Society is a structure that besieges every individual. Its daunting presence is inescapable. In Eric Larson’s novel, The Devil In The White City, the stories of two strangers living in close proximity to each other are presented. Both men had goals they dedicated themselves to and challenges they had to conquer, yet the two couldn’t be more disparate. The first man, Burnham was the head architect of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and the second, H.H. Holmes, was an atrocious serial killer. In describing this dichotomy, Larson produces an intriguing display of society at the end of the 19th century. Burnham was faced with the challenges of the society as the economy failed and his fair attracted meager attendance, while Holmes’s lack of respect …show more content…
Many immigrants and rural inhabitants fled to urban areas in search for any job that would provide them with any salary. As more and more companies failed, thousands of families lost their only source of income. Layoffs and wage cuts were common. Eventually even Burnham, a man with a reputation for being a fair employer, had to join the trend and let many of his employees go. Burnham knew that, “The dismissed men... faced homelessness and poverty; their families confronted the real prospect of starvation” (Larson 155). In the midst of unemployment, unions gained strength. The unions could be seen as a positive impact on society because they showcased people standing up for their rights, however the truth was far from that. The strikes organized by union leaders were violent and unsafe. Protesters blocked trains, burned railcars and set buildings aflame. One man, General Nelson A. Miles sensed that the spreading unrest was, “‘more threatening and far-reaching than anything that had occurred before”’ (Larson 335). To make matters worse, the Chicago fair which provided over ten-thousand jobs was coming to a close. The workers, “left the fair’s employ and returned to a world without jobs, already crowded with unemployed men” (Larson …show more content…
With hundreds of people flooding to cities in search of income, the cities became populous and dangerous. Streetcars regularly tumbled from draw bridges, and horsed carriages bolted into crowds. Each day, an average of two people were killed at Chicago’s railroad crossings. Fire was also a leading cause of death, claiming dozens of lives per day. The cities were not prepared to protect their residents. Crime lurked on every street corner, and murder was becoming commonplace. In 1981, “The Chicago Tribune reported that 5,906 people had been murdered in America, nearly 40 percent more than in 1890” (Larson 153). Police were of little service as they were overwhelmed with hundreds of cases of disappearances. Many citizens avoided reporting murders or crimes they witnessed or suspected to the police; “It was as if no one thought the police would be interested in yet another disappearance or, if they were, that they would be competent enough to conduct an effective investigation” (Larson 190). Lives were not being valued and death was not being taken seriously. Such an attitude extends to the production of the Chicago World's Fair. During construction fractured skulls and electric shock took the lives of many, yet there was no attempt to make the construction site safer for the workers. When the Cold storage was
If you had to drop everything you had leave your life right now and go to pursue a better life, would you be able to do it? You would have to leave everything you have like your family, friends, and your job, to step out into an into an unknown world and start a new life. In the Devil in the White City, this was a thought that was running through many of the lower class and some middle class's mind looking for a new life or to trying to get money. There are many jobs that were available during the construction and during the fair like construction and cashiers or other positions for the stores in Chicago. Construction was one of the most important jobs/parts in the building of the fair so it was going to take a vast number of workers to be able
"Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson is a brilliant work of non-fiction that chronicles the story of two men, one an architect and the other a serial killer, who were operating in the city of Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair. The book weaves together the stories of these two men, and in doing so, brings to life the grandeur and excitement of the fair, as well as the darkness and horror of the murders. The main character of the book is Daniel Burnham, who was the architect in charge of organizing the construction of the World's Fair. Burnham was an architect of great vision, who had been responsible for numerous projects throughout the country before being given the monumental task of organizing the fair. Larson's book follows Burnham's journey as he worked tirelessly to ensure that the fair would be a success.
From our textbook we are able to learn the base information of the depression and migrant workers. The document provides a deeper insight with first hand views on the mistreatment of workers by wealthy landowners. First hand photographs allow a real view of how the impoverished migrant camps actually looked. The photos, along with Steinbeck's firsthand observations and genuine concern for the human suffering that was taking place allows for students to be further engaged into the topic. Our Texbook, Give Me Liberty, describes how the depression transformed American life.
Isaac Shaw October 9, 2014 Hist 2020 Dr. Paulauskas Paper #1 In the 1890’s, America was starting to experience changes leading to new revelations in the way it functioned in mass communication, mass transportation, and urbanization. In Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, he brings the seemingly different stories of two men in this time period, one a mass murder, H.H. Holmes and, the other a grand architect, Daniel Burnham to explain how America was changing into a more modern era. First, both Burnham and Holmes used the popularity of urbanization to achieve their individual goals.
Washington Irving was the author of “The Devil and Tom Walker”, in his early life he began to study to be a lawyer, but soon falling away from that finding he had more interest in traveling and writing. Irving’s work including, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”, became known as an important part of American heritage today. The setting was in New England, the year 1727, just at the time that earthquakes were prevaled. Around the area of where Tom Walker had lived with his wife, Tom had found an old Indian fort which he chose to rest at on his way homeward. The main characters in “The Devil and Tom Walker” are obviously the Devil, “a great black man...neither Negro nor Indian” and Tom Walker who was a “miserly fellow”.
In the generations of the immigrant labor of a Slovak family, the Dorejacks demonstrates the tough labor in America. In the novel “Out This Furnace” a captivating, non-fiction story, Thomas Bell suggests that immigrant labor in the early days was tough and factors like labor inequality, the relationship between companies and politics, and essential money shaped immigrants freedom. In the mid-1800’s George Kracha fled his country, Austria, under the ruler of Frank Josef, because of the lack of money and employment, Kracha couldn’t sustain his wife and mother (p.3). Moreover, Kracha’s story began when he arrived in New York to White Hill, he then migrates to several other cities but still in America.
People similar to the father had taken any jobs he could no matter the oddity or the mother who used every dollar as if it were here last which it fully could have been (Hastings). Finding and keeping jobs had become a hard task considering no one was looking to hire people because they couldn't pay the people to work for them (Hayes).
This time period is usually associated with dreadful working conditions for the working class and unimaginable unemployment rates. The light that Griffin shines on the subject contradicts what many believe to be a terrible period for all those involved. We see a glimpse of this
In Erik Larson’s novel The Devil in the White City takes place during the Gilded Age. During this period of time everything appears good and golden on the outside when in reality everything was full of corruption. In the novel, the author takes the reader to the city of Chicago, where the city is “swelled “in population causing the city to expand in all “available directions” (Larson 44). As Chicago became the “second most populous [city] in the nation after New York” there was an urge that city show off to the world and the nation of how great it was through the Chicago World’s Fair (Larson 44).
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.
Hurston uses both direct and indirect characterization to develop the Joe Starks’ character. “He whistled, mopped his face and walked like he knew where he was going (Hurston Chapter 4).” This dialogue, which is a form of indirect characterization, shows the confidence and drive Starks possessed. Readers can infer, that starks is a motivated individual who “gets things done”. The Hurston provided with a mission to become the mayor of the first all-black town of Eatonville, Florida.
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.
In chapter 15, “Self-Help in Hard Times”, Zinn’s overarching point is that unity among workers was not simple to achieve, and that white supremacy was a powerful, deadly force after the war. To support and further discuss these concepts, Zinn points out how relations between the American Federation of Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World were often tense, how city life often changed drastically during times of strike, and how immigration laws during the twenties began to favor Anglo-Saxons. One such way Zinn showcases these ideas is by describing how drastically life changed for cities when workers went on strike, hoping for an increase in their wages. As the strike continued on throughout February of 1919, Zinn recalls how all services, except for those that were consider essential to daily life, ceased.
George Pullman might say that he wanted to listen the worker’s demands by inviting them to share their complaints with him. However, his actions showed that his true intentions were not to arbitrate the disputes, but to declare that he will fire anyone who complains about the wages. When Pullman was visited by 43 workers asking for lower rents or higher wages, he, in return, fired three members of the grievance committee, while claiming that he had no more use for their services. Workers were kicked out for simply explaining their financial difficulties to him, while others decided to quit because of the way Pullman treated the workers that he fired. Not only was this an irrational response, Pullman was not even trying to listen to these people.
Loss of work was an obvious struggle during the Great Depression and no doubt one the ‘Forgotten Man’ faced but the piece goes beyond surface. Man lost sense of community, motivation, and hope. The Depression may have caused citizens and the government to pull together in desperate need of support and comradery but that did not happen overnight. This piece shows a man, who is clearly not a hobo as he is dressed well and clean, being overlooked or as Dixon put it, forgotten. The frightful level of uncertainty the generation faced is unimaginable but they needed to remember they were not alone.