Analysis Of The Devil In The White City By Erik Larson

Burnham and his partner John Root were Chicago’s leading architects. Daniel Burnham had experience in designing buildings that had never been attempted. Despite the soil conditions, Burnham and Root built the very first skyscraper, The Montauk. Burnham had extraordinary managerial and organizational skills. Burnham and Root together were able to build their firm to be one of the best in Chicago. They continued to do many challenging projects such as the Rookery and the Monadnock. Daniel Burnham handled many difficult times before he made a positive name for himself. Burnham was also very good to all his employees, “He installed a gym. During lunch hour employees played handball. Burnham gave fencing lessons. Root played impromptu recitals on a rented piano,” (Larson 2003, 27). In 1885, a fire had destroyed the Grannis Block that was Burnham and Root’s flagship structure. In 1888, “a hotel they had designed in Kansas City collapsed during construction, injuring several men and killing one” (Larson 2003, 29). With all the verbal attacks on Burnham’s career over both of the incidences, he remained very calm, but he was still very heartbroken.

Throughout parts I and II of the novel, Larson switches between the plotline of Burnham and the plotline of Holmes. The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair is introduced in chapter two. In this chapter we are also given more

In Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson utilizes the idea of a “devil” during a time of when Chicago was prospering to showcase the evil lurking behind the mirage of wealth and beauty. The speaker is a third person omniscient narrator who has known about Burnham and Holmes life Chicago in the late-nineteenth century. The audience is intended for readers who enjoy non-fiction thriller novels or wants to know about the historical event from different viewpoints. The purpose is to entertain the audience but also teach them about the coexistence and balance of “good” and “evil” in one city. The subject is about Chicago during the Columbian Exposition, focusing on the juxtaposition of the lives of Burnham and Holmes. The tone shifts throughout the novel between every other chapter when there is a change in character since they have different thoughts and settings. Larson uses this to emphasize the universal themes of harmonization of polar opposites. He contrasts the two demeanors of Chicago, the white city was Burnham’s fair, also known a dream land. On the other hand, the black city is Holmes’ house of terror.

Given the nickname the "White City" because of its elegant and pristine buildings, the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 was one of the most powerful events in American history. There were long lasting impacts on American culture, economy, and technology- the fair brought new advancements in virtually every aspect of daily life. It was held “to commemorate Columbus’s discovery of the New World” (Larson 15). The fair was a symbol of the expertise America possessed, but simultaneously highlighted the hardships that surrounded it. The fair increased wages, marketed more products for public use, and produced architectural feats that challenged the ones that stood at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. There was much more to the fair behind the showstopping displays that it created. Behind the exotic Algerian belly dancers and astonishing replicas of famous cities, the corporate world was establishing its dominance. Labor unions struggled to fight for fair wages and working time. Although disturbances and disagreements in the construction of the fair foreshadowed a negative ending, breakthroughs such as white lead paint and the Ferris Wheel attracted many visitors. The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 is a vivid exhibit of the independent cultural, economical, and technological superpower that America would grow to become in the future.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is a nonfiction novel that sets during the building of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, known as The World’s Columbian Exposition as well. The novel describes the process of building the fair and the architect who builds it to the evil murderer who exploits the fair to lure in his victims. Erik Larson uses rhetorical strategies such as selective connotation and word choice, imagery, and juxtaposition, to contrast the white city from the black city. Contrary to the white city which was the exposition, the black city, the rest of Chicago, brought negativity and hatred to the people.

The book “Devil in the White City”, informs us about a man that goes by the name H.H. Holmes, a manipulative man who will do anything to obtain whatever he desires, loves the challenge of getting woman, but he had a passion...no a craving for killing woman, giving him “sexual release” which he seemed to enjoy dearly.. There was another story of a man who goes by Burnham who was given the opportunity to build the World’s Fair that would show that nobody can top America and they will not feel humiliated. But during Burnham’s journey in building the World’s Fair he had faces many complications. Furthering into the story, Larson correlates Burnhams and Holmes stories together to show how different their characteristics display the two sides of

     The Fair, with its mix of East and West and everything in between, became a microcosm of the country that was building it. In it, you see all the conflicts that were going on in the country at the time. Probably the most obvious is the labor that built the fair. At this point in history, the working class of the country, and indeed the world, were slowly, but unstoppably moving toward unionization, fairer working conditions and change that is very much the same as the working class of today. You also saw the unchecked, without government regulated capitalism, and the very strong personalities of the men who ran the fair. In my opinion, it was the personalities of the leaders of the fair, as much as anything, that resulted in its amazing pace and scale of construction being pulled off. Burnham is a

The Magic of Mister Daniel Burnham would be the tool that would be behind the greatest fair that Chicago has even seen in the history of its city. Daniel Burnham was forty-three years old at the time he would receive news that Chicago would be the site of the fair, and he worked as an architect in Chicago. He was one of the best architects in Chicago because he and James Root were the first to design the towering building that would make cities build upwards, the skyscraper. That high achievement was would test Daniel Burnham and James Root even more so because of the fair that they were tasked to construct and build up eventually. The

The Great Fair of 1893 was held as a major achievement for its time. Huge buildings, impossible feats of engineering, a mixing of cultures, and the use of many new technologies were major aspects of its success. However, even though the builders of the fair worked against impossible odds, they required a leader, a figurehead to lead the way to success. In his book, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, Erik Larson’s portrays Burnham’s obsession with grandeur as a key part of his persona to emphasize why he was the right man for the job.

THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY by Erik Larson is a well-researched book. In order for Larson to accurately depict the events that were presented in the book, he did a lot of research. Larson visited the Graceland cemetery where many of Chicago’s elite’s from that time were enshrined. In the book itself, he included about 35 pages of citations. His research was very thorough and he shows readers evidence of his research. Amongst his citation Larson himself stated that he “did not employ researchers,” nor did he “use the internet” (395). Any and all the information he included were from physical sources. He went to many libraries, visited Chicago’s Historical Society, and visited other archives. He also stated that he “ tried to keep [his] citations

The antagonist of the novel, H.H. Holmes, is depicted as quite the ladies’ man. Larson helps the reader to recognize that Holmes’ good lucks and charms will help him lure in his future murder victims later in the novel. Holmes has no apprehension when it comes to making a mess of people’s lives’. Especially, when it comes to getting what he wants. Throughout, the story Homes continues to convince multiple women to marry him without legal documentation. He then disposes of them in various ways, gaining joy from their deaths. Holmes always concocted a story to get the attention off of him when asked

Throughout the fair, there is a power conflict for man to gain the upper hand on nature. Especially where Burnham is concerned. the seasonal climate change in Chicago is a good example of Man vs. Nature . Winters are harsh and summers are torrid, which puts quite a kink in the plans to work on the White City. To make matters worse they undergo extreme weather. heavy downpour, gale force winds, and tornadoes, are a few of the conditions that caused damage to property and delayed on the white city. Burnham and his crew were helpless against these particular aspects of nature, they could do nothing to prevent the extreme weather. However There are some that they are able to triumph over. For instance: through a long a difficult process, Burnham's crew developed a method that can support heavy buildings by turning the sinking soil of the fairgrounds into a stable base; it was a victory for man. As for which side wins in the end, that's up for debate. Despite the obstacles nature put in their way, Burnham and his crew, were able to get the fair up and running. In the end however, a fire wiped out the Exposition's buildings. It is a brutal and endless

In 1893 Chicago was home to the world fair. The fair was best known for its performative terms and grand theatre where forthcoming century’s understanding of modernism, migration, and culture were rehearsed (Doss, 2002). The exposition demonstrated both Columbus’s discover of the new world and the rebuilt of Chicago fire of 1871. The goal of this fair was to help boost the economic situation of Chicago after the great depression.

In the first storyline, the The Devil in the White City outlines the work that was needed to make the plans for the fair by Daniel Burnham, and execute the plans. In addition, it covered his challenges in getting world class architects to participate in the building of the World's Columbian Exposition. Burnham and his partner, John Root are given the task of building the fair, soon after Chicago wins the right to have the 1893 Exposition in Chicago. Burnham encounters many obstacles along the way, one major obstacle being (SPOILER ALERT) the death of his partner, John Root, as well as many of the best architects in the world being reluctant to work on the project. Also, he is under tremendous pressure to make the fair bigger and better than the previous Paris exposition.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson has two main characters, Daniel H. Burnham and H. H. Holmes. Burnham is the protagonist. He was an accomplished architect who was chosen to design the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. ''It was easy to see how he got commissions. His very bearing and looks were half the battle. He had only to assert the most commonplace thing and it sounded important and convincing'' (Larson 26). This was how he was able to successfully build the fair of people's dreams. He was completely committed to building it. He lived on the grounds so he could always to make sure things were going smoothly. They hardly ever did, but he was able to push passed it and deliver. He then lived a happy life designing cities and being with