The Devil in the White City Response #2

In celebration of the 400 year anniversary since Christopher Columbus had discovered America, the World's Columbian Exposition was created. For Chicago, however, it meant more than that. The Colubian exposition was a chance for Chicago's redemption. They wanted to show that they had risen from the disasterous fire of 1781. And thus, the White city was created.

The white city was a extravagent and expensive site that brought a new light to the twentieth century. It showed all of America that Chicago was still a good place to be around. However, was their sense of arrogance among the white city?

I feel that the city was not intentionally built out of arrogance. It was built to make Chicago feel better after the fire. It wasb't biult to show that Chicago was the best, but that it still had great things. In a sense, it brought the city to the same level as other great cities that America had to offer. However, the "flashiness" of the city did bring upon evil: a Devil in the White city.

The white city attracted many people, both good and bad, to it.  It brought some of the new inventions and other goods that Americans today cou;dn't see themselves without. On the negative side, it sparked the first serial killer. The fair was a perfect place to have fun if you wanted, but also the perfect place for cons and murders. The city itself isn't what made it evil, for its intentions were pure. It is how people interpreted the White city to be for is what caused both great and terrible things to happen there.

Reflections on "The Devil in the White City"

1. The Devil in the White City Reveals that there is an “ineluctable conflict between good and evil”. In every good intention, there is a presence of evil, and vice-versa. One example of this is the fair. The fair is meant to be a magnificant place for everyone to enjoy themselves. Burnham, the creator of the fair, built the fair with "good intentions" and wanted everyone to have fun. The fair drew thousands of people in, most wanting to have good, clean, "safe" fun. However, Holmes had a different intention as he enters the fair: an "evil intention". He wanted to exploit the fair and make easy money through frauds and scams.

Even with Homles and Burnham being two completely different people, they have a lot in common, these men are both geniouses. Burnham is an excellent architech. He built the marvelous fair and wants to make a skyscraper for it as well. Holmes is also a genius. He is able to intricately plan all of his crimes. He laso was a college graduate and built a beautiful hotel. Even though Burnham is a good man and Holmes is evil, they are both similar intellectually.

What makes these men differet is the same thing that makes good and evil different: their intentions. Burnham uses his smarts to make people happy. He builds things for other's enjoyment, and want to make Chicago beautiful. On the other hand, Holmes uses his mind for selfish reasons. He commits crimes to get money. He could be like Burnham and help others, but instead, he uses and kills people just to make a quick buck.

Most books seperate the ideas of good and evil and pits them against each other. However, this book manages to show the two in a different light and shows that there is a thin line between good and evil.