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Analysis Of The Devil In The White City By Erik Larson

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The World's Columbian Exposition was a magnificent fair home to ingeniously creative inventions, astounding new attractions, and fascinating celebrities. Designed by renowned architect Daniel Burnham, this dreamland served as a grand display of Chicagoan pride. Little Americans know about the fair today however, and even fewer know about the horrifying secret that lies underneath it. During the fair, American was introduced to the monstrosity of serial killers by one H. H. Holmes. H. H. Holmes exploited the grandeur of the fair to lure innocent people to their demise. In here lies the overarching theme of contrast within the book. In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson juxtaposes people, setting, and events to contrast good and evil. Larson juxtaposes …show more content…

Chicago is described as a “hog slaughtering backwater” and having streets “oozing a fragrant muck of of horse manure, mud, and garbage.” Chicago without the fair is depicted as being almost inhabitable, nearly toxic to all of the citizens there. From this arises the reputation Chicago gets as a filthy hick town with no redeeming qualities, however from this reputation derives the need for a fair, creating good from bad. While the quality of Chicago has not considerably increased, the fair is described as “Chicago's pride” and as “great”. The positivity of the fair is contrasted with the lackluster quality of the surrounding areas of Chicago. By having the rest of Chicago be so lowly maintained, the fair stands out even more as a spectacular event. The fair “gave Chicago a light to hold against the gathering dark of economic calamity” as well. This gives the impression that the fair is actually making the recession seem even more unbearable and horrible, showing the intertwining of good and bad and how they are always going to be

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