The White City

A City of Prospering Light always shines through darkness, and that is just what the Chicago World’s Fair did during the 19th century. Regardless of mishaps and bleak points, such as the unfortunate successes of H.H. Holmes, the astronomical amount of positivity given to the world for years to come outweighed all of the negative points by far at the fair, also referred to as the Columbian Exposition. Inventions and architectural phenomena are delved into throughout the novelistic style non-fiction book The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Larson took a bold approach and intertwined many storylines and lives of people throughout the construction and ongoing of the exposition. By doing so, he gave readers a unique insight into all of

Society was recharged by the massive accomplishments made possible because of the fair. Americans created more, took chances, and truly questioned the long bound roles they felt they had to play in life. This exposition was not just an event, but a question for people to ask of themselves, “Why shouldn’t I choose my own paths in life?” The outcomes of the Chicago World’s Fair made progressive impacts on American lives at the turn of the century through the developmental stages, inventions created for and displayed there, and the influence on people who were involved with the gathering in the White City.

From the beginning, the constructional challenges and time restraint made the idea of the fair nearly impossible, yet the perseverance of the people involved made it a reality. The way the population who took part in this project poured themselves into the component they were working on made the difference between this fair becoming the

In particular the name that comes up is H.H. Holmes, a notorious serial killer who murdered countless young women during the time of the fair, and could be sourced as a downfall in society. Yet, the actions of one man can not be the portrayal of numerous good deeds and positive advancements for the majority of the citizens. There are sick minded people throughout all points in history, and from the eventual arrest and interrogation of Holmes, we as a culture gained insight to the psyche of a deranged man: “...the vague humanness was missing...They later adopted the term “psychopath”...”(Larson 87). Basing modern psychology of the psychotic mind from first cases such as Holmes, is a reason many more killers have been caught or prevented in modern society, and while he was a stain to humanity at the time, he did not ruin the collective robustness of the American