TOW #1 - Visual

This cartoon is drawn by Tom Toles in 2005 for the Washington Post. He spent almost thirty years as a cartoonist for the Buffalo News and the Buffalo Courier-Express prior to joining the Washington Post in 2002. He received the many awards while working for the Post, and also was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1990. This political cartoon expresses the gratitude that is given towards Rosa Parks for her brave act of refusing to give up a front row bus seat to a white person. Her actions got her arrested, but it also helped to spark the civil rights movement that was heating up all across the United States. It implies that she went to heaven for the good she did, and that there was a great reward awaiting her arrival. The cartoon was drawn especially for the African-American community so that they might be joyful in the sacrifice that Parks made to stand against racial injustice. That being said, the cartoonist, Toles, primarily appeals to the emotions of the audience. He appeals to pathos by first drawing the gates of heaven awaiting her arrival. This reinforces the fact that her actions of refusing to move to the back seats of the bus were to stand up for her own rights and against racial injustice, and therefore good. Another way he appeals to pathos is through the caption located at the bottom-right corner of the cartoon, which states, "We've been holding it open since 1955," and suggests that there was a reserved seat in heaven for her ever since she had done that good deed. There can also be some satire interpreted from this comment, criticizing the amount of time it took--fifty years!--for the entire country as a whole to recognize and appreciate her act. I believe Toles is very successful in accomplishing his purpose. His cartoon directly states that Rosa Parks was awaited at a better place because of her good actions against racial discrimination.