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The devil in the white city essay with evidence from the book
Essay on devil in the white city
Devil in the white city historical analysis
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The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson contains extremely detailed information of the happenings during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 between two men whom had never met. This #1 National Bestseller includes the years of building before and during the Fair and the challenges that came with the famous architect, Daniel H. Burnham. The pages also contain disturbing information about the urban serial killer, Dr. H. H. Holmes, who brutally murdered at least nine individuals throughout the years while construction went on before and during the Chicago World’s Fair. Those who are interested in murder trials and history of the United States would enjoy this book.
Erik Larson’s novel is to be considered “new” because he offers the public two completely different stories of events that each occurred during the years 1891-1894 in the White City; Chicago, Illinois.
The Devil in the White City is a four part book that takes place between 1890 and 1893 with a small part of the book, part IV, in the era of 1895. The nonfiction novel includes two different biographies about two different men; Daniel H. Burnham and Dr. H. H. Holmes.
Burnham is a well-known architect around the world who previously completed work in “Chicago, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Manila, and many other cities” (Pg. 3). He was offered the job to design and build the buildings that would be a part of the World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago World’s Fair), after Chicago won the bid for the fair in 1890, and eventually took the offer with his assistant, John Root. The construction of the fair began in 1891 and did not completely finish until the fair was already halfway over in the summer of 1893. During those two and a half years, the success and reputatio...
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...t the book was at times, the stories skipped around so you were thrown into Burnham’s situation, and then right back in Holmes’ situation in the same chapter, so that made the book a bit hard to follow. Also, since there were so many names of people involved in both stories, it was difficult to remember who each of them were and what they did to be a part of the story.
Erik Larson was motivated to tell these two incredible stories because he became so interested and astonished in the Chicago World’s Fair the more he read about it. Larson could not believe that the city of Chicago would “take on the impossible” and that “George Ferris would attempt to build something so big and novel-and that he would succeed on his first try” (Pg. 393). He has always loved the city of Chicago and wanted to know more about the history, so this was also a motive to write the novel.
Write an essay discussing the historical insights presented in Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City, being sure to answer the following questions: In what ways does the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 represent the contrasts and conflicts of the Gilded Age? What is the Fair’s lasting imprint on American society & culture, & what new trends does it signal for the twentieth century?
. The Administration Building was conceived by a board of architects led by Daniel Burnham as part of the scheme for the Court of Honor, the major public space at the fair. As director of architecture and construction for the entire Columbian Exposition, Burnham was responsible for selecting designers for all the major buildings. After much debate, this group of mostly east coast practitioners decided that all the major buildings were to be cast in a pristine and highly decorative classical style based on the architecture of Antiquity. Burnham assigned the task of designing the most prominent building to arguably the most prominent man of the group, the New York architect Richard Morris Hunt.
The layout of the "The Devil in Massachusetts" appears to be in more of a narrative form, with the elements of a fictional story. This is evident throug...
...ut jobs for the people who created poverty because of the dearth of money. Many stressed and worried for their family’s well being resorted to violence to find ends meet. After the fair everything went back to its normal form the Black City which many did not know existed, too many Chicago will always be the White City created by the World’s Columbian Exposition. In The Devil in the White City, by Erick Larson the protagonist Holmes was shown as a new definition of evil. The twins were very different one became what nobody expected; he was going to become a mass murderer. He was known for being gentle and charming and he was the complete opposite being ironic because it’s not expected. The twin shows that ambition could make one or break one and everything is not what it seems. At the end both had different ambitions which led the two to different and separate paths.
...gic of Chicago, but also the darkening madness of H.H. Holmes. This analysis of the book covers the city of Chicago being “the Black City,” before it hosted the World’s fair. Secondly, the glorious magic of Daniel Burnham did make this fair possible who all of his men that he worked with. Next, the city of Chicago when the fair was going on was a grand sight that people around the world would remember in history. Also, the unfortunate sight of the crimes and evil intention of H.H. Holmes had committed, that does put a black eye upon the fair. Finally, The Fair and how it has related to the historical trends of nineteenth century America. The Devil in the White City is an important novel that does tell of a great historical fair and a crime that has happened within the city of Chicago, the events there during that time period would be an important part in history.
Erik Larson’s historical nonfiction book, The Devil in the White City, uses well over one hundred historical sources to piece together a vivid depiction of The World’s Columbian Exposition and the high stakes of its improbable success in the middle of America’s most vice-filled city of opportunity, all the while the infamous “Torture Doctor,” H. H. Holmes, hides in the shadows. Ultimately, the author portrays gilded age America as a place of wonder and terror, of progress and primacy, and of indulgence and poverty.
Burrows, Edwin G., and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
...d in this quote, “The action of the story continues nearly nonstop pausing occasionally to look at the stars or talk about southern gentlemen but only for a short time before rushing ahead” (Daly 17). The action of the story can make the reader get bored of it quickly or it can continue to keep the reader interested. Some of the action was forced to keep the book going but overall it was not bad. Many young readers like reading a book with lots of action so this is why the book is such a big hit.
Erik Larson’s nonfiction novel, The Devil in the White City, focuses on the building of the World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of the United States. Larson throughout the book demonstrates that where there is good there is evil between two characters: Daniel Burnham and H.H. Holmes. When people of America were given the task to build an architectural masterpiece for the Chicago World’s Fair, there were bright visions to make the celebration well known but also a brilliant man commits to some very dark deeds which effected American history.
Advancing further into history, accounts in 1855 (A.B. Berard, School History of the United States) and 1856 (Harper’s School History, Narrative of the General Course of History) also offer different portrayals of the same events despite their close proximity to one another. The 1855 account has a different interpretation of how the event gained excitement and it goes on to say that it was a “negro who had excited the disturbance.” The reference to “negro” was...
Larson begins his novel “The Devil in the White City” by setting the stage, mentioning the events and people who made the fair so great. But simultaneously Larson hints at the evil lurking in the shadows. Although the reader is not fully aware of the dual nature of the human condition till Holmes’s big unveil. Larson describes Holmes as “a murderer that had moved among the beautiful things Burnham had created” (Larson 6). Chicagoans were startled by how such gruesome acts could go unnoticed for so long. The juxtaposition of...
One half of the story was of a man named Daniel Burnham, who was a famous architect of his time. It’s in this half of the story that can you see the good part of the city. Pride can be seen mainly throughout his story. His life in these pages was based on the construction of the World Columbian Exposition which was a fair held in Chicago in 1893. This magnificent fair was in honor of one of America’s most well known discoverers, Christopher C. Columbus. This was the 400th anniversary of his discovery of the new world. Through Burnham’s pride and his determination, he was able to complete the fair in almost a year. However, it was not truly ready for opening day due to a few construction issues, such as the world’s f...
White, Richard. “Strike.” Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011. N. pag. Print.
They walk amongst us, silent and unseen until the ghastly moment of their horrid crime takes root. These are the killers, spawned from the Devil’s own seed, while others are nurtured in the squalid ruins of their environment. Devil In The White City, authored by Erik Larson, is a story that takes a close look at the World's Columbian Exposition, the world's fair that Chicago hosted in 1893 in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. The fair was tainted by deaths, a serial killer, and an assassination. The lead architect, Daniel Burnham, and the serial killer, Henry Howard Holmes, play pivotal roles in the events that unfolded before, during, and after the fair. Throughout this novel, we are informed of many possible
The book, The Devil in the White City, takes place during the late nineteenth century. During that time, the total picture of the late nineteenth - century America that emerges from The Devil in the White City is very different than now.