Visual Rhetoric Draft

Emily McCanless

English 103-33

Visual Rhetoric First Draft

January 25, 2009

9/11 Seen Through a Cartoonist’s Eye

The events of September 11, 2001 will always be a part of American history. The events of that day have changed the history of America forever. The whole nation united together to support one another and to show the enemy that their morale could not be diminished due to a tragedy of that nature. Because 9/11 evokes such an emotional response, many cartoonists have avoided taking on such a task of representing the events with an illustration. There are many memorial pictures and illustrations that show how great of a loss 9/11 was to the nation but very few illustrations are found showing the twisted evil behind the twin tower attacks. Underneath all of the sadness and loss that America suffered, a war between pride for taking innocent lives and pain from losing those people, that impacted the entire nation. However, one cartoonist, Clay Jones, chose to tackle this obstacle and attempt to represent the importance of 9/11 from both sides of the spectrum. Clay Jones’ powerful cartoon illustrates the importance of educating the next generation of American’s about the events that occurred on September 11, 2001 as well as the underlying battle between pride for killing and pain from suffering.

Clay Jones addresses the key issue of the differing views behind the attacks on the twin towers. Suicide bombers, associated with the extremist al-Qaeda group, hijacked two US planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, i.e. Twin Towers. A third hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon as well. Everyone aboard the planes was killed and many more died from the crashes themselves. The World Trade Center was a focus of New York and was a symbol of world trade, hence the name. The day the towers fell, sadness and a burning fire was lit beneath America’s feet. It was not only an attack on New York, but an attack on the United States as a whole from Iraq. The events of 9/11 will forever be a part of American history and it is important that the next generation is educated about that day. The attacks on the twin towers is something that shook the entire US nation and provoked an extreme emotional response because of the loss of such an important part of the country. People came together like never before, donations were sent to New York to help the families who lost loved ones, to help clear the ground level site of debris. In the cartoon, Jones showcases a figure, representing Uncle Sam, that is teaching an american child of the importance of 9/11 so that it will never be forgotten.

The cartoon catches the audience’s attention because it is so simple but it entails a much deeper interpretation. It alludes to a strong message of communicating to younger generations what America was like before and after the 9/11 attacks. The twin towers are not things that need to be forgotten in a dusty old history book, they represent one nation standing together, under God, to fight agains the enemy as well as the progression into a war against terror that is still affecting society as we know it. The argument shows how easy one phrase can mean two completely different things, depending on the context of the conversation. The argument progresses over two frames leaving the audience feeling a deep sense of seriousness or disgust. It is very easy to offend American’s by drawing cartoon’s who’s argument concerns some factor of the 9/11 attacks because of the way the attack’s impacted everyone’s lives. Some people could argue this cartoon to be radical because of it’s context and the issue that it represents. It is also radical because it could appeal also to a muslim extremist group, the al-Qaeda. The cartoon can be interpreted two different ways. It could be interpreted as defending America, as the american symbol of Uncle Sam is shown educating an child of the impact 9/11 made on the country. On the other hand, one could interpret this cartoon as bringing the power of the al-Qaeda to the forefront by presenting a sense of pride/accomplishment from the terrorist who is shown telling a child the significance of 9/11 as it relates to their beliefs. Again, this is why many cartoonists avoid the topic of the terror attacks because of the ways they can be misinterpreted.

This cartoon relies on both visual and word-based elements to convey its message. It is ironic that both characters are saying the same phrase, but both have very different implications. At first glance, the entire message is not understood but after a second or third look the reader grasps the full meaning of the argument presented. For and American, this cartoon is something that is taken very seriously and its implied message about the pain caused from the 9/11 attacks is understood. For a muslim extremists, this cartoon is something that seems to “mock” American’s because of the sense of accomplishment it entails for the al-Qaeda. The serious tone of the cartoon leaves an impression on the mind of the reader. The cartoon is focused more towards American’s than muslim extremist groups because it was printed in the US, and because the american side is read first, as things are read from left to right according to English standards.

The cartoon encompasses many different types of imagery, both verbal and non-verbal. The characters that are in the cartoon are realistic and are recognized by most people. On the left side Uncle Sam, an american symbol, is shown telling a child what 9/11 means. When he says “let me teach you what 9/11 means”, the “me” is referring to America. So in other words Uncle Same is telling the next generation of American what 9/11 means to their country. The same goes for the other side of the cartoon. A terrorist, who could also represent the terrorist attack leader Usama Bin Laden, is shown saying the same thing as Uncle Sam but impying something totally different. The “me” in his caption refers to al-Qaeda and what 9/11 meant to them. It is unclear if the “terrorist” shown is Bin Laden himself or if the character is just stereotyping the muslim culture. Not all muslims support extremist group but from this cartoon, it seems that anything referring to muslim culture, i.e. traditional dress and appearance, alludes to a terrorist.

The children in both frames of the cartoon do not have any facial expressions which illustrates the innocence of a new generation in America and Iraq as well as how big of a role our elders play in our opinions of the world and other cultures. However, the opinions of Uncle Sam and the terrorist are clear and the battle between pride and pain is seen. Uncle Same has a worried/pained look on his face as he explains what 9/11 means to America. This alludes to the pain and loss that the US nation suffered as a result of the hijacked planes. The terrorist in the next frame appears to have a smirk/smile on his face that refers to the sense of pride that the al-Qaeda bombers experienced when taking their own lives and hundreds of other people’s as well during the hijacking. These expresssions on the character’s faces tailor the argument toward’s whichever side of the argument the reader supports. As an American, the argument is tailored to the pain felt but as a muslim extremist, the argument is tailored to the pride of taking innocent lives for their leader. The juxaposition of light and dark backgrounds of the frames give evidence that this cartoon is focused towards Americans because the frame containing the terrorist has extreme shading that make the frame to appear “darker” or “more evil” than the first frame. The dark shading of the second frame shows the twisted evil behind the attacks on the World Trade Center. There is some darker shading below the figure of Uncle Same that alludes to the loss that America experienced and the months of dark times that the american people went through as well.

In conclusion, Clay Jones’ cartoon open’s the eyes of the next generation of American’s and shows them the importance of the events that occurred on 9/11. He offers a lot of underlying messages as his argument progresses from one frame to the next. The series brings the struggle between good and bad, i.e. American and the “war on terror”, to the forefront. This argument should instill an immense sense of patriotism in the hearts of young Americans and remind them that 9/11 should never be forgotten and that the threat of a terrorist attack is still very possible. America is in the hands of the next generation which is why it is crucial that they understand the impact that 9/11 has left on the heart of their nation. Mr. Jones beautifully conveyed the message that each generation should be educated of the events of September 11, 2001 as well as make them aware that terrorism is still very real and very capeable of destroying the world they live in.