Life — July 1, 1926 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page This page presents a serialized short story titled "Compiling an American Tragedy" by Robert Benchley, subtitled as suggestions for how Theodore Dreiser might write his next novel while saving five years' work. The narrative describes two men of different heights walking on East Division Street in 1776, establishing a fictional premise. Chapter III introduces Tom Rettle and his wife Anna in their home. The embedded comic strip at bottom, credited to Robert Fulton's "Toonerville Nightboat," appears unrelated to the main story—it's a separate humorous feature common in Life magazine's format. The page mixes literary satire with visual humor, typical of Life's early-to-mid 20th century approach of blending fiction, commentary, and comics for sophisticated urban readers.