KAL Cartoons: Elections Edition

Kal is a Cartoonist for the Baltimore Sun. He creates mainly political cartoons especially those that address the ills of the society such as Greed, Incompetence, and Corruption facing politicians. One particular political cartoon Section he created was about the 2014 Maryland gubernatorial race featuring Anthony Brown, Doug Gansler, Michael Peroutka, Larry Hogan, Heather Mizeur. The election was won by Larry Hogan despite the grimy campaign tactics that were used. Kal uses allegory, Personification, and paradox to show that the Campaign was the worst in Maryland's history.

Kal uses paradox to show the disappointment of some of the citizens after the win by Larry Hogan. The cartoon depicts residents of Maryland raising placards and posters written: "congratulations you achieved your goal" (Baltimoresun.com 2). Larry Hogan had made false promises Maryland residents where he pledged to make Maryland the number one state in the United States. Some of the citizens are also accusing him of insulting them with half-truths and flim-flam while others are raising concerns about the numerous negative ads that were used to dominate other contestants during the campaigns. Notably, some of them are accusing him of demeaning the democratic process. The congratulatory message is a paradox to Hogan in that it praises him for achieving his goal when all he had achieved was bringing disappointment to the residents of Maryland.

Furthermore, Kal uses personification to show that the politicians and Maryland residents are worlds apart. The dominant usage of personification is the elephant and donkey. The elephant is a huge animal with a lot of power while the donkey is known for its stubbornness. The donkey in the cartoon represents the Democrats while the Elephant represents the Republicans. The race between the donkey and the Elephant as illustrated in the cartoon does not benefit the residents of Maryland in any way. One of them will emerge a winner and become happy while the citizens will go back to face the same perennial problems. Therefore, the portrayal of politicians as elephant and donkey was to show that the politicians and the citizens are worlds apart and the campaigns are only there to serve the interests of the politicians.

Allegory also features prominently in the cartoon episode. It has been used to portray the filthy game that is politics. Heather Mizeur has been pictured throwing bowls of soup at Gansler and Brown. This symbolizes how the politicians slander their opponents in order to gain political mileage without concern of the negative consequences of their words. There is also an image of Anthony Brown running over citizens, who need health care, with his vehicle in the streets. This is a symbol of the ruthless and uncaring nature of politicians. It shows that the politicians only come around when they need a vote but then they ignore people's needs once they are in office.

Conclusion

Overall, Kal uses allegory, personification, and paradox to show that the 2014 Maryland campaign was the worst in Maryland's history. The paradox in the congratulatory message of Maryland residents, the personification of the elephant and donkey with self-interest, and the image of Mizeur throwing a bowl of soup at his opponents is a clear illustration that the campaign was the worst in Maryland's history. Politicians should engage in mature and competitive campaigns and avoid making false promises to the electorates.

Works Cited

Baltimoresun.com. KAL's Cartoons - Baltimore Sun. [online] Available at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/kal/, 2018 , Accessed 2 Mar. 2018.