Question

Study the cartoon Our Carbon Footprint by Signe Wilkinson.How does exaggeration create meaning in this cartoon?

The small flamingo and fish show the insignificance of wildlife.
Many of the animals in the cartoon are covered in oil, showing the extent of the oil spill.
The water is bright, showing that our effect on the environment is not as bad as seems.
The enormous footprint shows the extensive damage of the oil spill to the environment.

Answer 1

The best answer is: "The enormous footprint shows the extensive damage of the oil spill to the environment."

Explanation: Wilkinson exaggerates the size of the human "footprint" to turn a metaphor (carbon footprint/human impact) into a literal, overwhelming image. Making the footprint gigantic (and dwarfing wildlife) dramatizes how large and destructive human activity is; the contrast with small, oil-covered animals further emphasizes their vulnerability and the scale of the damage.