Asked by j

Study the cartoon by Signe Wilkinson.

A man is reading a tablet plugged into a wall socket. He says "With no paper, it's, like, totally green!" On top of the electrical plug in the wall socket is a tiny coal miner.

How does the symbol of the coal miner work to create meaning?

The coal miner symbolizes the hard work that went into creating the internet devices we use today.
The coal miner symbolizes jobs lost by books being printed online rather than on paper.
The coal miner symbolizes the fossil fuel energy used to create electricity to power devices.
The coal miner symbolizes the green energy used to create electricity that powers devices.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The third option.

The tiny coal miner on the plug signals that the electricity powering the tablet comes from coal (a fossil fuel), undercutting the speaker’s claim that “no paper” makes it “totally green.” It’s an ironic critique of the assumption that digital = environmentally friendly.