Topics for Critical Thinking and Writing

1. If you had to guess at the approximate date this poster was created, what year would you guess? What elements in the image helped you estimate? What knowledge of your own did you bring to your guess?

2. To whom is this image speaking (who is the “you” in the context of this image’s production)? Who exactly does Uncle Sam want in the U.S. Army (and who does he not want)?

3. Find one or two current images or advertisements that address “you” as the viewer and consider who is included and excluded by the usage of the pronoun “you.”

4. Compare an Army recruitment poster or print advertisement from today with the Uncle Sam image. How is it different? What appeals does it make to encourage enlistment?