"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated June 11, 1911:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (APRIL 5, 2021):
Returning to a location familiar and comfortable to McCay, we meet a circus elephant who is not so happy about how his handler treats him. - 1/10
After smelling Nemo's flower, our "little Jumbo" (more on this shortly) decides to tell the ringmaster what's what and stands up for his mistreatment! - 2/10
As far as the ongoing allegory goes, I think this is McCay's moment to just toy/play around with his point.- 3/10
It isn't really anything new that the elephant is asking for; he just wants to be treated kindly by his handler. What's different in this strip, as opposed to the others, is that the animal seems to *enjoy himself* while he asks for it. - 4/10
As the elephant tosses the ringmaster around, it's almost as if McCay is the elephant just having himself a blast living vicariously through the elephant as he makes his point against the Herald (ringmaster). - 5/10
Whether this spectacle is for the audience (it certainly frightens Nemo's mother) or himself isn't entirely clear. It could always be both? Either way, it works for me. - 6/10
Now, the name is interesting, "Little Jumbo", because we've previously had discussions about an elephant named "Jumbo" and whether McCay was using his memory in Slumberland: - 7/10
Is this McCay ensuring the continued legacy of Barnum's most famous elephant? As a lover of carnivals and the circus, it wouldn't be surprising if this was part of his motivation. - 8/10
Overall, it's a good entry into the current series (one that adds something *new* in the form of the animal's enjoyment) that continues to present evidence in support of our allegorical reading. - 9/10
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #296. What's yours? - 10/10
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