The Devil in the White City juxtaposes several contrasting characters including, Daniel H. Burnham, Dr. H.H Holmes and Joseph Eugene Prendergast. The readers acquire an in -depth analysis of their personalities from their childhood to adulthood, getting a glimpse of each man’s true potential. Their true potential may not reflect other’s perceptions of them. Erik Larson, the author of Devil in the White City, sheds light on the evolution of individualities in his writing to inform readers that aptitudes are unpredictable. Burnham transforms from being an alleged failure to being an ambitious man in charge of the World’s Columbian exposition. When Burnham was young, “the records of the Old Central show his average scholarship to be frequently
The Salem witch craft trials are the most learned about and notable of Europe's and North America's witch hunts. Its notoriety and fame comes from the horrendous amount of people that were not only involved, but killed in the witch hunt and that it took place in the late 1700's being one of the last of all witch hunts. The witch craft crises blew out of control for several reasons. Firstly, Salem town was facing hard economic times along with disease and famine making it plausible that the only explanation of the town's despoilment was because of witches and the devil. As well, with the stimulation of the idea of witch's from specific constituents of the town and adolescent boredom the idea of causing entertainment among the town was an ever intriguing way of passing time.
Correspondence of John C. Calhoun. J. Franklin Jameson, ed. Annual Report of the American Historical Association 1899. II. 1900.
Erik Larson’s book Devil in the White City is full of magic and madness that has shaped the society of the late 19th century that is specific to in Chicago. The issues that have been handled through this time frame that are addressed in this book is that how Chicago was known to be the black city at first, and how the city hoped that hosting the World’s fair would increase their reputation. Secondly, the magic of a man named Daniel Burnham that did put the plans of the world fair in Chicago into life and the obstacles that he had overcame. Next, once the world fair was complete, it has made Chicago “The White city,” by its dazzling designs and attractions that made it memorable. Then, the madness of H.H. Holmes and how his evil deeds has seemed to undermine the world fair and the things that are going on within it with his murders and treachery that does grip Chicago once his evil deeds have been found out. Finally, the events that happened in the world fair that relate to the issues that occur in the late ninetieth century within the United States. The city of Chicago was in a desolate condition before it hosted the World Fair.
Can you imagine yourself locked up in a room with no doors? Similar to a room with no doors, there is no way out of hell if it was one's destiny. In the short story "The Devil & Tom Walker" by Washington Irving, the main character's fate is hell because of his wrong decisions in life, accepting a deal with the devil for earthly benefits. Irving reinforces his message about not making decisions that may damn your soul with the use of literary elements and figurative language. Wisely, Irving combines characterization, mood and point of view to perpetuate the theme of the story in the reader's mind.
A character is a very important component in literature. The narrator is able to create a character by his personal experience and his imagination. To make a character come alive, the development of a character is critical. A skillful writer could use various elements or skills to build a vivid character, such as creating internal or outer conflicts and describing character’s actions or thoughts. They stimulate the readers’ imagination and generate sympathetic response. In the biography of The White Rose Munich 1942-1943, Inge Scholl makes Hans as a round dynamic character through his early youth, his conflict and decision, his reason of making the decision, and his qualities that are shown by his action and thought.
Before White Teeth begins its journey in exploring the roots of a specific and collective history through various ideological stances, Zadie Smith opens with a reminder that “What is past is prologue”. The novel’s epigraph, a gravid phrase taken from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, tells us the story about to unfold is an inevitable one, a fated account. Smith’s narrator, from the very start knows this—she knows everything there is to know. She is blunt, bemused, casual and almost shaking their head at the stories she is relaying as if trying her best to elude the true sentiment attached and rooted at its very core. Searching for meaning, Smith’s listless characters bumble about, talking at each other through ideological vagaries and crusades of self-validation—all convenient and performative social veils. White Teeth succeeds in emphasizing these themes with its idiosyncratic narrator and a stylistic use of irony, carefully weaved in the novel’s long sentences, thick paragraphs, often interrupting thoughts and added anecdotes. It is an
Stories have an opportunity to leave the reader with many different impressions. When you look a different characters within the stories the ones that leave the greatest impressions are the ones that tend to scare us. The figures in Bob Dylar’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have you been?”, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, and Stephen King’s “The Man in the Black Suite” all instill a bit of fear in the reader. They are symbols that represent the devil or devil like attributes in people and the uncertainties of human nature.
Larson begins his novel “The Devil in the White City” by setting the stage, mentioning the events and people who made the fair so great. But simultaneously Larson hints at the evil lurking in the shadows. Although the reader is not fully aware of the dual nature of the human condition till Holmes’s big unveil. Larson describes Holmes as “a murderer that had moved among the beautiful things Burnham had created” (Larson 6). Chicagoans were startled by how such gruesome acts could go unnoticed for so long. The juxtaposition of...
“The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson was a mix between two stories that overall worked well together. The stories worked together to convey the true overall meaning of the theme good versus evil. Good and evil are seen everywhere throughout the novel, even in the most obvious of places such as the title. Good and evil, dark and light, they all stand for the same thing. White is normally found to be pure and good. By the author naming the book, The Devil in the White City, he is trying to tell the reader that the novel is about how even in truly pure places evil will follow. Although, good and evil is the main theme of this novel, I found that if you look deeply into the way he tells the story, he is also trying to tell his reader about other themes. These other themes that you can find all throughout the book are things such as pride and determination. These other themes were very prominent and played very well into the plot and the theme of the story.
The book, The Devil in the White City, takes place during the late nineteenth century. During that time, the total picture of the late nineteenth - century America that emerges from The Devil in the White City is very different than now.
Compare and contrast the relationship of the detective to his or her community in Devil in a Blue Dress and Corollary In Walter Mosley’s “devil in a blue dress”, there is a clear cut distinction between the white and black man, this distinction is portrayed as something that is somewhat negative and looks at the situation from the eyes of a black man named Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins and how he is changed from a simple day to day laborer into an effective detective.
The novel’s two main characters are Edwin Reardon and Jasper Milvain who just happen to be complete opposites. Edwin is the protagonist who is full of self-pity, brains, and insecurities. He faced poverty and loneliness when he found himself unable to write for social popularity and reputation. Jasper was insensitive and practical. His business like qualities led him to success instead of sheer talent. Charming and ambitious – he shrewdly calculated and did everything that could bring him to success. Morals did not matter nearly as much as being rich.
Character: the combination of emotional, intellectual, and moral qualities distinguishing one person from another. Character is a very important part of the human make-up. It is something that time matures and experience sharpens. It is the invisible blueprint of our souls, and only a lifetime can produce the full potential of one's character. Thus, how does an author develop a character to its fullest potential when there are only so many pages to be filled? How does one character, or many, change, grow, and differ from what they appeared to be on the first page to what they have become on the last? It is an art indeed. One, that the author of this paper can only trace the steps of another to find the secret of.
On the other hand, the protagonist’s name in TS is Jack Torrance. At first, readers build empathy towards this character considering Jack happens to be a normal individual confronted with similar situations of everyday life. The different themes explored in TS evolve around real social concerns such as family matters, alcoholism, violence, child abuse and insanity. Motives of selfishness in a battle against nurturing behaviours are what confront Jack in his decision-making. Clasen argues that these conflicts ‘are rooted in human nature and reflect evolutionarily recurrent adaptive problems’ (Hauntings of Human Nature 3). The shifting points of view push readers to change their mind rapidly about the protagonist. Unreliability and evilness reside
Erik Larson brings the murdering H. H. Holmes alive again with The Devil In The White City. He illustrates the harrowing story of the 1893 murders along. However, that is not all the books tells, it expresses the ignorance of consumers and sellers alike. People continued to go to the World’s Fair even though they knew about the murders and the World Fair continued despite the murders. It equivalates to people not thinking about consequences of buying materials and not thinking about how it got there or where it will go after. By using both informational and narrative writing styles, Larson expresses his beliefs effectively if not in a slightly muddled way. He is able to include the message subtly; as he does not have to explicitly say it in order for some people to understand it. This book is definitely a book for very analytical people and not just anyone.