Sandoval

Violeta E. Sandoval
ENGLISH 1010
August 5, 2016
Professor Rebecca Miner
WHERE HEROIN CAN TAKE YOU
The cartoon I have selected to analyzed is a creation of the cartoonist named Randy Bish,
it is about what could happen in the case of usage of a drug. The cartoon was created on
September 26th, 2014; and was displayed on the website cagle.com. The cartoon shows three
different places where a person could end up in case of dying of an overdose. (Bish, 2014)
The cartoon is directed to everyone, drugs are affecting everyone in the community
regardless of gender, religion, economic or social status. Whether you are aware of addiction or
not, you will likely know someone in your work, church, or in your family affected by addiction.
It is only a matter of time whether you will be affected in some way by the addiction to drugs.
(Bish, 2014)
The cartoon appeals to Logos to reason by listing the sentences in all caps THINK OF
ALL OF THE PLACES WHERE HEROIN CAN TAKE YOU, it is a very powerful phrase and
signals the relationship of the drug with future outcomes of the consumption of the drug.
The cartoon appeals to Pathos where Bish drew his signature on one of the tomb stones
on the very front of the cartoon, the image is located to the right. The tomb is big with a cross on
the top.
The cartoon appeals to Ethos by writing the website where the cartoon was depicted,
Cagle.com is a very know site where they have political, controversial, and other cartoons. They

Sandoval

also show daily cartoons on current subjects. Seems that the website is not afraid of portraying
their thoughts and believes.
The cartoon shows the cruel reality of what would happen to someone affected by
addiction and dying. On the first image the cartoon shows a morgue, no one likes to think about
dying, however when dying of an addiction, it is required by law to get an autopsy, and therefore
the body of a deceased has to be sent first to the morgue to place the body on hold till it is time
for the body to be taken to perform an autopsy. The second image it is the mortuary, which is the
following step to follow after an autopsy has been done, and the remains of the deceased are
passed to. The mortuary, again it is one of the places one does not or would not like to know a
body will end up one day, however it will happen. The third image it is the cemetery, the last
place one would like to imagine you will end up. (Bish, 2014)
The cartoon image can be seen using very dimmed colors, shades of gray, black, white,
and dark blue. When we view a sad image, those are the colors we usually see or we interpret as
depressed in appearance, this colors therefore produce a feeling of sadness. The images also
show those places as lonely, and represent in a way of actual events or real life, when someone
dies, reality is life goes on, and even love ones have to continue with their lifes. The text used
on the cartoon it is very clear and presided, in no way it is exaggerated to my opinion, and it is a
reflected directed to everyone in my opinion. By staging the cartoon in three different stages it
clearly speaks to the main message of the cartoon Where heroin can take you. By the
interpretation of the images displayed in the cartoon, a person using heroin would interpret those
places as not desirable, lonely, and make an assumption of when we die, were we could end up.
However, if addiction is the cause of dying, this reality could happen sooner than later. (Bish,
2014)

Sandoval

When someone dies of an overdose of a drug, in this case heroin, law enforcement gets
involved, they address the issue of how an illegal drug got into the hands of the consumer. Then
if the deceased next of kin gets to be the one that has to deal with grieve, and with the guilt of not
been able to help the person they loved. The immediate family and friends are also affected by
the fact that their love one will no longer be around them anymore. (Bish, 2014)
I would like to think that if this image where to be shown on a sign or posted advertise by
a freeway, or deliver via email, Facebook, twitter or any other social media, the intend of the
cartoon would reach audiences at a greater distance. Today, I consider myself as person not up to
date on social media, therefore I am able to address the fact that I would not have seen this
cartoon if it not were for the assignment of this class, I have to say as a learning experience that
an image like this should be further promoted to other audiences, by social media as it is what
younger audiences use now a day. By doing research for my assignment, I was reviewing other
cartoons however this one image was the one that caught my attention and I believe it is a very
important issue that people do not feel comfortable addressing on daily basis. It is taught by
many communities as a shameful event to know someone who is addicted to drugs, however I
have to say that if you love someone or care for someone, the right thing to do is to help. (Bish,
2014)

Sandoval

Work Cited
1.Where Heroin Can Take You by Randy Bish. September 26, 2014. Published on Cagle.com
http://www.cagle.com/randy-bish/2014/09/where-heroin-can-take-you