Holder |1

Trista Holder
English 1010
October 8, 2015
Population Overload
1. Introduction
The current world population is over 7 billion, this is three times higher than the sustainable
level. Several recent studies show that Earths resources are enough to sustain only about 2
billion people according to the World Population Balance. The WPB also states that people
are currently consuming about 50% more resources than the earth is producing. The Population
Institute shares their concern for the rapid population growth when testifying that the world
population is growing by about 220,000 people per day. They share that if current trends
continue there will be 9.2 billion people by mid-century. It is easy to see why this is a problem,
as resources are strained they
become more and more difficult
to produce and keep up with the
continuous demand. Population
growth affects all of us. It paves
our future by potentially
diminishing the sources of food
and fresh water and the ability to
produce the recourses needed for
Figure 1

Holder |2

all of us to live a happy and healthy life.

This Adam Zyglis1 cartoon (figure 1) appeared in The Association of American Editorial
Cartoonists (AAEC) on Monday, October 31, 2011. It is titled 7 Billion and Counting, it was
published the day that the world population passed the 7 billion mark. Adam took this
opportunity and published this cartoon for the world to see in order to demonstrate his opinion on
the severe increase in population over the past ten years and inform the public about the lack of
resources. He wanted to open everyones eyes to major problems we could face worldwide in the
near future. Adam shows his concern for the fast growing population through his artwork and he
uses many strategies to display these concerns. Adam achieved his purpose of showing his
audience that the worlds population is higher than it is equipped to house by using facial
expressions, irony, and symbolism to achieve his purpose. Given this background we can now
look at how the author applies these strategies to this illustration.
2. Strategy 1: Symbolism
Symbolism is used to represent ideas or qualities. It signifies
ideas by giving objects meanings that are different from their literal
sense. Cartoonists often use simple objects to stand for larger
concepts or ideas. In figure 2 we see a baby holding a sign that says
# 7 billion. A baby commonly symbolizes new life as well as the

Figure 2

future. In this picture, the baby represents the worlds large growing population. By using a

Adam Zyglis is the staff cartoonist for The Buffalo News. His cartoons are internationally syndicated and have
appeared in many publications around the world. In 2003, he was honored with a first place national award from the Associated
Collegiate Press and the Universal Press Syndicate. He placed second in the 2004John Locher Memorial Award, and he was a
finalist in the 2003 Charles M. Schulz Award.

Holder |3

baby, the author was able to show how the future looks for the world. The child is very
troubled, just as the world population is expected to be if it continues to increase. The stork
(figure 3) has global resources written on the side, showing that there are resources
expected to be provided to the world, just as it is expected of the stork to nurture and care for
a baby. A stork generally symbolizes parenting and nurturing. It is largely associated with
delivering a baby. The stork is viewed as a graceful elegant animal, but is displayed here as
struggling and being in distress. This cartoon is showing how the
baby expects care from the stork, just as the population expects
resources from the world. Unfortunately, just as the bird is unable
Figure 3

to cater to the babys needs, the global resources are unable to

provide to the needs of society. The symbolism in this cartoon helped Adam achieve his
purpose by displaying the size of the population and the severe lack of resources
3. Strategy 2: Facial Expressions
A facial expression is a gesture to show what somebody is feeling. Facial expressions play a
significant role in how we as humans communicate with one another. Many cartoonists
exaggerate facial characteristics in their artwork in order to make a point. As
you can see, the author used facial expressions as a major part
in his cartoon. As shown in figure 4, the baby appears to be
very upset. It is desperate and crying. It is clear to see that the
Figure 4

child wants nothing more than care and the necessary

Figure 5

resources to be comfortable. The expression on the birds face (figure 5) displays distress and
agony. It seems very tired and worried about the baby. As well as unable to provide the strength
and support the child needs to be safe. This shows that the world population is desperate for the

Holder |4

resources that the world is not able to deliver. Through facial expressions, the author was able to
show his concern with the increase in the worlds population and major decrease in resources.
4. Strategy 3: Irony
Irony is the use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite of
its literal meaning. It is the difference between the way things are and the
way things are expected to be. Cartoonists can use irony to show their
view on an issue. As you can see in figure 6, the baby is rather large
Figure 4

compared to the stork. It is very big and heavy, you can see that by the way the bird is
struggling to carry the baby. This sparks attention in the viewer because a babies are
expected to be very small. As you can see compared to the babys size, the stork is much
smaller than anticipated. The irony in this picture is a way to show that although it is
expected that there are enough resources for the population, there is much less readily
available than there are people to consume them. Adam used irony to show the amount of
resources compared to the world population, as opposed to how it ideally should be.
5. Conclusion
The author, Adam Zyglis was able to achieve his purpose of showing his audience the
importance of this issue. He was able to show that the worlds population is much higher than it
is equipped to house by using facial expressions, irony, and symbolism to achieve his purpose. It
is important that we recognize the problems that can arise from over population. We need to
remember that the capacity of our environment, as well as the ability to produce food, water, and
energy are all limited. Overpopulation can result in many problems in the future including
starvation, health hazards, and lack of space, as well in decreasing the overall quality in everyday
life.

Holder |5
Works Cited
http://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/3_times_sustainable
https://www.populationinstitute.org/resources/whypopulationmatters/
http://www.adamzyglis.com/
http://literarydevices.net/symbolism/
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/activities/politicalcartoon/cag.html
http://howmany.org/big_picture.php?gclid=CjwKEAjw7uKwBRDUlJvRoz6rgMSJACbmSBhCUGblxeEnxAclYmD3Ke37SP4ZupAjC7g04Ckaen-oRoCaZvw_wcB