Analysis Of The Devil In The White City By Erik Larson

The 1893 world's fair was an amazing experience. New inventions and extraordinary exhibits were scattered throughout a gleaming white city of newly constructed buildings, including the largest ever built at the time. Millions came from around America and the world to see this confluence of civilization in Chicago, but some never made it home. Before, during, and after the Fair, a serial killer named H. H. Holmes preyed on single women, killing possibly as many as 200 people total, although that estimate may be unrealistically high. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson tells the story of the Fair and of the trajectory of Holmes’s killings. In the book, the author strategically reveals implicit and explicit information in a way that builds suspense.

The author does not say this outright, but it is implied through implicit and explicit evidence. The author reveals information in a way that makes the reader slowly begin to fear and suspect Holmes, which builds suspense. Explicitly, the author states facts about Holmes’s personality. For example, as a child, Holmes is described as “small, odd, and exceptionally bright.” At this point early in the book, we are not yet led to suspect the true nature of Holmes, but we know that there is something wrong with him. His personality is implied later in the book as well. While people were questioning him about the disappearance of certain people who were related to him, he offered condolences, but “his eyes showed only a flat blue calm.” This implies that he is incapable of feeling real emotions, without revealing explicitly his true nature. Later in the book, the author gives more information on his psychopathic personality. Throughout the book, Holmes’s personality is strategically revealed to build suspicion, which adds to the suspense of the