Devil In the White City Blog #1

       The Devil in the White City is a book about the World's Fair in 1893 and how it's full of good and evil. The book reveals that there is an “ineluctable conflict between good and evil”; these two go hand in hand. The World's Fair sounds like a magnificence place to be, a place full of new items that can only be available at the World’s Fair. Burnham and Olmsted, the creators of the fair, wanted this place to be the most amazing, unforgettable place that people have ever been. The World’s Fair drew many people across the world, it attracts thousands of visitors each day. At the same time, this place allowed young women to feel adventurous, and at the same time “safe”. However, if there is light, then there must be dark. Just like the quote suggests, good and evil exit within each other. Furthermore, the World’s Fair calls out to thousands of visitors, it also calls out to evil intender. Men such as H. H. Holmes looks at the World’s Fair as a place that would benefit his pocket.

These two characters, Burnham and Holmes, have a few essential differences between them. One of the differences is their view of the Fair. Burnham looks at the Fair as a happy place, a place that will offer news beginning to the visitors. He wants his visitors to be able to remembered and experienced an amazing time at the Fair. Burnham wanted to make Chicago the top city. On the other hand, Holmes views the Fair as a place where he can easily make money without being noticed. Another difference is their passion about their work. Burnham loves architecture. When he was young, he had experienced many jobs but never really stick to it. When he encountered architect, Burnham became passionate about it. He wants to do his best and make the best architecture, a factor that led him into building the Fair. Likewise, Holmes is not passionate of anything. He just wants money, in ordered to accomplished that, he kills people using the World’s Fair- built by Burnham and Olmsted - to reel in his victims.

Despite their differences, in a way, they both do share similar qualities. Both men are genius. Burnham is an amazing architect. He loves his job and always try his best by building the World’s Fair and the first skyscraper. Holmes, being a serial killer, is also a genius man. It’s hard to believe but Holmes is a smart man. He built a hotel full of complexity. Seriously, Holmes is not an architect but he can build something as amazing as  that complex hotel. The hotel has tons of rooms and stairs that led to nowhere. It’s built as a place where Holmes can easily accomplished his work. He kills people and sale their skeletons to local Colleges or Universities. Also, he graduated from college and has a license of a physician. He uses his license to gain trust from his customer. These two men indeed a genius but their views are definitely different than each other.