The late 1800s was a very interesting time period for Chicago. The industrialization movement as well as crime was booming. The industrialization movement in Chicago like in many U.S. countries brought a lot of work to Americans and immigrants. Yet, those who were not rich were forced to work in horrible conditions for little pay in order to stay alive. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson offers a great insight into the life of Chicago before and after the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (or The World’s Columbian Exposition) occurred. Larson uses the disturbing and gruesome stories of a serial killer named H. H. Holmes (or Herman Webster Mudgett) along with the life of the architects behind the Chicago World Fair to get a sense of what Chicago was going through in the late 1800s. The historic events that are covered in The Devil in the White City include the Chicago World Fair of 1893, illustrations of the Gilded Age in
…show more content…
H. Holmes for many purposes. First, the story of Holmes brought drama, realism, and fear to the history of Chicago. Hearing about Holmes is similar to watching a horror movie, which keeps readers alert and awake. Larson writes that, “there was diphtheria, typhus, cholera, influenza. And there was murder. In the time of the fair the rate at which men and women killed one another rose sharply throughout out the nation but especially in Chicago” (Larson 12). Equally important, the story of Holmes signified the horrendous atrocities that were being committed against workers in the U.S. and were being concealed by The Chicago World Fair. Not only was work badly paid for many Americans but just living in Chicago was a disordered chaos. Even though H. H. Holmes was a really disturbing man with serious problems his story connected well with the history of the late 1800’s because it exposed the corruption, greed, and unorganized policing with the twist of a serial
H. Holmes for many purposes. First, the story of Holmes brought drama, realism, and fear to the history of Chicago. Hearing about Holmes is similar to watching a horror movie, which keeps readers alert and awake. Larson writes that, “there was diphtheria, typhus, cholera, influenza. And there was murder. In the time of the fair the rate at which men and women killed one another rose sharply throughout out the nation but especially in Chicago” (Larson 12). Equally important, the story of Holmes signified the horrendous atrocities that were being committed against workers in the U.S. and were being concealed by The Chicago World Fair. Not only was work badly paid for many Americans but just living in Chicago was a disordered chaos. Even though H. H. Holmes was a really disturbing man with serious problems his story connected well with the history of the late 1800’s because it exposed the corruption, greed, and unorganized policing with the twist of a serial