School Shootings
Many newspaper stories and Social media feeds are saturated with angry, sincere posts from people reacting to the horrific shooting in our schools. Such people, many of whom are close friends, cannot be blamed. They have a reason to get frustrated. Death will never be fun. Early deaths will always be tragic, and homicide will always anger people. The reactions when people read in the newspapers that a school shooting has led to deaths of innocent students instigate people to want to come up with solutions. However, whereas many people realize the problem, the solution towards the problem has not been easy to find. In a very thoughtful cartoon in the “The Baltimore Sun May 1998”, Kevin Kallaugher uses imagery, symbolism, and irony to show that although many people are infuriated by the prevalence of school shootings, many do not want to hear the opinion of strict gun control legislation as one of the solutions.
In his cartoon, Kallaugher uses imagery to create a lyrical story people’s reaction to the problem of school shootings as well as response to the opinion of gun control laws as a solution. To appear to the senses of his audience, Kallaugher uses vivid images along with descriptive language to pass the reality about the problem of school shootings. To tell his story, Kallaugher uses six characters are in a restaurant having some drinks and some foods maybe during breakfast time. Out of the six characters, four are male while the rest are female. The first character is reading “The Sun” newspaper and appears to be annoyed about a story of Oregon school shootings. The woman next to him also seems to be infuriated by the reports about school shootings, and so does every other character. The third character is so angry that shootings are happening more and more while the fourth character acclaims that a solution must be found to stop school shootings. The fifth character fumingly questions the fourth character about what can be done to stop the shootings. The last character happily suggests that as Americans, they should get rid of their guns. His opinion is met with an angry reaction from all the other six characters. The artist depicts all the other characters with their guns trying to shoot the sixth character for his honest opinion that Americans should get rid of their guns. This artist successfully uses visual imagery to depict how the Americans condemn mass shootings in schools and also, how they denounce the option of restricting gun ownership.
The cartoonist also uses symbolism to pass his intended message to the audience, who is the Americans. The angry characters all have angry faces to signify their frustration with the atrocities in schools. The happiness in the face of the sixth character who suggests gun control as a solution to school killings symbolizes the joy that would be enjoyed if Americans got rid of their guns. The hostile reaction of all the five characters wanting to shoot the sixth character after he suggests that they should get rid of their firearms symbolizes the overall reaction of the Americans to gun control legislation.
Lastly, the cartoonist also makes use of irony in telling his story to the audience. Whereas all the characters seem to condemn the atrocities in schools, they are not ready to listen to any suggestion that they should get rid of their guns as one of the solutions to the problem. They are ready to shoot and kill anyone who advocates for gun control legislation despite them being in the first line to condemn shootings.
To sum up, Kallaugher effectively uses imagery, symbolism, and irony to tell the story about the problem of school shootings in the U.S and the option of gun legislation as a solution. It is undeniable that school shootings are a real problem in the U.S. It is also apparent that a solution should be found. One of the most effective solutions to school shootings would be tightening gun ownership legislation. Whereas this is one of the straightforward solutions, it has not been adequately explored, as Americans are not ready to give up on their right to keep or bear arms.
Works Cited
Kallaugher, Kevin. “The Baltimore Sun, May 1998”. Kaltoons, 1998, https://www.kaltoons.com/portfolio_item/baltimore-sun-may-1998/. Accessed 1 Sept 2019.