The Lake Michigan Disaster

It is important to recognize why news of the Lake Michigan Disaster and the burning of the “Sea Bird” would appear in the Harper’s Weekly edition of The Moonstone. This is an important indicating factor when it comes to America building an identity for itself not only on an international scale but also when it comes to what information entertainment sources are providing their readerships with. The advertisement of specifically American news in an America magazine contributes not only to the identity America was attempting to build for itself outside of the colonialism of England but also the identity it was attempting to build for its entertainment industries at the same time. Harper’s Weekly can be considered an entertainment source because of its content. The fact that it is advertising specifically American tragedy shows its intentions of providing its readership with American news, even though they may be reading a British novel. The separation of the American tragedy from the British entertainment in this section of Harper’s Weekly’s edition of The Moonstone cements which events are more serious for American outlets to report on.