How Does E. B White Create Satisfaction In The 1939 World Fair?

In 1893, America was intimidated by France’s nationalism celebrated during their 1889 World 's Fair and decided to celebrate themselves. On May 1st, the Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago to celebrate everything that America has held sacred since the beginning of time. In the sinister non-fiction novel The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, the haunting tale of the events that happened behind the scenes at the 1893 World’s Fair are recounted and used to analyze how society was impacted. The good reviews of this book help highlight the cultural importance of the 1893 World’s Fair, architect Daniel H. Burnham, and serial killer H.H. Holmes have on society today.

Erik Larson’s The Devil in The White City reveals the good and the bad events that occurred during 1893’s World’s Fair; the first serial killer, the uprise of Chicago, and the financial struggles of the fair. Power is evident in all of these and plays an important role in the intent of the characters. Power is the most prominent theme throughout the book. It is obtained psychologically, politically, financially, and electrically.

From the beginning, Larson uses methods of comparing and contrasting to create a juxtaposition between the beauty of the fair and the problems it causes. This becomes apparent due to the continuous tone shifts moving from an objective re-telling of events to eerie descriptions of devastation and violence. One example is the chapter “Night Is The Magician” when compared to the chapter “Storm and Fire”; the first alluringly describes the fair stating that it was “beautifully unlike” anything visitors were used to seeing. While the other chapter describes the fire that broke out at the fair and resulted in the deaths of several firemen present. The difference between the tone used in these chapters effectively highlights not only Larson’s argument, but also the large gap between what the public experienced and the distress experienced by those running the fair. Along with changes in tone, diction with conflicting connotations furthers the duality of the book. In times of success the author uses words with a more lively connotations such as “otherworldly” or “majesty”, while other chapters seem very hopeless due to diction like “degradation” or “wobbling”. His use of alternating story lines contributes by giving readers a look into Holmes’ vicious methods of killing, while continuing to provide a more detached look at Burnham, Root, and Olmsted’s deterioration as they become inundated

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

Larson’s use of lucid imagery produces a clear image in the audience, allowing one to interact with the text and truly imagine the wonders of the fair. Chicago itself was frequently described as a “blighted hellish place” overwhelmed with “smoke and garbage” (123, 247). Even the sight chosen for the fair was “one square mile of desolation” (95). These revolting descriptions leave the audience with a picture of destruction and filth, making the completion of the fair seem almost impossible; this makes the later depictions seem even more magical and grand. Despite the bad weather, arguments over funds, economic turmoil, and time constraints, the World’s fair was finally finished. The Fair was completely revolutionary with things ranging from “clean public restrooms” to “electric street lights” (247). Larson illustrates, “lapis lagoons. Electric launches trailing veils of diamond. Carmine blossoms winking from bulrush and flag” (252). The pictures Larson installs in the minds of the audience truly reflect the fair. “Lapis lagoons” produces a calming image of a beautiful blue lake; this causes the reader to associate the park with a natural aura, even though the event is in the middle of a bustling city- which is on its own an enormous feat. “Veils of diamonds” create a cool, crisp, and fresh feeling that truly reflect the breathtaking effect the fair has on the visitors.

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

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

The World’s Columbian Exposition, more commonly known today as the Chicago World’s Fair, brought forth numerous innovations people use commonly today: Juicy Fruit chewing gum, Shredded Wheat, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ferris Wheel, books printed in Braille, automatic dishwashers, even Aunt Jemima pancake mix. In The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, Erik Larson presents these brilliant inventions with a flourish that makes the reader feel as though he is there, experiencing the magic in person. However, despite the spellbinding descriptions and otherworldly air, the author explores a more macabre side to the story. The reader can never get too comfortable in the mystique of the Fair because lying at the end of each chapter about beauty, Larson reconstructs the White City in a different light. In the novel, Erik Larson uses diction and pathos to disquiet the reader while telling the chilling story of H.H. Holmes, what he did, and how he got away with it for so long.

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.

was changing. Technology, entertainment and the population all saw intense differences. We owe much to the technologies of the late 19th century. This age included the development of communication technology including the

Amongst the judgmental stares of the audience that has bestowed an image of pathetic vulnerability upon the dancer, the poem’s speaker emerges to provide a portrait of the dancer that is much less lascivious, acknowledging that “Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes / Blown by black players upon a picnic day” (3-4). The sudden juxtaposition of a “picnic day” vis-a-vis a crowded night-club highlights the speakers attempt to remove the sexualized image of the dancer with the intent of identifying her noble power as a member of the black community. The elegance of the dancer, recognized by her soft voice, is affirmed by the speaker’s specific mention of “black players,” displaying black heritage as containing multi-faceted artistic potential. While the poem begins with a dehumanizing portrayal of the dancer, the speaker successfully reformulates the identity of the dancer into a component of a larger black tradition.

The fair is a narrative poem that explores the sensual bombardment of a travelling circus by recreating the sights, sounds, and smells visitors experience. The poem is split into two parts. The first, an atmospheric description of the thrill and excitement of the rides and the effects on the senses. Whilst the second takes a dramatic turn to the worst when a horrible fate befalls a poor young girl in a field beyond the fair.

A majority of the working people sit at the desk all day, using one or more computers to work with. Even 100 years ago this was unthinkable and far away. The typewriter, the telegraph, and the first telephones and photographic apparatus were regarded as marvels of technology, which became indispensable for some branches of profession. However, most people only had very late access to modern developments that would change life and work sustainably.

The play attracted an audience of almost a thousand, majority of which were senior adults who wanted to see how the young generation could bring out the concepts of Hugo’s novel into action. A good number of the poorer audience members were allowed to pay a few bucks to stand in front of the stage while the affluent majority sat on the covered galleries, paying twice as much as the poor audience for their seats. I could realize that the attendance was beyond the expectations of the play’s organizer because most people complained about missing a ticket to watch it.