The Devil in the White City

3174 Words13 Pages
Caid Faske “The Devil in White City” The Devil in the White City is a classic novel that was written in 2003 by highly acclaimed author, journalist Erik Larson. The book starts in the year 1890, around the time of the building of the famous World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as The Chicago World Fair. The book is centered on the two main characters of the novel, Daniel Burnham, the chief architect of the Chicago World Fair. The antagonist of the book is Herman Webster Mudgett, also known as serial killer Dr. H.H. Holmes. The first plot of the novel starts off with the city of Chicago winning a bid to host the famous 1893 World Columbian Exposition. Famous architects Daniel Burnham and John Root, gladly accept the job of becoming the architects for the Expo. Before the building of the exposition, Burnham’s partner John Root dies of pneumonia. Burnham becomes very stressed due to the pressure of making the exposition great and that will make history. Many conflicts such as, equipment being late to construction and major union strikes, are the major stressors that affect Burnham. Despite the many conflicts, Burnham catches a major break by discovering The Ferris Wheel. He believes the Ferris wheel will be a major attraction and could become more famous than the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was the main attraction of the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. The Ferris wheel turns out to be a great success in making profit that covers the expenses of building the exposition. The exposition has a great turnout, but after the closing of the successful fair, Mayor Harrison is assassinated. The second plot of the novel starts off with the villain Dr. H.H. Holmes arriving in the city of Chicago in search for a job as a pharmacist. Coincidentally, Holmes finds a pharmacy in Englewood, which will be a huge part in his murders. Holmes begins his
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