Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons^™

Where The Rocks Bleed Ink: Images Of Self In Palestinian Political Cartoons, Jonathon P. Wurth

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This graphic novel looks at symbols used by three prominent Palestinian political cartoonists—Naji al Ali, Baha Boukhari, and Khalil Abu Arafeh—that represent the Palestinian people. The goal, assuming that political cartoons accurately reflect the opinions of the common people, is to discern what Palestinians think about themselves. This study finds that while the cartoonists use a number of cultural and religious symbols to represent Palestinians, the most regularly used images—and hypothetically the most insightful—are representations of common Palestinian people themselves. They are depicted as humble yet strong and pious. Al Ali’s cartoons are taken from handala.org, a website dedicated to …