Question

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.

Answer 1

It uses humor to show that unknown factors keep damaging the probes humans send.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the cartoon the alien is playing baseball with his friends. As a mars probe approaches, the pitching alien says, "Get ready! Here comes another one!". From this we can infer that the aliens playing baseball are trying to hit the probe with the baseballs. Historically, there has been damage to Mars probes that scientists have had trouble explaining. In this cartoon, Mike Keefe comes up with a humorous reason for the damages to the probes.

Answer 2

Answer: B) It uses humor to show that unknown factors keep damaging the probes humans send.

The main subjects in this cartoon are the alien playing baseball with his friends and the floating machine in the back with the words "mars probe" in it. Because of this, the meaning of this cartoon has to be something that alludes to both subjects, instead of just one. This rules out option A and option C. Answer D is not the right answer because the bat depicted in the picture is drawn in proportion to how close it is from the spectator's point of view relative to the mars probe which is flying up in the sky; therefore, the sizes are correct.

Answer B is correct, because it refers to both the aliens and the mars probe and because it's the cartoonist way to mock the many unknown objects that have damaged the mars probes humans have sent.