Carl Sandburg Chicago

In this book, City of Scoundrels, Gary Krist has a strong and prominent tone toward Mayor William Hale Thompson (Big Bill). During the book, Big Bill has just been re-elected for his second term in office in the year 1919. Big Bill was often regarded as a horrible mayor by many of the people of Chicago. Some people have even considered him the worst mayor Chicago has ever had. But, Gary Krist seemed to have a different attitude towards Big Bill. Gary Krist seemed to see Mayor Thompson as more of a charming man however still extremely corrupt. Despite how corrupt the Mayor was, Gary Krist was able to see past that and was able to see how dedicated Big Bill was to the city of Chicago and its transformation into a “new” Chicago.

In the book The Devil in The White City by Erik Larson, the city of Chicago is used to show the great failures and successes of the United States. The story takes place a few years before and during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (World’s Fair) in Chicago. Larson focuses on the stories of Daniel Burnham, the director at the exposition, and Dr. H.H. Holmes, a serial killer. Daniel Burnham shows how America is a land of opportunity, and even in the face of many hardships succeeds in his goal of having a successful exposition. The Devil in The White City reflects the extremes of character in America because it shows American ingenuity, optimistic naivete, and the complete loss of morality.

How can two people be so different, yet so similar? The World’s Columbian Exposition was a major event in the 19th century. The fair was something that’s never been done before in history triumphing the famous Eiffel Tower. As spectacular as the fair was there were murders being committed without any signs of slowing down. The Devil in the White City tells a story between the architect Daniel Burnham and the infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes. Erik Larson uses imagery, diction, and comparisons to characterize and show how similar their traits and goals were during this time.

One of Erik Larson’s main ways of building the black and white cities is through figurative language. Larson expresses that Chicago is “likened...to a human being with his skin removed”

On a date to tour the city, George tells Cocoa that “Most people are confined to ghettos by economic circumstances…. the young and talented confine themselves by choice” (Naylor 65). The city is an often cruel, unfair place where “there was little enough of [kindness]…to kill off in one shot” (Naylor 59). It is also sometimes an unfriendly place; the city has a kind of cold, informal aura about it. Take for example, the description Cocoa uses to describe the waitress service at the restaurant: “especially when the check came glued to the bottom of your dessert plate…watching a big greasy thumbprint spread slowly over the Thank You printed on the back” (Naylor 13). The unfriendliness is enough for a Southern girl like Cocoa to turn her back on the city and not give it a chance, as so many others had.

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.

Furthermore, the mention of people being in “truculent and patriotic hopes” in order to appeal to the overall emotional mood of the event by expressing how excited and hopeful the crowd was for the war. The reference to the Astor Library is included in order to identify the location of the parade: Manhattan, New York. The optimistic and descriptive imagery used by the writer clarifies to the readers the buzzing energy that was in the air on that Friday afternoon. Winthrop then shifts his focus to his own personal memories of the parade. He reflects on the parade as a time that “was worth a life” (17) and as if the “great city was with [them] as one man” (21) on the venture out to the war. Winthrop utilizes a metaphor in comparing the “city with them as one man” to the city joining the cause and supporting the men in their fight. He does this in order to further demonstrate that the city is supporting the men and the reason for war. Winthrop ends his narrative by leaving the readers with descriptive similes of parting gifts the men

Erik Larson’s book Devil in the White City is full of magic and madness that has shaped the society of the late 19th century that is specific to in Chicago. The issues that have been handled through this time frame that are addressed in this book is that how Chicago was known to be the black city at first, and how the city hoped that hosting the World’s fair would increase their reputation. Secondly, the magic of a man named Daniel Burnham that did put the plans of the world fair in Chicago into life and the obstacles that he had overcame. Next, once the world fair was complete, it has made Chicago “The White city,” by its dazzling designs and attractions that made it memorable. Then, the madness of H.H. Holmes and how his evil deeds has

In the novel The Devil in the White City, Author Erik Larson uses imagery, irony, and juxtaposition to parallel the good and evil sides of the city of Chicago during the 1893 World’s Fair. Larson takes a more upbeat, joyous tone while following the story of Burnham and the architects designing the World Fair, but the tone turns much darker when perspectives change and we follow the plot of H.H. Holmes, America’s first known serial killer. Using rhetorical devices like imagery, diction, and syntax, Larson is able to paint a picture of Chicago from both the good and evil side, setting a more serious and ominous tone for the novel.

Yet another literary device used by Walker is symbolism. There are three major symbols in this story, and each are contextual. The first major symbol is Chicago. “In Chicago, a word she hears when thinking of smoke…she sees hovering over the heads of the clean neighbors in her front yard black specks falling, clinging, from the sky. But in Chicago.” (1124, 2), and “Respect, a chance to build…a chance to be on top. What a relief, she thinks.” (1124, 2) are opposing views of Chicago. For Roselily, Chicago represents a new start to a new life; an opportunity. It also represents a change, from the beautiful country of Mississippi to the urbanized city of Chicago, where it rains black specks. Another symbol is her new spouses’ religion. Although it isn’t said what his religion is, the reader can assume it’s

It’s amazing how much Sandburg has managed to convey with such a short poem, especially when one considers the level of repetition which actually reduces the absolute number of lines to about 6 lines. There are other lessons to be learnt from this. By his choice of battles, Gettysberg, Ypres, Verdun etc Sandburg refers to battles that involved great carnage. Battles with a death toll or casualty rate so high that it is unthinkable that we should speak of them as dispassionately as he does. But the use of the names is far more effective in conveying this point than having to spell it out in detail. He can get away with the dispassionate tone and make it “fit” the poem without seeming forced by adopting the unusual view point of having the grass as the observer and the first person speaker. Not only does he cloak the grass with personality but he simultaneously creates a narrator who is present throughout time and who is accordingly in a position to observe the folly of man through history. Other than the merest hint of a rhyme across Waterloo / Verdun, this poem is devoid of rhyme. Why? Rhyme closes lines, links lines together, gives the work a sense of completion and wholeness which is

and that he believes them. The poem also translates into how living in the city is toilsome and that the city is unrelenting. On the other hand it shows how the city can be prosperous and happy with the city’s disadvantages. in the second half of the poem it’s telling how nomatter what is wrong with the city, the people are still proud of who they are.

In "Chicago," published in 1916, has accepted the world around him and acknowledges that although he is not a part of what he has witnessed, he is complacent with the alienating properties Chicago is able to provide and finds comfort in being lost within the large city. The narrator begins by describing Chicago as "Hog Butcher for the World,/Tool maker, Stacker of Wheat,/ Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;/Stormy, husky, brawling,/City of the Big Shoulders" to explain how industrialization has come to define the city ("Chicago" 1-5). The narrator then proceeds to describe his observations of individuals who live on the fringe of society, "painted women under the gas lamps luring

When acknowledging the turnout of Chicago’s fair, Larson uses figurative language to demonstrate the contesting forces of good and evil and to examine the extent to which Chicago stretched the fair’s potential. Larson writes, “Chicago has disappointed her enemies and astonished the world” (30). Larson uses personification when he says that “Chicago has disappointed her enemies…” and is giving Chicago a human behavior. This strategy emits a positive connotation to the reader . The use of figurative language makes the reader look at Chicago as having achieved a great honor by hosting the fair. It also shows that Chicago can create something so miraculous in a time of such hardship and need for ingenuity and amidst the evil waiting within the shadows of the White City. When describing the tension in the top floor of the Rookery while the architects were revealing their drawings for the fair, Larson writes “As the light began to fade, the architects lit the library’s gas jets, which hissed like mildly perturbed cats” (115) and he uses figurative language to help the reader grasp the importance and anticipation of this moment. By comparing the library’s gas jets to “mildly perturbed cats,” the reader gains a sense of agitation, anticipation, and the anxiety that the architects were feeling in that moment. Larson creates a negative and rather comforting connotation by using this simile to describe the room’s tension. The way that Larson describes this moment leads the reader to imagine it to be

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 builders, suspense builds as tragedy is followed by more tragedy. Through the use of contrasting ideas and ethical clauses highlighted by symbolisms and descriptions within the book, Erik Larson creates an underlying argument that one’s pursuit of pride and success often causes destruction and comes at the price of another’s well-being.