Rhetorical Analysis of Political Cartoon

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     In the above political cartoon, the artist depicts the Pilgrims of the 1600s attempting to land in North America to start their colonies. However, the Native Americans, who already inhabited the continent long ago, refuse to allow the Pilgrims to enter the land, claiming that they are not accepting refugees. This is a satire on modern Americans, of whom some wish to keep immigration under tight regulation out of fear for possible refugees' being terrorists in disguise (in recent developments, Syrian refugees believed to be agents of ISIS). Obviously, this artist is poking fun at those who want to tighten immigration laws and regulations to keep fleeing refugees away from America (most likely the Republicans) and seeks to show them the absurdity of increasing immigration control by making them wonder what would have happened to America if the Indians did the same to the Pilgrims. Therefore, to achieve that purpose, he or she declares a strong message--if you drive out people that could make a country stronger for fear that they will blow up buildings or slaughter people, you may not reap the benefits of extending compassion to those who were given none; to advance society, you must forgive and forget and give refugees a chance to integrate with society. Although many know the story of Pilgrims and Indians, to fully appreciate the comic, it is recommended that a person (a) be aware of the current immigration crisis (which is, honestly, very hard to miss) and (b) be aware that, after 1492, when Christopher Columbus discovered North America, he began a massive conquest for Spain for about a decade, treating Indians as his slaves, introducing them to new diseases (syphilis, for example) that decimated a large number of Indians, and forcing them to search for gold and valuables to bring back to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, his sponsors for the journey. The second point especially enhances the viewers' understanding of the comic since they are aware of why the Indian is intent on shooing away the Pilgrims from his land.