Editorial cartoons play an important role in shaping today’s society, as a whole. They not only make their audience aware of current events or issues going on in the world, but also allow them to conjure up their own imagination on the matter and think for themselves. To further this concept, cartoonist Gary Varvel, painted a picture of an imperative but also stressful subject, college tuition. This topic has become a major aspect in students’ lives regarding their financial state and most importantly their state of mind overall. Varvel implemented labeling and exaggeration in order to further his argument towards the overwhelming outcome of college tuition. In order to make his argument coherent, Varvel employed the use of labeling. For example, he utilizes a speech bubble in the cartoon that states, “Oh stop bellyaching... It’s just 5% more than last year!” By carrying out this technique, the artist was able to signify how much college tuition truly costs and was able to show the devastating impact on the student. Also, by labeling the book bag “college tuition,” it allowed the audience to understand what …show more content…
This concept was able to really grasp the viewer’s attention overall and further the argument as well as the readers imagination. For example, by making the book bag seem larger in the cartoon, it allowed the audience to open up their minds and look at the bigger picture. That being, how much of a hassle it really is to students to carry that much on their backs throughout every single day in college. Furthermore, these students also have loans on their shoulders and student loans after college that they have to deal with, so the college tuition is just another back burner according to the students. This device played a crucial role in this editorial cartoon by exaggerating the load of financial stress upon those attending college and also aided in the viewers interpretation as