Erik Larsons book Devil in the White City - Term Paper Example

?Sharlene San Nicolas AMH 2020 Devil in the White Essay October 18, Erik Larson’s book “The Devil in the white Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that changed America” was one of the best selling books in non-fiction. The book rebuilds 1893 Chicago for the reader. It revolves very much around the architect with a brilliant mind, who was behind the World Fair in America in 1893, and Dr. Holmes, the serial killer. In a well crafted narrative, Larson has rebuilt the factual incidents just like a brilliant fiction novel. The official name of the “Devil in the White City” was the World’s Columbian Exposition. Burnham, the competent architect of the Colombian World’s Fair made Chicago the white City with his construction and masterpieces. Actually, the story of The Devil in the White City is about two main characters Holmes and Denial Hudson Burnham. White City represented the Chicago at its good; the awful killing of Holmes surely qualified for the darkest side of the city. Holmes operated his mansion as a hotel during the fair. It was really a horror house. Many women came in Chicago in search of jobs and got attracted towards him for jobs or stayed in his hotel during the fair and were not sighted again. Holmes gasconaded that he had murdered not less than 27 women in his lifetime. After murder he sold their skeletons and other parts to any medical college or others. This story revealed the contrasts of city Chicago that was filled with both bright and dark aspects. One might easily debate that city has not changed yet in this respect. Burnham, the man of principles and having high capabilities presented the bright aspect of life. He built the World’s Famous Fair in Chicago and gained a lot of popularity. His efforts towards this achievement showed all about the White City. The author presented Chicago’s brighter parts in the character of Burnham and evils in the character of Holmes and referred as Black City. The Devil in the White City is completely about the history of Chicago. The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 was the center of national as well as international attending. In the fair many innovative products like Cracker Jack, electric lightning, Ferris wheel and Gum of Juicy Fruit were introduced. In short, The Devil in the White City is an attracting and delighting description of a sensational period in Chicago’s history. Eric Larson, the author of the “Devil in the White City” has described the two aspect of human nature in his writing, good and evil. It is a natural phenomenon of life where there is good there is also evil and wickedness. By saying the Black City to Chicago, it means to show the evil aspect of Chicago, where a serial killer has an appetite of killing young women in the disguise of a well-known famous doctor, H.H Holmes. He had made a Fair Hotel where he seduced women and killed them bitterly. After their death, he sold their body parts and skeletons. Larson has tried to show the dual aspects of Holmes and Burnham. Chicago had a great reputation in cultural as well economical fields. The World Exposition had created a lot of opportunities for the country. People came there in search of new opportunities of jobs and some went back and other stayed there. The Fair also created jobs opportunities at a time when economy was not good and there was recession. Although it took a lot of time to become stable after the Fair, Chicago got the state what it should be. But along this fame and repute there is evil and wicked thing that Dr. H.H Holmes got chances to kill a lot of women just for money and his inner satisfaction. Therefore author refers the Chicago as the Black City. Chicago World‘s Fair of 1893 proves a great turning point in the history of America. According to Erick, The Fair literally changed America. It also showed the condition of Chicago that needed the reform action in areas like worker’s right, sanitation, law enforcement and many more. In spite of it, the city’s businessmen and architects made the reputation of Chicago over the alleviation of suffering. In this Fair, many people had attached their experiences of lifetime to make it remarkable. The White City is an arbitrary sign of injustices and inequalities of the Gilded Age, but at the same time it proves that Americans have ability of attaining great things successfully. Daniel Burnham who was the director of works of Columbian Exposition, 1893, was born in Henderson, New York in 1846. Daniel Burnham, a man of principle characters, was a skilled architect of Chicago who, with his companion John Root, had given the job of building the 1893 Chicago World’s fair, called the World’s Columbian Exposition. Burnham was not only a talented architect of Chicago but also a great business man and public relations expert. Although he lacked formal education, Burnham, still impelled by his pride and a sense of determination tackled and accomplished the daunting task of building a monolithic World’s Fair that will ameliorate the reputation of the city of Chicago globally. Burnham had experience of making such great buildings with his companion, John Root like the Montauk, world’s first skyscraper, The Rookery and the Monadnock and others. Burnham’s challenging and genius nature allows him to take more daring projects that prove to have the best architecture. Therefore, on 14 February, 1980 when the announcement was made that Chicago would host the World’s Fair, Burnham was their natural choice for this project. When Burnham was selected for the construction of World’s Fair, Columbian World’s Fair in 1893, he faced a lot of obstacles and hurdles on way to his progress. He faced all these hurdles manly and tried hard to fulfill the assigned project fully. At the early on, his partner John Root, a talented architect, passed away and left him on his own. Burnham also faced the economic decline, injuries and deaths during construction, late coming building drafts and union strikes. Despite these entire natural and manmade obstacles, Burnham and his crew fought and got their goals successfully. Mr. Holmes was a man with dual personality, apparently a beautiful personality with sacred profession while inwardly a man of wicked who in his own words confessed of his crime and said that he was born with the devil in him (Larson, 2004, Page 12). He was a man of wicked deeds. Holmes’s cruelty can be seen when he killed the women badly and cut them into pieces. It was not a human act. At the time of World’s Fair, Holmes opened a hotel and it was specifically designed for keeping his evil intention of murder. It was two miles away from the World’s Fair. He purchased this hotel from the widow of Mr. Holton, his master, who gave him job when he came to Chicago. After the death of Mr. Holton, he used his skill to persuade Mrs. Holton. She sold the store to Holmes and suddenly disappeared from there. Holmes constructed his three story building at the place of the store, or Castle. He opened it as hotel during World’s Fair in 1983. He made the ground floor as the drugstore and in the other upper floors he made a hallway that would open from outside and had a legion of strange and mazy constructions. He brought changes in its construction and he only fully understood the design of the building. He also sold insurance policies to his victims and to get the insured amount he killed them. Holmes mostly selected female as his employees whom he had given the job on the condition of life insurance policies. Holmes got benefits from these policies and killed the females to get their premium himself. He also took his lovers and guests of hotels to his castle where he seduced them and tortured them. He locked some of his victims in the basement or in sound proof bedrooms and in vault, where he, at any time, could deprive them of life. They died due to suffocation because he had fitted a gas line to smother them. After killing, he cut apart body parts of some of these females. He also had acids that could easily destroy their bodies. He sold the skeletons to the medical schools too. Chicago’s World Fair was celebrated at the 400th anniversary of Columbus. In this Fair Burnham had made fantastic efforts and proved what Burnham and his companions wanted how it should be. This fair was spread over 600 acres and more than 200 buildings of neoclassical architecture were included. It is called the White City due to white classical buildings. The white stucco buildings illuminated the whole Chicago. Due to extensive street lights, the buildings like the administration building, the manufactures and liberal arts building, the electricity building, the agricultural building, the machinery building and the woman building etc and boulevards would come in use at night and therefore called it the White city. Ferris wheel attracted a lot of people at the very start of the World’s Fair 1893. Ferris wheel was invented by the George W. Ferris, in response to Eiffel Tower in France. Ferris wheel was a notable achievement of engineering. It had a 140 foot steel tower with a 250 feet diameter. Through it the World Fair got popularity near and far. Other products like juicy fruit gum were also introduced. Chicago’s World Fair gained a lot of success in the cultural as well as the economical sphere. The goal of the Fair was to increase the unity of America by celebrating the commerce, technology and engineering fields and encourage higher education in the White City. The influence of World’s Fair expanded very long. It gave the idea for future progress in different fields of life. Through it, Chicago not only gained a lot of popularity, it also earned a lot of profit. The devil in the white city is encapsulated as the biggest point in the history of America in nineteenth century where The Fair became the turning point for the American history from backward to new. The exposition of World Fair had not only changed America, but also the crucial environment where people lived in the disguise of a noble man where the rights of employees were usurped. Dr. Holmes and Burnham both were the two aspect of nature, evil and good. The author called it a black city due to its wicked people, their bad deeds and their inhuman behavior towards other people. The condition of Chicago needed a lot of reforms in the society where no one was saved. You can see the weak government and its inability to search the murderer. In short Chicago World Fair had changed the fortune of the people and the purpose of creating the White City was to finish the injustices. The construction of fair served the purpose as America had arrived at the cutting edge of civilization that had completely vanished, though the statement was deceptive because the fair only did little to relieve some of the problems that Chicago faced. In lieu of this, it only high lightened the union strikes and worse working conditions at the closing of the fair. At that time, people of Chicago were dying due to disease, violence and starvation. They were helpless. Burnham and Holmes contrasted with the idealism of the ordinary people. Therefore the author addressed the bad, evil, madness and magic in these two characters. Overall, Erik Larson has done a great job with his non-fiction best seller. His research of 1890s Chicago is meticulous. His style of narration is logical and very natural. He has very successfully presented the good and evil side of human brains through his lead characters. References: Larson, Erik. The Devil in the white city: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that changed America. New York: Vintage. 2004. Print. Read More