Contrast as a Discursive Strategy in Editorial Cartoons

In order to understand how cartoonists use contrast as a discursive strategy for creating and emphasising particular meanings, this study analyses the structure and purposes of contrast in editorial cartoons in a few Nigerian newspapers. 25 cartoons were chosen, categorised as pictorial or lexical, and then analysed using pragmatic shared knowledge, Cruse’s (1986) classification of opposites, and Bejar et al. (1991) classification of contrast. According to the analysis, contrast was used to express the realities of Nigeria, the expected versus actuality in Nigeria, as well as affiliation or disaffiliation with the government’s actions or inactions. The study asserts that contrast can be used for purposes other than stylistic ones. They can also be a strategy for denigrating the perceived incompetence of Nigerian leaders, a tool for exploiting contextual indices, and a means of signalling polarity, consequently showing disaffiliation with the actions of the government of the nation.