Analysis Of The Devil In The White City By Erik Larson

Throughout the course of his The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson describes Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair through the eyes of two different main characters: Herman Webster Mudgett—a psychopathic serial killer who builds his famous “death castle” on the outskirts of the fairgrounds, and Daniel Burnham—the director of works for the World’s Columbian Exposition. Larson employs the use of many contrasting themes within his writing including success and failure, but perhaps most importantly, murder and beauty. In order to emphasize said themes, Larson juxtaposes the accounts of his two main characters: Mudgett and Burnham. There is no doubt that the manner in which Larson portrays Mudgett is sketchy at best. Rather than introducing him with a concise description, Larson familiarizes the reader with Mudgett over the course of several chapters.

The non fiction novel, “The Devil in the White City”, is filled with twists and turns as author Eric Larson compares the lives of two men thought to be living two entirely different lives. Chicago’s World Fair, in remembrance of the landing of Columbus in America, is a major aspect in the lives of both men, named H.H Holmes and Daniel Burnham. In this specific passage, however, the literary element of symbolism is applied and very well so. The illuminations lighting up the city symbolizes positivity. With European rivals always “one step ahead”, the lights covering Chicago specifically give a sense of hope and America’s potential to be improved.

In The Devil in the White City, a world’s fair is being built in 1893 and Chicago is the chosen destination. Two architects, Daniel Burnham and John Root, are awarded the job of setting up the construction of the fair. Their main goal being to surpass the amazement of the building of the Eiffel Tower in Paris a few years before. Burnham faces many problems throughout the construction of the fair, one important one being that his partner, John Root, dies at the beginning of the organization process for the fair. Burnham is left to be the main architect and is faced with a lot of pressure coming from Chicago and the rest of the United States.

Book Analysis- The Devil in the White City The Chicago World’s Fair continues to be one of America’s defining moments. This is where America proved to the world they had grown up and were able to hold their own. Erik Larson eloquently illustrates the entire fair in little black words on paper. Although he was not alive during this event, Larson is able to reconstruct the story with factual events; he created twists to keep you ensnared into the story.

He starts by introducing the possibility of Chicago receiving the World Fair, which had never been in America. Excitement in Chicago rose as the possibility became a reality, now is a time for Chicago to reinvent itself and to earn a new reputation other than the “Windy City.” The expectation for the experience of the World Fair is stated, “A world fair so big and glamorous and so exotic that visitors came away believing no exposition could surpass it” (Larson 15).

What started as a small barn fire turned into a major catastrophe for the citizens of the city of Chicago. The fire burned rapidly and destroyed over two-thirds of the city. The city officials and residents were left with multiple questions in the aftermath of the ashes. Despite the devastation, the citizens of this great city vowed, "Chicago shall rise

However, not all was well in Chicago during the midst of the World’s Columbian Exposition, otherwise known as The Chicago’s World’s Fair. Chicago was cast in a dark light in American society, especially

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is a compelling book about the abundance of man power that the country abruptly constructed with the Chicago World Fair of 1893. The Chicago World Fair portrayed human ingenuity with electricity, and steel with the beginning works of the Ferris wheel that would create amusement parks that are known today. The Devil in the White City creates the vision that anything was possible in this time. Doctor Holmes plays a role as a villain in The Devil in the White City by creating a business that would create a heaping amount of debt that he is not willing to pay off and murdering many of the people he would become in contact with thus by further expressing the human ingenuity of success he had from his unwillingness

The imagery that Larson used to describe the way that Holmes feels about Chicago and why depicts to the readers the way Holmes mind works. Instead of loving the city for the character and freedom it brings like the many others that come to Chicago, Holmes reveals his lustful intentions to the readers by imagining the way “smoke… could envelope a woman and leave no trace” which he believes gives him many opportunities to carry out his malevolent plans (Larson 62). Larson’s use of not only visual imagery but smells as well shows the readers Holmes is obsessive over his agenda and how a “blade thin track of perfume” was a temptation to him(Larson 62). Because Chicago had become a place for people to come and start over, there were many young women

The Chicago World’s Fair was an opportunity for the city to come together and create event so spectacular to shock the world. However, as Chicago prepared to awe people with this extravagant fair the city faced skepticism on weather or not issues of urbanization, sanitation, and crime would be fixed in time for the World’s Fair. In beginning of the novel, Larson takes the reader back to the start before Chicago wins the bid for the World’s fair to be held in Chicago. The idea of the World’s Fair in the United

The Devil in the White City Rhetorical Analysis Essay The Chicago World’s Fair, one of America’s most compelling historical events, spurred an era of innovative discoveries and life-changing inventions. The fair brought forward a bright and hopeful future for America; however, there is just as much darkness as there is light and wonder. In the non-fiction novel, The Devil in the White City, architect Daniel Burnham and serial killer H. H. Holmes are the perfect representation of the light and dark displayed in Chicago. Erik Larson uses positive and negative tone, juxtaposition, and imagery to express that despite the brightness and newfound wonder brought on by the fair, darkness lurks around the city in the form of murder, which at first, went unnoticed.

Larson also chose to include some backstory of Holmes and his life after being caught for some of his crimes and not just how he chose to kill his victims. Larson really tells the full, and true story of the Chicago world’s fair surrounding Burnham and Holmes. The most impressive part was the incredible detail that Larson included, while keeping the story nonfiction, and historically accurate. I was able to learn about the huge amount of planning for the Chicago World’s fair and what it was like for the average visitor. I also got to learn about the serial killer H. H. Holmes, and how different crime was treated back then.

Holmes, the mysterious serial killer. Burnham and Holmes have many similarities, the biggest one being their sheer determination to reach a goal or get what they want, which is used towards the manufacture of good, or the manufacture of sorrow. However their differences separate them apart, their biggest difference being their actions, as one build the World’s Fair and does this for the wellbeing of everyone, while Holmes uses his talent to kill many people, and cause commotion in Chicago and such. In conclusion, Erik Larson tries to show the underlying difference between good and evil, and how no matter what, evil is accompanied by good, and vice versa. Even the title of the book “The Devil in the White City” shows the most prominent theme of this amazing novel, by Erik

The Panic of 1893 was due to the railroads which then lead to banks failing and citizens losing their money. It was also a time of high unemployment rates and depression. It was significant because the economy was failing and people were starting to worry. It also relates to the Devil in the White City because the fair opened in 1893 and it was not getting enough attendees due to the country’s financial downfall and the decrease of money in households. Frederick Jackson Turner: Frederick Turner was born in 1861 and died in 1932.

However, the most important thing it teaches is how good and bad exist together simultaneously. Within the first few chapters of the book it explains how Chicago is becoming crowded and many young women are now moving in.