power beyond words: An examination of the rhetoric of cartoon art about Ronald Reagan

This thesis examines the rhetorical effects created by political cartoonists through their depictions of Ronald Reagan. A representative sampling of these cartoons demonstrates that the pictorial and symbolic language in their visual dialogue was extrapolated from the heroic, mythic character types Reagan portrayed during his film career and with which he sought to be identified. This thesis argues that because cartoons depicted and caricaturized Reagan as an archetypal hero, they touched a responsive chord in the electorate and persuaded them to regard Reagan favorably.