Burnham's The Devil In The White City

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The book The Devil in the White City describes the creation of the World's Columbian Exposition and its profits in two different perspectives. One in the perspective of Daniel Hudson Burnham, the director of the fair; while the other perspective focused on Henry H. Holmes, a cold blooded murderer that owned the hotel near the fairgrounds. To begin, the author explained the background of the characters, and the fight against large cities such as New York for the chance to hold the World's Columbian Exposition. With its rapid population growth and nearly impossible promises, Chicago took over this opportunity, putting Burnham and his partner Root in charge of creating this fair that was promised to become the greatest fair in history. This meant …show more content…
Nothing seemed to go right for Burnham, every event described in the book was a big struggle, and nothing happy would last long. From my point of view, it seemed like Burnham never had a peaceful day in his life since he accepted the challenge of building the World's Columbian Exposition. On the other hand, Holmes seemed like he could solve all every problem with his charm, and even when people got suspicious, they chose to let go of the matter. Due to this, Holmes killed many young ladies, and tricked many people which he had done in order to save his money. Every time I read a chapter on Holmes (in the middle towards the end), he will either kill a lady, or bring another one into the picture. The conclusion for all of Holmes actions were the same, which was for money, this made many chapters sound similar to each other. In addition to this, I feel like the author made this book extra tortures by highlighting the struggles of Burnham. Judging by Erik Larson's descriptions, it caught me by surprise when the fair was able to open on time, or even open at all. However, this book was very realistic, and it revealed the ugly truth about the different identities in this unjust

Imagery In Devil In The White City

Murder is, and has been, one of the most inhumane acts in all of human history. For someone to commit such a crime, there must be something wrong with them. Erik Larson, author of the nonfiction book, Devil In The White City, uses a great deal of imagery throughout this novel. Larson also uses an excellent contrast between the two main characters, H.H Holmes and Dr Burnham. He uses imagery to create a contrast with the two different stories included. It helps contrast the story of H.H Holmes and…

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The Devil In The White City Figurative Language

Erik Larson’s inspiration for writing The Devil in the White City was Chicago’s willingness in the Gilded Age to take on the impossible. Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City is about a serial killer, H.H. Holmes and an architect, Daniel Burnham, and their lives during the Chicago World’s Fair. Holmes is the “devil” at the fair, while Burnham is the architect of the World’s Fair. Larson combines these two contrasting, yet similar personalities into one fascinating nonfiction novel. Using antithesis…

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Chicago's Exposition Case

H. Holmes claimed that the Devil was born within him. Burnham, motivated by his pride and a sense of determination found the structure of the Ferris Wheel would top the Eiffel Tower of the Paris exposition. From May 1 to October 31, 1893, Chicago’s exposition had about 27 million…

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Devil In The White City Book Report

One man builds a city that houses the most vicious serial killer in history. Both men have no physical relationship with each other, nor any connection other than that they brought the spotlight onto Chicago. The city of Chicago is the backdrop for murder and ambition in the nonfiction novel, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. The novel written blends two tales of men of Chicago as if Larson lived in the city circa 1893 to tell…

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The Devil In The White Mitty Analysis

The Devil in the White CIty is about the Columbian Exposition and the World Fair. Author, Erik Larson, used a various amount of techniques to get one’s attention, and ended each chapter making the reader crave for more of his story. In his prologue, “Aboard the Olympic,” he used many styles to pull the reader in on what was actually occurring. Later, he portrays what had occurred in the mansion with Jack the Ripper. In the chapter, “The Trouble has just Began”, he uses the complexity of the World…

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The Devil In The White City Power

Devil in the White City The Devil in the White City written by Erik Larson gives an overview of the years prior to and within the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. In order to rejuvenate Chicago, people took on different positions of power: the ability to cause or prevent action. Daniel Burnham, one of the head architects, tries to exert monetary power towards other architects. Herman Mudgett (HH Holmes), a doctor and con man, exemplifies sexual power often throughout the novel. Political power is also…

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Devil in the White City Essay

Devil in the White City written by Erik Larson is a true story based on the building of the most important fair in the United States of America, the 1893 Columbian Exposition World’s Fair in Chicago. Erik Larson also told the story of the psychopathic murderer; H.H. Holmes used his World’s Fair Hotel as an evil castle to lure in young women who came to see the fair. The story starts off with Larson describing that Chicago won the Congressional vote to host the World’s Fair and beat out its competition…

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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Devil In The White City By Erik Larson

In The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, the author, Erik Larson, focuses around the idea that beauty can hide the ugliness within. Larson writes about the effects of dishonest work and by writing this book, attempts to drive society towards the right direction, towards honesty. In this writing piece, Larson uses different rhetorical strategies to achieve his purpose in encouraging society towards integrity. Larson includes the use of setting, imagery…

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