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.