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Devil In The White City Book Report

839 Words4 Pages

1. Copy a short passage that you found to be interesting and explain why you found it interesting/why it is an example of good writing. “If evenings at the fair were seductive, the nights were ravishing. The lamps that laced every building and walkway produced the most elaborate demonstration of illumination ever attempted and the first large-scale test of alternating current. The fair alone consumed three times as much energy as the entire city of Chicago. These were important engineering milestones, but what visitors adored was the sheer beauty of seeing so many lights ignited in one place at one time.” (Larson, 254) I found this passage to be very riveting and alluring. Reading this excerpt we get an insight of how the author views the 1839 …show more content…

I didn’t have much knowledge on the evens around that time, but after reading the book I have not only learned about the lives of Daniel Burnham and H.H. Holmes but the historical events that took place which changed the American history. Throughout the book Larson pieces Birmingham’s story carefully and slowly, giving me an understanding of how The World 's Columbian Exposition came to be. "The White City had drawn men and protected them; the Black City now welcomed them back, on the eve of winter, with filth, starvation, and violence"(Larson, 323). This quote gave me a better understanding of Chicago around the time this book took place. The Chicago World’s Fair had created a sense of pride for its citizens. The White City, represents a time of prosperity and great opportunity of economic growth, along with the positive changes for women 's rights. Black City took over once the elegance of the world 's fair had vanished. Many lost their jobs and Chicago entered into a great depression. The book gave me an understanding of the importance of the World’s fair and how it has effected the citizens giving everyone hope and pleasure. Once the fair has ended I got to whiteness the reality of Chicago life, giving me an insight on the setting of the

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The Devil in the White City gives a unique glimpse into how there is both bad and good existing in the city. In my opinion the point of the book was to show how both good and bad coexist in one place. Sometimes with the knowledge of the other existing. The book was written by Erik Larson and published by first vintage books. Published almost 14 years ago the book is still relevant today and still has much to teach us.

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1287 Words | 6 Pages

Book Analysis- The Devil in the White City The Chicago World’s Fair continues to be one of America’s defining moments. This is where America proved to the world they had grown up and were able to hold their own. Erik Larson eloquently illustrates the entire fair in little black words on paper. Although he was not alive during this event, Larson is able to reconstruct the story with factual events; he created twists to keep you ensnared into the story.

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1140 Words | 5 Pages

It is Chicago that won the bid for the home of the World’s Columbian Exposition Fair, it is Chicago that Burnham, the architect, found so much potential in, it is Chicago that Holmes evil desires put into motion. The city of Chicago now carries out the legacy of both Burnham and Holmes. Burnham was given the power over the exposition. He contacted the architects, hired landscapers, and bore a vision to create something the world has never seen before in nearly every possible aspect of the fair including size, style and appeal. He understood every decision he made was crucial because of the expectations people from all nations had for the fair.

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819 Words | 4 Pages

The Devil in the White City Rhetorical Analysis Essay The Chicago World’s Fair, one of America’s most compelling historical events, spurred an era of innovative discoveries and life-changing inventions. The fair brought forward a bright and hopeful future for America; however, there is just as much darkness as there is light and wonder. In the non-fiction novel, The Devil in the White City, architect Daniel Burnham and serial killer H. H. Holmes are the perfect representation of the light and dark displayed in Chicago. Erik Larson uses positive and negative tone, juxtaposition, and imagery to express that despite the brightness and newfound wonder brought on by the fair, darkness lurks around the city in the form of murder, which at first, went unnoticed.

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585 Words | 3 Pages

In the past, Paris hosted the Fair, and was seen worldwide as a success. The United States had to create something that would beat that of Paris, and had chosen two options: Chicago and New York. Eventually, Chicago was chosen as the hostess, and once the people heard the news, they “cut loose with a cheer that tore through the canyon of brick, stone, and glass like a flash flood.” (). The fair’s goal was to increase national unity by showing the world that the U.S was architecturally capable.

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1584 Words | 7 Pages

The book follows his struggle and work to put this huge fair together, and also make it a huge profiting attraction. He faces many obstacles and internal conflict while doing so. The second is H. H. Holmes, an insane serial killer who was active during the existence of the fair. He had different businesses and practices he would use to lure women, in order to kill them and sometimes the women in their families. The book takes place in Chicago during the early 1890s, as

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223 Words | 1 Pages

The piece of writing which I felt was unsuccessful for me was the Rhetorical Analysis of an article relating to a topic from our course book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. This piece of writing was difficult for me to organize my ideas around. The article that I decided to use for my rhetorical analysis highlighted mass incarceration among African American and the effect of civil liberties being are taken away from these individuals. I had a lot of repetition because many of the examples I used demonstrated more than one type of appeal. I found myself repeating what the purpose of the example was and how it demonstrated proper use of ethos, pathos, and logos.

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870 Words | 4 Pages

Erik Larson writes “Beneath the gore and smoke and loom, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging in the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow”(Larson xi). In the book The Devil and the White City, Erik Larson tells a story of 2 very determined men, Daniel Burnham and H. Holmes, using their talents and determination to create good results, but also bad results; one being a very successful and good spirited architect, the other being a witty evil serial killer. It reveals how in every good act or intention, there is some kind of evil, and also the other way around. Erik Larson explores the underlying difference between good and evil, while telling 2 tales of Daniel Burnham, and Henry H. Holmes Daniel Burnham and Henry H. Holmes are alike in many ways, as explored throughout the novel. Both of these men used their determination and skills to accomplish many things, good or bad.

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536 Words | 3 Pages

In the first few chapters of Black Metropolis, St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton provide historical context on the early development of Chicago as the site for an emerging city, which became the American Midwest epicenter that incited significant social, economic and political changes that transformed the country. The authors also establish a foundation that helps to understand the allure of the Windy City, which contributed to the mass exodus of African Americans from the South during the Great Migration that ultimately created the “black metropolis.” While examining the text, what specifically stood out was the following quote: “The distinctive thing about the Black Belt is that while other such “colonies” tend to break up with the passage of time, the Negro area becomes increasingly more concentrated.” This quote indirectly references the

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1116 Words | 5 Pages

The Chicago World’s Fair was an opportunity for the city to come together and create event so spectacular to shock the world. However, as Chicago prepared to awe people with this extravagant fair the city faced skepticism on weather or not issues of urbanization, sanitation, and crime would be fixed in time for the World’s Fair. In beginning of the novel, Larson takes the reader back to the start before Chicago wins the bid for the World’s fair to be held in Chicago. The idea of the World’s Fair in the United

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757 Words | 4 Pages

The World Exhibition which was meant to be a shining beacon of the modern world to show the advancements of humankind would be tainted by the horrors brought by a depraved man considered to be America's first serial killer, H.H. Holmes. In Erik Larson’s novel “The Devil in the White City’ Larson details the ingenious architecture, science, politics, and gruesome murders of Chicago during the Gilded Age of The United States. Larson paints his picture with vivid and engaging language with incredible use of colors depicting the psychotic blue shown across Holmes's facade and the burning flame in Roots' persistence to plan the World Fair. Larson uses these themes to help the reader understand the changes the world will face as technology advances

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626 Words | 3 Pages

This chapter can help young writers in English class with their papers in many different ways. For instance, Trimble gives examples on what a veteran writer does in order to make their writing interesting. He also gives out techniques on how you can get a reader’s attention or how you can fix your writing to make it readable instead of having nonsense. What makes this difficult for me as a writer is that I write what ever comes to my mind and it will not make sense. Another thing that makes it difficult for me as a writer is that I am not good at getting the readers attention and having him hooked on to my work.

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453 Words | 2 Pages

Also, the World’s Fair was a huge historical event that had a huge impact on our inventions, which have evolved into what we know and use today. By “Light Show,” “For people used to gaslight, wood stoves, and flatirons heated on a coal stove or wood stove, electricity promised a safer, more comfortable future………… Instead, exhibits offered electric irons, lamps, sewing machines, elevators, fans, burglar alarms, and even surgical procedures. Visitors marveled at Edison's kinetoscope, an early form of movie projector.”

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914 Words | 4 Pages

The Chicago World’s Fair was many things: a showcase of modern technologies and revolutionary discoveries, an architectural masterpiece that dazzled millions, a commercial success that carried Chicago through an economic depression. Above all else, however; it served as a symbol of American pride and arrogance. From its very inception, the fair served as means by which Chicago could surpass New York and Philadelphia in grandeur and fame, with every Chicagoan eagerly awaiting the opportunity to gloat. Burnham, Olmsted, Ferris, and the multitude of architects who worked on the fair each saw a chance to become part of the greatest fair in history, and each wanted their names to be remembered alongside the fair. Between the architects competing

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Rationale: For this task, I created a diary because I think that this style of writing would be an extremely effective way to show another major character’s emotions and ideas, as it can be written from a first person perspective, giving a huge amount of insight. I based my task on a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, titled “The Tell-Tale Heart.” I chose this piece as it gives the opportunity to be very creative in my writing, but also introduces various constraints, such as writing in a similar style to Poe, and trying to avoid any plot holes. This task specifically relates to part 4 of the language and literature course, being; literature, as the stimulus text is a piece of literature, as is my piece of writing.

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