McHolland 1 Joseph McHolland Meghan Keaton English 112 25 February 2013 Analytical Interpretations The topic chosen was

whether or not a college education is more effective in the long run compared to on the job training. The two images selected show two viewpoints on each side of the topic. The first picture is an aspect of the college side of the topic. The picture shows a group of students walking away from a building. The students are in graduation attire, with caps, tassels, gowns, and diplomas. The diplomas have words written on them that in general say IOU, with one specifically saying predatory student loans. The diplomas are very long and are wrapping themselves around the students. One student appears to have even fallen and anothers mouth is taped shut with the diploma. The students appear to be slouched, and are not wearing shoes, and are walking on what appears to be a dirt road. They have looks of astonishment, fear, and disbelief on their faces. The building appears to be a very prestigious looking building that one would presume to be a college since students are walking away in graduation attire. There are a couple of birds in the back ground, but one main bird that is staring at them, with a speech bubble that says, Whether a borrower, nor a burger flipper be. The colors of the picture are black and white, with the majority of black located on the graduation attire and has the caption of Class of 2012 at the top of the comic. After looking at the aspects individually it allows for interpretation of each aspect. The diplomas stand for debt that is accrued during the years of college, which students are left with after graduating college. Students being bound by the diplomas, represents that it is

McHolland 2 impossible to escape from the student debt and the substantial amount of debt is constantly looming over students. Since declaring bankruptcy does not relieve a student of the loans, the students are essentially with them until they pay them off. The students are barefoot because they can hardly afford to dress themselves, due to them attempting to pay off the loans. The artist chose birds as the animal for the caption because they are a unique kind of animal. Since birds can fly they can see things that the majority of the rest of the world cannot, a different perspective entirely. The birds caption is in a way poking fun of the students, because they are all borrowers and all have a chance of not finding a job that allows them to pay the loans off, as if the bird was solemnly condemning them and their future. The depressed, sad, and lost looks on the college students faces reinforce what the bird is saying. The graduates know that they are in substantial debt and know the low odds of getting a job in the near future to help pay off the debt they have accumulated. The color of the gowns and caps draw attention to the fact that they are graduates, which is another detail that helps the viewer comprehend this is about college students, rather than high school or other significant institution. The looks on the students faces represent the overwhelming feeling of the unknown and fear of what is to come. The image displays pathos because it really tugs at the emotions seeing the students suffering as well as logos because its appeals to well-known facts that college is overly expensive and leaves students in exuberant amounts of debt. Overall the main argument the author is trying to get across through the picture is representing the new outcome of a college education in the modern era. The students have amassed a ton of debt and have no clear pathway to pay it off. The image provokes thoughts that steer the viewer to think that the only thing that they have after their years of college education is the 8 by 11 piece of paper known as a bill. The bird is the driving aspect of the picture, poking

McHolland 3 fun at the value of the degrees that the students earned and how they will not be beneficial to them in the long run. In the current economic climate, the news constantly depicts college graduates as moving home with their parents; finding jobs that do not utilize their hard earned degrees. These news stories summarize and are real world examples that depict what one would insinuate after looking and interpreting this image. The second picture chosen is on the topic of on the job training/apprenticeships. The image is all black and white. White background with black details on the two mens clothing. There is a sign/banner in the top right of the image that states, Janitor on-the-job-training. There are two men who are grasping on to the same mop as the other. The man one on the left is wearing black pants, a checkered collared shirt, a hat, and has a very smug look on his face. He is holding the lower part of the mop, while his coworker is holding the upper part of the mop. The coworker is wearing all white and also has a very smug look upon his face. The mop has marks outlining it, making it appear like the two men are moving the mop back and forth. The floor is wet with what appears to be some kind of liquid. There is also a white bucket in the bottom right of the picture, which appears to contain the liquid that is on the floor. Depicting each aspect of the image, the sign in the top right of the corner is definitely necessary to get the purpose of the comic. Without the sign telling the viewer that this is on the job training, one would just assume that the is just about two men holding a mop. The clothing choices are something that helps the viewer comprehend further that the two men are janitors. The author used different clothing choices to help the viewer determine who is training who, the more complex pattern appears to be the trainer, and the man in white appears to be the trainee. The mops and bucket appear to be props, to reinforce the janitor aspect of the image. The comic

McHolland 4 is very simplistic, which gives the viewer the opportunity to interpret the image without being bogged down with so many details, allowing them to take it at face value. The meaning behind the image is how effective on the job training is. The image is showing that on the job training is effective for certain blue-collar jobs. These blue-collar jobs, do not take much skill, knowledge, or degrees. The image is employing humor-using janitors as the figureheads to show the underlying meaning, that on the job training is only effective for these kinds of job and should not be mainstream for white-collar jobs such as lawyers, doctors, politicians, and pilots. While not outright referencing colleges, it leaves the viewer to assume that on the job training is just for the low-level jobs that nobody really wants. Leaving the viewer to think of the other options, such as college, as the better option.

McHolland 5

Banner is essential to understand comic

More complex outfit, still not white collar

Facial Expressions make it seem that they arent too happy with their lives. Mop and bucket kind of reinforce the fact that they are janitors

Less complex outfit, more likely trainee