Burnett Exhibit

Harper’s Weekly is very different than All the Year Round. All the Year Round is very limited in the amount of complimentary resources it contains and additional advertisements and entertainments it provides its readers with. It does contain additional entertainment in the form of short stories written by British authors. The advertisements and entertainment in Harper’s Weekly are primarily from American authors written for an American audience speaking about American products. The use of these advertisements with contributes to the promotion of the civilization of America separate from the colonialism of England. Harper’s Weekly’s banner even says that it is a “journal of civilization.” America, through its specially curated entertainment and advertisements is creating an identity for itself outside of the one that was established for it through colonialism. In The Moonstone Rachel Verinder can be said to be attempting to do something similar in her refusal to help with the recovery of the gem. By doing this Rachel is establishing her own independence on her own terms disregarding how difficult it may make things for others. Harper’s Weekly is also different from All the Year Round because through its advertisements and entertainment it is also establishing an identity for that industry within America as well. By having a subliminal message of American independence and identity for its readers while they are consuming a British novel Harper’s Weekly is also contributing to the collective identity Americans were forming at this time as well. Proof of the strong identity and presence Americans have in the media is still present today, especially with the popularity of American programming on a global scale. The fact that Harper’s Weekly contributed to this massive global identity should be recognized and it should be respected for contributing to the roots of the empire of American media is in the present day.