often resembles how technology is bad and we need to
use books more. He expresses that here, too.
C: he uses the horse and the blinder that a horse uses typically during races. I
think it's kind of ironic he chose this because those blinders are actually
used to keep the horse from focusing on other horses, which could give it a
panic attack like in the movie Racing Stripes. In other words, the blinders
keep the horse focused.
A: Everyone is familiar with the snake and color of a phone, that we can say
for sure. The colors of the horse and background are brownish and
yellowish, the kind of colors you’d associate with dirt. It's also interesting
that we assume it’s a horse even though it looks much more like a mule.
T: I don't think there is an aggressive tone to it. It’s not black and red and all
the freakish colors, its seems more relaxed and passive, especially since
there is a lack of facial expression in the horse and that it’s smiling
Thesis: The image pictured above by Pawel Kuczynksy, as it depicts a horse with side
blinders made of smartphones, the illustration is meant to represent the blinding
power of phones. However, to the artist's dismay, it is not an accurate
representation of how blinders work, blinders are meant to keep the horse
focused looking straight ahead, whereas the picture suggests that the blinders
literally blind or distract the horse.
Body Paragraph Art by Pawel Kuczynksy often resembles simplicity regarding detail. His
backgrounds are often simple, single color settings. The shade of brown used in
this illustration resembles countryside farming as it mimics dirt. The horse in the
foreground is clearly set up for certain farming work because it has a yolk on and
ropes that follow back to where the farmer would be. The main portion of the
illustration, the side blinder, which is often used on race horses, portrays the
author's purpose. The part of the mask that blinds is made of smartphones, likely
to suggest that phones are the source of distraction. However Kuczynksy does
not portray an aggressive tone. Brown is not a strikingly belligerent color, and the
facial expression of the horse, though possibly insignificant, resembles a small
smile, as if it were peaceful.
Student Name: Devika Rajeev
Illustration 3:
Rhetorical S: It is obvious that Kuczynski drew this picture for those who not only use
Situation: facebook, but all types of social media in general.
P: The purpose of this picture is to address the topic of privacy in social
media. When a person is telling anything private on social media, it's almost
like announcing to everyone through a speaker.
A: The intended audience are the newer generation of kids who are starting to
use social media at an earlier age. It is to teach examples and things that can
happen at their age, such as not sharing private stories through social media.
C: Around the time that this drawing was made, facebook was having a
problem with privacy for their users, more people were talking, and having
open discussions about the effects social media can have on younger children.
More users were having issues with their privacy being released to the public.
E: The catalyst to the image was the facebook scandal that occurred in 2018,
and apparently facebook was data harvesting, and information about data
misuse was exposed. Facebook breached data protection laws by failing to
keep users’ personal information secure. This allowed Cambridge Atlantica to
harvest the data of up to 87 million people without their consent worldwide.
C: Some of the choices that Kuczynski makes are all very artistic choices that
are very detailed. For example he didn't make the background of the picture
filled with other things and details, but also didn't make it blank and white.
He made a ombre sort of background, the colors you might see in a church.
The person speaking at the boothis a man, and he is kneeling not sitting.
There are shadows, and the whole picture makes him look very lonely.
A: The entirety of the “f” of facebook is not blue,part of it looks like the
confession booths at a church, and it slowly transforms into the symbol used
for facebook. That is another choice by the artist that was made, the “f” is not
just placed randomly it represents facebook and is widely known by others
that way. It is to tell the audience that the guy in the picture is confessing to
facebook, but facebook doesn’t keep it private and it is a direct speaker to the
rest of the world.
T: The tone of the entire drawing looks very lonely and sad, it seems like a
darker setting because the background starts off with a slightly dark color and
gradually becomes darker. There is also no one in the background and it
doesn't look like anyone is in the booth listening to him, it looks like a hollow
space leading to the speaker.
Thesis: In the facebook drawing by Pawl Kuczynsky, a Polish satirical cartoon artist,
he uses darker tones in his colors of the drawing, to create this lonely echoey
feeling to the drawing. His message is clear and easy to see that the man is
talking to everyone through a confessional booth, usually seen in churches. In
these booths people usually come to churches to confess their sins by talking
to a priest as if they are relieving their sins directly to god. In the drawing
though Kuczynsky shows the audience that when revealing things through a
social media outlet such as facebook, it is as if they are taking a speaker and
announcing it to everyone.
Body Paragraph: The darker tones of color used in the background of the cartoon are to make
the man seem as if he was in a lonely open space. It can also be seen that through most of his
cartoons Kuczynsky uses darker tones. The colors are also the colors one would see in a church
setting, so it is a very brownish, and cream color and ombre, The whole drawing gives a very lonely
feel, and it looks as if whatever the man in the cartoon is saying in the confession booth goes
through the facebook speaker and just echoes around the room he is. This lonely feeling also
shows the true effects of social media in that it always seems like an individual might have friends
through these social media outlets, such as followers, but they are really just lonely. The entire
booth is not all blue, it looks like a regular confession booth with brown undertones,but gradually
turns into the blue symbol of facebook.
Student Name: Nathan Thomsen
Illustration 4:
Rhetorical S: Pawel Kuczynsky, a satirical artist from Poland who focuses on modern
Situation: problems in his art
P: To visualize the quelling of free-thinking and the hivemind attitude of
society today, in the form of a lawn made of people where anybody who sticks
their head above the others is “cut down”
A: The audience is not meant to be specified or restricted to anyone, merely
wanting to stand out to ordinary people and allow them to see or think of
things in a different light
C: In our modern world, technology has had the effect of making people more
docile, making a large number of people online who blindlessly follower
influencers or other celebrities online who they have never met, or follow
movements that they don’t really understand, and as a result become less
free-thinking and less independent. Those who “stick out” alone are often
shunned and ignored
E: The use of the lawn in order to represent the lack of free-thinking makes
people think and realize that the use of technology can be considered as
bringing us down
C: He represents society as a lawn because it is flat and uniform, where
everything that sticks out is inevitably cut down. He could have also made
society a lawn in order to demonstrate, if we all “poke our heads up” we could
potentially save everyone
A: Pathos is established as, being a satirical cartoon, the intent is to humor
the audience, but also to think more deeply about it’s message by
establishing Logos in the clear-cut message it represents (with the hive-
minded lawn looking at phones versus the free-thinkers who are removed)
T: Although the cartoon has humor as a cartoon and it’s ridiculousness, the
bland colors also go to show the more darker message the author is trying to
demonstrate
Thesis: In the lawn caricature by Pawl Kuczynsky, a Polish satirical cartoon artist, he uses
bland tones, a feeling of hive-mindedness in the portrait, and a clear-cut message
about society in order to best represent its purpose: making the audience
question society and it’s crushing of free-thinkers who stray outside the norm and
the pervasiveness of technological influence, moving them to want change within
society so that we can all disconnect from technology more and instead think
things for ourselves instead of following others
Body The bland tones used in the cartoon are used to represent a feeling of dread and
Paragraph: colorlessness as our world conforms and becomes more uniform. The picture is
made up of brown and gray tones, being very indistinct and foreboding,
representing the dystopian attitude of modern society. For further effect within
the cartoon, the most vibrant colors are found on the smartphones which are
looked at by the people, representing the most colorful part of the portrait where
the colorless people look in order to find the most satisfaction. This is further
multiplied by the fact that all the people look and are colored the same, further
demonstrating a colorless and unhappy tone with a lack of vibrant people.
Overall, the use of colors within the cartoon goes a long way to showing the
audience how seemingly drear society is, moving them to want change and to
make things different
Student Name: Harper Elder
Illustration 5:
Rhetorical S: This created by Paul Kucyzny, who is 45 years old, and from poland. He is
Situation: known for commenting on modern issues through his work.
P: The goal of the piece is to make the viewers think about the distribution of
wealth, particularly racially and focused on food. There are two opposing hands,
one white and one which is deeper in skin tone, the white one eating and the
deeper one eating the plate. His goal is to capture modern issues, so he likely
wants the audience to reflect on the disparity of access to food in different parts
of the world.
A: The artist is using art, a relatively universal medium, so it could be said his
audience is the world. If you look at what the white person is eating, it’s a rather
small, complete portion. Not one heavily associated with wealth; I think he is
trying to talk to the middle class that have enough to survive but not enough to
be able to give and live well. The white hands are also wearing a suit which is also
denote upper class people. It’s unlikely he’s trying to talk to starving people
because the issue is one they would already be familiar with. There is an
assumption that POC have less access to food, along with people
S relationships with colonialism, that line could be easily drawn.
C: I am unsure when this piece was created, but anywhere from 1980 to 2017 is a
good estimation. Since the Industrial revolution, the west has imperialized
countries in order to usurp materials. Leaving those countries destitute of their
own resources.
E: Although there is no way to know exactly what was the impetus of this piece.
However, there has always been a large difference to people’s access to food
while some do.
C: The side with food is lit whereas the poor person is not. The food on the left
side of the plate is not overly extravagant but really the bare necessities sin
western culture. The person with food is white, whereas the person eating food
has a deeper skin tone (I am unsure of what race). They are npt using cutlery
whereas the white person is using a fork and knife. The white person’s food is
untouched whereas the other person has already began to eat the plate. The
white person is wearing what looks to be a suit whereas the other does not have
any visible clothing.
A: The choice of the person eating a plate whereas the other is eating food
creates ethos because of the emotional stakes of a person going so hungry they
are forced to eat someone elses plate. The strength of this piece is emotional
appeal and the empathy it hopefully strikes in the viewer.
T: There is obviously a difference in the shades of the light, showing a clear
difference and believe in equality. He also picked very drastic lack of food,
making this matter more urgent. If the person had sauce or something on the
plate, a little bit to sustain themselves with, the less urgent it would be but
because the person has the chance of starving to death.
Thesis: In the hungry plate Illustration, middle-aged polish man, Pawel Kuczynsky uses
light to denote class, food to show class disparities and hand positions to show
desperation in order to highlight food inequalities commonly faced by colonized
countries, to mobilize
them to donate to the red cross.
Student Name:
Illustration 6:
Rhetorical S:
Situation: P:
A:
C:
E:
C:
A:
T:
Thesis:
Final Step:
Choose ONE thesis to expand on in a body paragraph. Together, use the suggestions on slides 4-6 on canvas to
analyze ONE of the choices/strategies.
● How does the particular choice/strategy contribute to the meaning and purpose of the artist?
● Slides 10-11 can help with transitions and rhetorical verbs. Please put the group illustration, thesis,
and body paragraph on the last page of the document.
Group
Illustration:
Thesis:
Body Paragraph:
