Study the editorial cartoon Mars Probe by Mike Keefe. On another planet, 3 aliens are playing baseball, and one holds a baseball
bat at the ready position. A space vehicle is flying above them with "Mars Probe" written on it. One alien says "Get ready! Here comes another one!" How does the alien with the baseball bat contribute to the effectiveness of the political cartoon? It suggests that aliens are like people because they play baseball, a human sport. It uses humor to show that unknown factors keep damaging the probes humans send. It shows how to cope with the surface of Mars, which is rocky and full of craters. It exaggerates the size of the bat in relation to the Mars probe in the cartoon.
The alien with the baseball bat contributes to the effectiveness of the cartoon because:
B. It uses humor to show that unknown factors keep damaging the probes humans send.
Explanation:
Keefe finds a funny and, of course, improbable explanation as to why probes sent from Earth are constantly being damaged. In his cartoon, aliens play baseball. If that weren't funny enough, they are doing it with the purpose of breaking the probes. In a way, Keefe is using something that many people have most likely wondered: What if aliens do exist, but they do things that keep us from finding out about them?
