The Devil In The White City Summary

In The Devil in the White City you can find murder, magic and madness at the fair that changed America. In this book you discover 1893 Chicago at the time of the world’s fair, also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition. The story follows two separate but connected plots. One plot consist of a serial killer in the city while another consist of the building of the fair. Each plot follows two separate characters; H.H Holmes the serial killer and Daniel Burnham the architect. I believe that Erik Larson wrote this book based on two different stories because they both explain the expansion of technological/ entertainment advancements and the expansion of transportation/population growth during the late 19th century. Daniel Burnham and H.H. Holmes
Many people were pouring to the city, lots of young people who wished to find a living for themselves. Among the newcomers of the city were many young women like Helen Jewett. These young women came to the city with hopes of finding employment and living independently for the first time, what they didn’t expect to encounter was a murder lurking on young and naive women; “ Young women drawn to Chicago by the fair and by the prospect of living on their own had disappeared (pg 6)”. With the massive population expansion taking place in the city it was nearly impossible for the police to keep tabs on people. “There were too many disappearances, in all parts of the city, to investigate properly (pg 102)”. The expansion of population in the city showed the lack of awareness people had for their surroundings. The world’s fair was one of the largest gatherings of people in America at that time (class discussion Nov 30). No wonder why to people like Daniel Burnham and H.H. Holmes never even crossed paths throughout the entire duration of the
The fair gave many people the chance to see things for the first time like the zipper, instant pancake mix, juicy fruit gum, Cracker Jack, and an all-electric kitchen (pg 247). All of these new inventions were showcased at the fair making the fair the start of the technological expansion.The World’s Columbian Exposition can be seen as the start of the entertainment expansion of America. The fair was the begin of the realization that people could make money by selling experience. Because of the fair people begin to pay for movies and entertainment (class discussion December 7). The greenery of the fair had influenced many people, which later transformed into the creation of ballparks and the college football stadiums of Harvard and Yale. The fair created a vast expansion of technology and entertainment around America that can still be seen to-day at Walt Disney World. Walt Disney’s father worked at the fair so I think it’s safe to say that his amusement parks were inspired by the World’s Columbian Exposition. One might compare the ideas of the Midway to the ideas of