Sociological aspects of “The Devil in the White City”
“The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson was a mix between two stories that overall worked well together. The stories worked together to convey the true overall meaning of the theme good versus evil. Good and evil are seen everywhere throughout the novel, even in the most obvious of places such as the title. Good and evil, dark and light, they all stand for the same thing. White is normally found to be pure and good. By the author naming the book, The Devil in the White City, he is trying to tell the reader that the novel is about how even in truly pure places evil will follow. Although, good and evil is the main theme of this novel, I found that if you look deeply into the way he tells the story, he is also trying to tell his reader about other themes. These other themes that you can find all throughout the book are things such as pride and determination. These other themes were very prominent and played very well into the plot and the theme of the story.
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...
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...mes’ lifestyle. Holmes, throughout his life was a criminal. Holmes desire to murder people was believed to come from from his desensitized feeling about dead bodies. This was due to his medical career. As mentioned earlier, when Holmes was in medical school, he had many dealings with cadavers and was very familiar with them. Later, when he began killing he did not look at the bodies as human beings, but as material or later, cash money. This relationship between crime and deviance is mainly why I choose this book. I feel that H. H. Holmes, although Holmes was a strange and demented man, was very successful. This success questions what makes people successful: is it your status, education, or was it his determination?
Works Cited
Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. New York: Crown, 2003. Print.
The Devil in the White City one of his best sellers has attracted quite a bit of attention, so much so that one of Hollywood’s biggest star obtained the rights to display the story on the big screen. Before becoming a successful author and writing multiple best sellers, Erik Larson graduated summa cum laude from The University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from The University of Pennsylvania, Larson was hired as an editorial assistant. Larson decided to attend Columbia School of Journalism after seeing the movie, All the President’s Men. Larson’s first journalism job was with the Bucks County Courier Times, but after being passed over for a promotion Larson handed in his resignation and applied to multiple other places. He ended up becoming part of The Washington Post. Larson had a successful career with The Washington Post, but no longer desired to work within the journalism field. He turned down a position as chief editor and not long after was married. Larson would go on to write some novels that were never published and his first published novel, The Naked Consumer. His books combined has won several awards such as New York Times best seller, San Francisco Chronicle best book of the year, and the Edgar Award for best nonfiction crime writing. When taking a close look at his other books compared to Isaac’s Storm, they are all ultimately similar in that
The World Fair of 1933 brought promise of new hope and pride for the representation of Chicago, America. As Daniel Burnham built and protected America’s image through the pristine face of the fair, underlying corruption and social pollution concealed themselves beneath Chicago’s newly artificial perfection. Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City meshes two vastly different stories within 19th century America and creates a symbolic narrative about the maturing of early Chicago.
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 Devil in the White City by Erik Larson tells the story of Daniel Burnham’s World Fair and H.H. Holmes’ murder spree. The tale focuses much on the conflict between good and evil, light and dark. However, the book also goes deeper, utilizing contrast to demonstrate the greed, exclusiveness, and exploitation ever present in the Gilded Age of America.
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 seemed to undermine the world fair and the things that are going on within it with his murders and treachery that does grip Chicago once his evil deeds have been found out. Finally, the events that happened in the world fair that relate to the issues that occur in the late ninetieth century within the United States. The city of Chicago was in a desolate condition before it hosted the World Fair.
The Devil in the White City is a novel that spans the years surrounding the building of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, also known as The World's Columbian Exposition, which was designed to commemorate the landing of Columbus in America. The novel focuses on a main character, Daniel Burnham, who is the architect who builds the 1893 Chicago World’s fair. Throughout the novel, Daniel Burnham encounters many obstacles that threaten the success of the fair at all stages of construction and successfulness. The death of Burnham’s partner John Root, May 1st, 1893, and Mayor Harrison’s murder all tested Burnham’s aspiration in completing the Fair, but with grace, persistence, and determination, Burnham completes construction and increases fair attendance
The “White City” was a vast collection of architecture and arts that were put on display in the year 1893. The Chicago World Fair, also called the “White City”, was a major event in American history that impacted America’s culture, economic, and industry. The Chicago World Fair was held to honor Columbus’ discovery of the New World. The real reason why it was made was to proudly have back their wealth and power. Larson said, “the tower not only assured the eternal fame of its designer, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel but also offered graphic proof that France had edged out the United States for dominance in the realm of iron and steel…”(15). To accomplish this, architects led by Daniel Burnham and John Root made numerous buildings and beautiful scenery
With all of the women in Holmes’ life it would seem Holmes had every opportunity given to him to settle down and live a normal life. So why would he continue down the path he was? Out of all the women in Holmes’ life it was his second wife, Myrtle Z. Bellman’s father Holmes tried to swindle and kill, he was unsuccessful (America’s Serial Killers).
The Chicago World Fair of 1893 was a very important event in American history and culture. The effects of the fair would last even till today. It influenced the American people to reevaluate their own cities. The fair also contributed to the pride of the American people not to mention those in Chicago. Daniel Burnham along with his partner John Root, whom later dies, is given the responsibility of constructing the Chicago World Fair. John Root is actually the architectural genius between the pair and dies before construction barely gets underway. Burnham is motivated by his pride and determination in order to actually get the job done.
McKay, Claude. "The Lynching." The Norton Anthology of American Literature.. Gen. ed. Nina Baym. Shorter 8th ed. New York: Norton, 2012. 2111. Print.
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 Columbian Exposition was an event that contrasted two aspects of society within close quarters. The way this exposition was set up, a mile-long stretch of road was used to showcase exhibits from around the world – called the Midway. At the end of this road was a collection of pristine white buildings, known as the White City. These two opposing sections carried with them, opposing ideals. The Midway focused on different cultures, being diverse, and showcasing the differences between peoples. While the White City was meant to show the strength, unity, and elegance of the United States. The effects the fair had on Chicago and the United States can categorize the event as both a success and failure. The success comes in the Midway with the
Brumwell, Stephen. White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America. Da Capo Press Inc. March, 2005.
In the movie Holmes, in the beginning, was much more prideful and rude to Watson and people in general, but later on, Holmes was a lot nicer and somewhat humble at least compared to the book. This difference made the viewer feel less liking of the character of Holmes and it almost seemed that the director tried to save Holmes’s character by making him nicer at the ending. The difference had a big impact on the feeling of the movie because it felt that he was so stuck up he was rather unapproachable. ...
“Chicago,” by Carl Sandburg wrote a poem that the great city of Chicago that embraces everything that the city has to offer, from hog butchers to railroads, from construction sites to prostitutes. The poem paints a portrait of a vibrant, cunning, wicked, joyful, laughing place. The speaker begins the poem by telling the reader about all of the negative aspects of the city of Chicago but ends in the exact opposite stance. The poet feels that Chicago will face the future ready to fight and win. Sandburg can show how Chicago holds many of the same qualities as an immature young man: both are vibrant and active, but both also have many flaws. Sandburg also celebrates the many types of workers that helped the city grow, from the hog butchers that feed the populace to the people that build the