The last Blog :)

     The World Fair was created to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of when Columbus discovered America. For Chicago, however, it was much bigger, it was a chance for them to prove what they could do and how much they were worth, and how they could contribute to their country. They wanted to redeem themselves and prove that the city may have been destroyed by the Chicago Fire, but the people, dedication, and heart still remained.     
      Three fast, and busy years went by and the end product was The White City, the vision of the twentieth century. The fair provided guests a chance to see new inventions that nobody had ever dreamed of. They brought in inventions as a way to top the Eiffel Tower in Paris because they needed a way to compete with it without building a tower that tops Eiffel because that would take little creative thinking.
     The Fair brought in a new way for people to preceive cities. Most would picture dirty streets, graffiti, fog, and they'd imagine police sirens going off in every directions. However, after the fair and seeing how Chicago was changed from the fair and all the new buildings, they saw how beautiful cities can be if changed and were looked after. Cities were now thought of as "A commonplace to new ideas of architectual beauty and nobility." Most buildings and structures all had something unique about them that provided more diversity to the city, which would then appeal to a more diverse population. Chicagoans took pride in the magnificent fair, it was an outstanding accomplishment that drew in 26 million visitors. The fair made it obvious that America was truely a competitor in the world in multiple ways, now including art. Not only did it speak to the world, but it spoke to the country expressing that Chicago is right up there with New York. It meant a lot to the City of Chicago being able to pull off an event this large. The fair demonstrated how strong and powerful Chicago and America both are. The fair may have seemed rushed when it came to the construction and such, but it came to America at a perfect time in a way. it provided Ameicans with work when it was wel needed, and it also proved determination. When the fair seemed impossible, Chicago refused to give up, they kept on keeping on. The world fair had multiple purposes, one was to top the World Fair that had been held in Paris, this showed competitiveness and arrogance. Trying to be better than someone or something shows confidence and shows that they are willing to go to any extremity to achieve their goal. Arrogance resides in any real human, it gives us confidence and lets us dream big. It helps us believe in ourselves, makes us want to excell at what we are good at and improve our strengths and weaknesses. Witht he help of arrogance, the White city was able to be created in such a short time period, but still of good quality and quantity. The cost of the fair was enourmous, however the constructors felt perfectly fine spending this much money because in the end, they knew it would be perfect, although the economy at the time wasn't doing well.
     Not all huge events contribute a hidden dark parallel. The White City wasn't why a serial killer started his acts of killing, it just made it easier for him to get away with it all. Without the fair, holmes would have found a way to kill, the fair just helped him do it. Holmes took advantage of what the fair brought to the city, women, a lot of women, who he killed. But the fair had nothing to do with his need to kill.    
    
          

The Devil in the White City

     In The Devil in The White City by Erik Larson, he writes a note that says, "Evil is Imminent", displaying that two opposites exist within the same region. His purpose of this novel, however, is to tell a story about "murder, magic, and madness."
     Chicago has been voted the host of the majos fair celebrating the discovery of which is now the United States. Chicago is known as the White City. Larson describes the fair and how it is planned to look like, but he also describes the people that reside in this city. The two main characters contrast each other, Burnham and Holmes, polar opposites that show how diverse a place can really be. Burnham is an achitect that is in charge of putting together and constructing the fair that has the goal in mind of topping the fair in Paris, but Holmes is a manufacturer  of dark and depressing sadness. Larson subtley includes hints withing his text that provide evidence that Holmes does not have the best intentions in mind.    
    While reading through the book, it's clear that these two men are complete opposites. H.H. Holmes, a handsome sociopath trained in medicine, causes people to be suspicious when reading about his characters based on his actions and just himself in general because his real name, Herman Webster Mudgett isn't used at first in the book. He is a traveling man, he never sttled town, he moved from place to place, kept secrets from his wife, and never keeping a steady job and always looking for something new. He is not the type of man "engaging the impossible" like Burnham is.
     Burnham is the kind of that that strives for success and happiness. He is a quiet and nice man who takes on the challenge of the World Fair with his partner Root. With the help of other accomplished professionals, they are determined to make this fair bigger and better than the one that just recently came to a close in Paris. They set out to work hard and make this an experience of a life time for people who traveled all across the country or even the globe to attend this fair in the "White City"
     Each man had their own goals for the city, their own team, and their own schedule. Burnham wanted to give the White City a new reputation that would rank them as one of the top cities in the world and prove to New York that they were just as good. But, Holmes was a killer, he wanted to bring out the dark side of the city, making it hell on earth.
     As different as these two men were, they were similar in some ways. They both watched over every step made my their team, workers and all, making sure there was nothing but perfection being accomplished. They had their visions set and were not willing to settle for anything less. The book displays how close in relation good and evil can come. When looking at Holmes and Burnham, they're similar in appearance. Both handsome blue eyes men, younger in age, but it was what was going on in their minds that really mattered. One had a love for creating and the other had a habbit of destroying life.