Chicago World's Fair Of 1893 Analysis

A World’s Fair is an “[I]nternational exposition that features exhibits dealing with commerce, industry, and science.” (World Book Encyclopedia 412) Entertainment is also present along with cultural activities. In 1893, the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, although inaugurated a year late, commemorated the discovery of America. I feel that the Exposition displayed some of the more beautiful architecture of its time; its immense buildings and sculptures drew heavily from Greek and other classical styles, and it could possible be because of the sweeping popularity in Beaux Arts architecture.

The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, more formally known as the Columbian Exposition, was a fair constructed to celebrate Columbus’ arrival in the New World. Chicago was known as the White City, but did not appear as pure and spotless as its name suggested. For instance, there were many ways one could get killed. “Fire took a dozen lives a day...There was diphtheria, typhus, cholera, influenza. And there was murder.” (Larson 12). These unstoppable causes of death was one of the reasons Chicago’s reputation was tarnished. Furthermore, the Panic of 1893 struck and greatly affected the city of Chicago. The Panic’s effects included “financial crises”, “bankruptcy”, and “high rates of unemployment and homelessness”. (Panic of 1893). Because of the city’s economic depression, the fair would decide whether Chicago’s circumstances would improve or deteriorate. Eventually, the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair displayed what America would soon become in an industrial, military, and economic perspective.

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

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.

Topic: Chicago World Fair 1893Question: What was the effect H. H. Holmes left with his murders in the chicago world fair area; did anyone notice; what was actually going on inside the event as all of this was happening?Thesis: In the Chicago World Fair of 1893 America got its first serial killer H. H. Holmes. He used his hotel the ‘’Murder Castle” to hide what he was doing since guest for the event would check in and no one would notice the deaths with such a huge event. Inside of the event itself there were inventions being made and improved. The World Fair opened on May 1st for its annual event filled with inventions and ideas that would last for the next six months. In the event there were things being made such as Wrigley’s Gum, Cracker

The main focal point of Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City is centered around the excitement, murders, and magic of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. In 1890, Chicago was becoming a very populated and anxious city of America. The city itself wanted something to prove to the more traditional eastern cities of the United States. Driven by its massive civic pride, Chicago joined in the election against New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. to be considered where the placement of the next World’s Fair would be located. Paris, France hosted the previous World’s Fair and left the world astonished with its architectural achievements with the Eiffel tower. Civic leaders in the opposing cities ultimately agreed to place the Fair in Chicago.

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.

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.

Although it faced many obstacles in construction, time, and many other aspects, the Chicago World’s fair was immensely successful and served as a great boast of American pride. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is a nonfiction novel, taking place during the building of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, also known as The World’s Columbian Exposition. Each chapter of the novel alternates to show the lives of the two real men during this time: the main architect of the fair, Daniel Burnham, and the charming behind the scenes serial killer, H. H. Holmes. In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson effectively utilizes juxtaposition between “the Black City” and “the White City,” metaphorical figurative language, and detailed imagery in order to portray the dreamlike qualities of the White City.

     Although the Chicago World’s fair of 1893 only lasted 6 months, it had an enormous impact on the city of Chicago, its people, and indeed the entire country. Up until that point in its history, the US had done nothing on the scale of the world’s fair, and was regarded as a country of barbarians and cowboys by

The thought of Chicago hosting the world’s fair would be daunting at first, but it could turn around the reputation of Chicago from one of a city of gloom and darkness, to one of a city of light and progress from the Great Chicago fire of 1871, and that city would be fascinating for years to come. Chicago would get an economic shot in the arm from the revenue that it would get from hosting the 1893 World Fair and it would make Chicago into a great city of America. The event and also the transformation that would happen to the city of Chicago would not have happened if it would not be for one great man who had taken up the challenge to make sure to host this 1893 World fair.

In the closing years of the 19th century, The United States of America stood before the world as a divided nation in the ruins of a deadly civil war. After years of tragedy and hardship, it was time for the states to turn a new leaf and start a new chapter of prosperity. To accomplish such, America’s greatest minds were assembled to construct a fair so magnificent, it would not only usher in a new age of American civilization. but establish the foundation of the urban world. The finished project became known as the White City. This venue for the World’s Columbian Exposition left a multitude of positive and negative impacts on the social, political and economic scale. Socially, this event introduced the foundation of the modern American living and lifestyles. Politically, the 1893 Columbian Exposition put The United States on the map. While economically, the Fair had succeeded at the cost of cultivating a new rise in crime and fraudulent activity. Although it barely turned a profit, finance was one of many factors in determining whether the Fair truly was the transitional event sparking the rise of a global superpower. In summary, the 1893 Columbian Exposition to a significant extent was a watershed event in US history providing a blueprint for a global superpower entering the 20th century.

The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson recounts the unimaginable events surrounding the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Larson's story captures a time and place that powerfully come to life. The central characters in this tale are Daniel H. Burnham, the architect accredited for the construction of the fair, and the FAMOUS character H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who used the attractiveness of the fair for his own despicable means. Burnham's work at overcoming the insuperable obstacles before completing this awe-inspiring project is intertwined with the devilish deeds of Holmes a criminal mastermind. Holmes capture would have been timelier if things we use today had been available in the late 1800s, such as fingerprints, Fraud Bureaus and

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.

World's Columbian Exposition: The Legacy of the Fair.") was an idea that many entrepreneurs took to upon seeing the successful nature of how the fair combined them. “Chicago's Day at the Fair,” a New York Times article published very soon after Chicago’s Day boasts about the large turnout for that day in comparison to past fairs. The article relates the turnout in relation to a contribution to helping celebrate the city in which the exhibition was held. The elaborate manner in which the article describes a large amount of visitors that participated in the fair that day seeks to emphasize the impact of the exhibition. It should be noted that the article concludes with a memorable moment of a Native American figure essentially giving blessings upon the city and the