Tom Toles, a cartoonist for the New York Times, has, yet again, poked fun at the constant, seemingly endless disagreement that exists between the dominant political parties today. The work of Toles is not unfamiliar to many of my peers and I, as we have explored various works from the artist in our English course. From this experience, we can better define Toles's purpose, audience, and, most importantly, message from the visual text. Clearly, the audience for this political cartoon is the American people, most likely those who lack the radical viewpoints that some hardcore Democrats and Republicans possess. If these biases were present, then the true intention of the piece would be lost behind what could be seen as offensive for some people. Toles, as previously mentioned, attempts to make a comparison between the awkward conflict in the political landscape in the government and an uncomfortable solution to a dinner bill. This simile of sorts is able to make a serious political disruption seem, for lack of a better term, silly in the eyes of both American and international observers. Through humorous depictions of President Obama and the figurative Republican elephant, Toles achieves his purpose and conveys a funny take on what is a gripping issue in our nation.
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