The Art Of William Hogarth

Something I found on the net (I think its) by a History Teacher.
Its a video about a series of sequential paintings by 18th century English artist William Hogarth called "A Rake's Progress", which illustrate in a satirical fashion the life of a fictional character in a series of eight paintings . The canvases were produced in 1732–33 then engraved and published in print form in 1735. The series shows the decline and fall of Tom Rakewell, the spendthrift son and heir of a rich merchant, who comes to London, wastes all his money on luxurious living, prostitution and gambling, and as a consequence is imprisoned in the Fleet Prison and ultimately Bedlam.

Aims and objectives of satire:
To me, this is supposed to show how one who squanders money can end up in absolute disaster. Overspending is a common human trait, and is very easy to adopt by those with a poor mentality. Since Tom was the son of a wealthy man, this story illustrates what being born with a silver spoon in your mouth can lead to. Tom obviously could not handle the responsibility of running his own busines and managing huge finances.