Document 2. Jimmy Margulies in The Record. January 2013.

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1 Document 2 Jimmy Margulies in The Record. January 2013.

2 Inviter les élèves à trouver un titre après étude du dessin. América s coming out/ help wanted / Si se Puede, Yes we can/ Nature of the document : This is a political cartoon of a humorous nature (Both characters are smiling). It was published in an American newspaper or magazine in January It deals with a burning issue / a topical issue / a controversial subject (the heated debate which has been going on for years between Republicans and Democrats) : the need for a comprehensive immigration reform. Describe the two characters : The cartoon features President Barack Obama, dressed in a very formal black and white suit and holding the draft/blueprint/text of an immigration reform and an ordinary middle-aged black-haired woman wearing a plain blue dress. She is carrying a shopping-bag. She is boldly addressing the President. Who do you think she is (or stands for)? The woman is an illegal immigrant from Mexico :she was smuggled into the USA since she claims that she had to hide under the floorboard of a truck to cross the border. She sneaked across the border. She probably gave a large sum of money to a coyote, an alien smuggler who took her across the Mexican-American border which is under very tight control. What else does she tell the President? she draws a list of the hardships she had to go through. She risked / jeopardized her life since she might have drowned walking across a river ( probably the Rio Grande ), then she might have died of dehydration / thirst in the desert. Such things happen daily/on a daily basis. What about the smile on her face? Isn t it surprising? You re right! I can t help being struck by the sharp contrast between what she describes and the smile on her face. Well..she survived extreme conditions. However, this probably happened a long time ago as she now looks relieved and serene/ hopeful and enthusiastic. Won t she get into trouble telling this to the President of the USA?

It was published in an American newspaper or magazine in January 2013.

3 Indeed, she is boldly addressing US President Barack Obama who is pushing an immigration reform and wants to see it adopted (before the summer). She is outspoken /she dares tell him the truth, although she broke immigration laws. She is owning up to a crime, regardless of the consequences. Explain why she is not afraid. Because Obama is smiling broadly and looks welcoming /friendly/ benevolent, I can t help thinking he has consideration for her because she proved courageous/fearless and determined. The smile on the woman s face and her straightforward attitude give the impression that she doesn t view the immigration reform the president is holding as a threat (she could be repatriated) and she may be right since Obama implies she could even play a part in the political life of the country! ( you can get this through Congress for me ). Why should she help Obama? Isn t it dangerous? What makes him think she might accept? What kind of reform does he want? She probably knows where Obama stands on the issue of immigration, because even illegal immigrants keep in touch with the news. She certainly knows that he advocates /promotes a pathway to American citizenship for those who entered the States illegally. He wants a comprehensive immigration reform that addresses every aspect of the issue and offers solutions for those who are already in the country. As a result she trusts him and doesn t seem to fear deportation. She may have been living in the States for years, and her children may have been born in the USA. Why did the cartoonist pick a Hispanic woman? There is an estimated population of 11 million illegal immigrants in the USA, 60 % of whom come from Mexico according to the latest census. That s why most cartoonists feature Mexicans in political cartoons dealing with the immigration reform. There are currently 50 million Hispanics in the USA and children born in the USA to parents who are undocumented immigrants are entitled to stay in the country. This is called jus soli. They are nicknamed anchor babies, but this expression is pejorative and you should not use it... What does Obama reply? Obama replies that she would be the right person for his job. Since she survived in extreme conditions she would fully qualify for what he has

Because Obama is smiling broadly and looks welcoming /friendly/ benevolent, I can t help thinking he has consideration for her because she proved courageous/fearless and determined.

4 been trying to do for some time He wonders whether she might consider helping him persuade Congress to pass his bill. What does he imply? Why does he say that? What he implies is that this is bound to prove as difficult to achieve as what she has already accomplished.. Obama suggests that this is an impossible mission / a grueling task / an uphill battle/a difficult task, a kind of obstacle race or assault course, something like crossing the border without being arrested by a border patrol and surviving in a hostile environment. Why does he stress the word you? The stress on YOU suggests that she is more likely to succeed than he is. Although he is the President, he hasn t succeeded so far. He has been in office (at the White House) since 2008/ for more than four years. We know that several measures have already been taken, but he would like to do much more and speed up the process : He would veto a piecemeal reform. He is eager to get the job done / he can t wait any longer. He is desperately looking for someone to score for him. The situation is paradoxical, explain : How could this frail woman who has no power at all succeed while he is in a position of power? Indeed, why should the President, who has just been reelected /who is starting his second term, feel so eager to get someone to get the bill through Congress for him? He may be fed up with this situation, or he is simply cracking one of his usual jokes. How does Obama feel about this task? He sounds somewhat discouraged, maybe because he thinks that the Republicans will oppose this reform as Obama s reform. He seems to think that if somebody else proposed it they would be more likely to vote it. Who opposes the reform? The Republicans who are now the majority in the House of Representatives. What about the cartoonist s goal(s)? : By showing Obama as a friendly and outgoing person he gives us the feeling that he supports/ endorses his policy. He depicts him as a man who is eager to tackle/address problems, a man desperately trying to have this reform approved by Congress.

. Obama suggests that this is an impossible mission / a grueling task / an uphill battle/a difficult task, a kind of obstacle race or assault course, something like crossing the border without being

5 Moreover through the woman s attitude the illustrator may want to show that Obama s immigration reform will not be synonymous with more control, exclusion and rejection but rather acceptance, benevolence and integration /a welcoming attitude / determination to work out solutions / The woman stands for all illegals whose story is approximately the same. She is a hopeful immigrant / she wants to come into the light,is no longer afraid / longing to breathe free, no longer huddled in the trunk of a car, she wants to play by the rules and she trusts in the president, even if she can t vote. He may also hint at the increasing political role of a fast-growing minority who supports Obama, and helped him to be reelected. Obama s twofold message is alluded to :- American people have to take illegal immigrants into account and should regard them as an asset, not as a threat. They are courageous people who may bring their contribution to the country/ make the country stronger, like those who came before them. Clandestines have to come out of the shadows and play by the rules, and may eventually become American citizens and vote.

She is a hopeful immigrant / she wants to come into the light,is no longer afraid / longing to breathe free, no longer huddled in the trunk of a car, she wants to play by the rules and she trusts in

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