A Of The White City By Erik Larson - 1426 Words

A Devil in the White City, written by Erik Larson, is a novel to remember. Not only does this book entice the ideas and a theme of â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil†, but Erik Larson, a former staff writer in the Wall Street Journal, also tied in historical events that occurred during the Chicago World Fair of 1893. The purpose of the book, that entices a combination of historical events and other fictional opinions, is to inform the audience of the historical content that occurred in the past and to â€Å"fill in the blanks† to what might have been misunderstood or â€Å"empty† during that period in time. Originally, Crown Publishers had published the book in 2003, but currently in the edition that I have read, Vintage Books, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC,†¦show more content†¦The purpose for this book is to bring together stories that have not been put together before. Larson brings together two opposite types of storylines and combines them i nto a unique perspective of writing to inform readers that many things can happen in one location as well. In a short summary of the novel, it takes place in Chicago, Illinois where many architects came together to create the World Fair, or the Colombian Exchange, to celebrate the 400th anniversary to when Columbus helped begin the journey of discovering America. Chicago had been known as the â€Å"Black City† and soon became known as the â€Å"White City† because of the creation of the World Fair and its amazing architecture. Hence the title of The Devil in the White City, the devil being H. H. Holmes and the White City known as Chicago. Two main viewpoints of Burnham and Holmes were introduced throughout the novel that helped give a unique perspective to the history of the growing city. Daniel Burnham, known as one of the many architects that helped in the creation of the World Fair, and H. H. Holmes taking shelter in a â€Å"castle† located in Chicago to use the World Fair to his advantage in luring victims to their death. The World Fair had not been an easy goal t o accomplish. Daniel had faced many obstacles and trials while building the fair with his talented team. Obstacles such as weather, locations, opinions, death, the architecture itself, andShow MoreRelatedThe White City By Erik Larson887 Words   |  4 Pages Erik Larson’s literary nonfiction novel â€Å"The Devil in the White City† surrounds the events of the 1893 Columbian Exposition World’s Fair in Chicago. Larson does a magnificent job intertwining the lives of two men who were changed by the events of the fair. Daniel H. Burnham, the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World s Fair and Dr. H. H. Holmes, the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. The purpose of this review is not only to summarize Larson’sRead MoreThe Monster Of The White City By Erik Larson1637 Words   |  7 Pageshad not received any detrimental problem in their life to unleash it. Erik Larson’s novel, The Devil in the White City, foreshadows the characteristic of madness in many of the characters. Larson reveals in his novel that it does not matter what type of individual you are because everyone has some sort of madness inside of her or him, waiting to be revealed. Madness was simple to depict in the character of H.H. Holmes, but Larson hints at the readers that there was a cause to his insanity. AccordingRead MoreThe Devil Of The White City By Erik Larson Essay1326 Words   |  6 Pagescreate a person’s personality. In the novel â€Å"The Devil in The White City† by Erik Larson he develops a character full of evil motives and shows how he slowly develops into the murderous monster he becomes. Although this character in real life argued that he was born with the intent to kill, Larson’s way of writing seems to disagree. Through early signs at a young age, torturous murder tactics, and total control over decisions Larson comes to the conclusion that although Holmes believes he’s beenRead MoreThe Devil Of The White City By Erik Larson1808 Words   |  8 Pagesbooks and movies carry the essence of social history to give the viewers a deeper perspective of major issues. Social history is the use of personal stories t hat shed light on dominant issues by building public awareness. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson helps highlight the major issue of homicide and publicizes it through personal stories by incorporating it in the story about the Chicago World’s Fair. In 1893, Chicago hosted the World’s Fair during which a man named H.H. Holmes became knownRead MoreIn The Devil In The White City, Erik Larson Tells The Story1063 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson tells the story of two men, an architect and a serial killer, operating in Chicago during the 1890’s This novel describes 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. It is divided into four parts with the first three primarily taking place in Chicago between the years 1890-1893. However, Part four of the novelRead MoreBuilding the World Fair in The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson 2548 Words   |  11 PagesThe Devil in the White City, Erik Larson Prologue The prologue begin aboard the Olympic following a man named Daniel Burnham on April 4, 1912. Burnham is suffering of severe pain in his foot. Burnham tries to send a message to his friend Millet who is aboard the Titanic, but the message was not allowed to be sent. Burnham thinks back to the fair and reminisces of the people that helped with the fair and thinks about who is still alive from the fair. Part 1 The first chapter introduces ChicagoRead MoreSummary Of Erik Larson s The Devil s The Red Devil And Where Is The White City1176 Words   |  5 Pagesprovides an overview of Erik Larson s 2003 book â€Å"The Devil in the White City†, including a summary, an analysis of the book s structure, and a discussion of the real-life individuals and events at the heart of the story. !!!Who s the Devil, and Where is the White City? When Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese team up to make a big-budget movie based on your book, you know you ve arrived. This doesn t happen to most nonfiction authors, but it s happening to Erik Larson, best known for his 2003Read MoreErik Larson s The White City, And H.h. Holmes s World s Fair Hotel Essay1760 Words   |  8 Pagesa higher goal. During the turn of the century, a significant representation of a changing culture could be found in numerous cities around the country, especially in terms of the form and function of architecture. Perfect examples of a differing culture can be found in Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City. Through the description of building of Daniel Burnham’s White City, and H.H. Holmes’s World’s Fair Hotel, it can be inferred that both projects had different goals and very clearly representedRead MoreFigurative Language In Erik Larsons Devil In The White City916 Words   |  4 PagesTale of Two Cities Serbian poet, Dejan Stojanovic, once stated, â€Å"Devil and God – two sides of the same face.† When looking at Chicago during the Columbian Exposition, there were two sides of Chicago known as the white city and the black city. The white city was the fairgrounds where the World Fair occurred. The black city, however, is the rest of Chicago where the crime, poverty, disease, and filth was represented. Erik Larson constructs the black and white city in Devil in the White City by incorporatingRead MoreThe Devil in the White City good vs evil793 Words   |  4 PagesGood Versus Evil The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson depicts that wherever there is good, there is evil as well. The note included by Larson,  ¨Evils Imminent ¨ depicts this:  ¨Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow ¨ (pg. xi). Larso shows this conflict of good and evil by comparing the two main characters, Daniel Burnham and Henry