“The Devil in the White City” Analysis Essay (insert an attention grabber, such as a quote or question). In Erik Larson's “The Devil in the White City”, (a nonfiction novel that spans the years surrounding the building of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair) that recreates the lives of two real men, Daniel Burnham, the architect who builds the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and H. H. Holmes, the serial killer who exploits the fair to find his victims. Larson uses intense imagery, juxtaposition, and allusion
The Devil in the White City Analysis “The sight is so inspiring that all conversation stopped, and all were lost in admiration of this grand sight. The equal of it I have never seen, and i doubt very much if i shall again’” (Larson 271). Erik Larson’s nonfiction novel The Devil in the White City centers around the Chicago World’s Fair, also known as The World’s Columbian Exposition, and two of the men whose lives were intertwined: Daniel Burnham and H. H. Holmes. Daniel Burnham was the chief architect
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson explores the creation of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Larson narrates the two intertwining stories of murderer H.H Holmes and architectural genius Daniel Burnham. H.H Holmes builds a hotel called The World’s Fair Hotel where he kills many of his victims, mostly women. Burnham and his partner, Root, who later died before the construction of the fair even started, were called upon to organize the fair and it’s workers. After Root’s death Burnham was left
In the nonfiction novel The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson uses Imagery, dark tone, and oxymorons to portray H. H. Holmes, whose point of view is half of the story, as the Devil incarnate: evil and subhuman. Larson utilizes imagery to exemplify Holmes’ character and actions to the audience. He describes Holmes’ reaction to a friend’s sister’s death to give the reader an idea of the cold inhumanity he possesed. Even though “Holmes told Ned how sorry he was” about her passing, yet “in his eyes
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
In the text of the novel, The Devil in the White City the statement “why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow” (Larson xi) is evident. Some men choose to engage the impossible because life is short and if you don’t challenge yourself then what’s the point of living. The other side of the spectrum is the people who decide to be cynical throughout their life and feel that they won’t be able to do anything special because
Larson’s, The Devil in the White City, recounts a defining time period for America. Larson sheds light on the ageless conflict: Good v.s. Evil, as he recounts the events that took place at the fair that changed America. With America falling behind in global dominances and its need to strive, Daniel Burnham tries to successfully construct the Chicago World's fair and hopes it will spark the turn of the century. As Burnham tries to builds up the White City, and while H. H. Holmes flourished in the
The book The Devil In the White City by Erik Larson re-tells the story of Chicago’s World Fair, while H.H. Holmes, also known as “America’s first serial killer”, emerges as a dark force within the fair. Switching back and forth between the experiences of the head fair administrator, Burnham, and the other directors along with the evils of Holmes, the reader begins to understand the world of tragedy and crime that lies behind the public’s excitement. From a devastating storm to the deaths of multiple
The Devil in the White City Critique The beauty of cities is that a person can walk by another hundred people all different from the others. In Eric Larson’s book, The Devil in the White City, two individuals walk in Chicago at the same time. One is Daniel Burnham who is the overseer of the 1893 World’s Fair and the other is a charismatic serial killer named H. H. Holmes. Two opposites, the annihilator and the designer, never meet but both transform Chicago and the world forever. Larson builds suspense
The United States of America is characterized in many different ways. Some people may say it is a land of opportunity and success, while others would argue that it is a place of regret. In The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, the United States is described as a mixture of good and evil. Larson accomplishes this reflection of America by telling a story which follows two different men with opposing motives. The first is Burnham, the architect in charge of building the World’s Fair. He