Devil+in+the+White+City+by+Erik+Larson

The Devil in the White City WEEK 1 A. Deandra B. Sammy On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not?

So far, one of the main characters in this novel is Daniel Burnham. He and John Root, along with Frederick Olmstead, Louis Sullivan, Richard Hunt, George Post, Robert Peabody, Henry Van Brunt, and Charles McKim, accepted the responsibility to oversee the construction of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This was to be the largest world's fair to date (1892). Together Burnham and Root became one of the most famous architectural companies of their time, with great deals of success. They are interesting because of they way they compensate each other and are ideal for working with one another. Thus far, these characters seem to portray the protagonists who are obviously not involved in any murder. A man by the birth name of Herman Mudgett, who renamed himself Henry Holmes, seems very suspicious and is highly suspect able to be the murder later on in the novel. He came across a drug store and ended up killing its owner to obtain it. His second wife, Merta, noticed how alluring he was to women. Also, in his plans for a building or some type of a hotel, he would picture women working for him, not men. Could this madman's passion have something to do with women, and possibly rape? In addition to Holmes, 'Jack the Ripper' was a murder at the exact same time who would slit the throats of his victims. Is it ironic how when Holme's building grew successful, that Jack the Ripper first murdered his victim?

C. Deandra We gathered around the table determined to discuss our book for this week’s book club. Each person read 85 pages in __The Devil in the White City__, by Erik Larson, and came prepared with questions and a summary of the characters introduced thus far. Our discussion progressed throughout the period as we asked questions and talked about the main events and characters in the book. We also read and answered the questions Danarenae and Maura had constructed and examined Sammy’s summary. In addition, we related the serial killer to other real life murderers and talked about their twisted minds. We continuously conversed about various topics and ate our bagels and fruit as well as drank our chocolate milk and orange juice. Everyone agreed that there should have been more interesting details in the beginning of this story, but it seemed to progressively capture the reader’s attention with each new chapter. Unfortunately, the period came to an end, and we had to clean up and close our books, only to wait for the next week when we will soon re-visit our books to read the next 85 pages.

D. Danarenae and Maura Danarenae 1. What are similarities between Holmes and Burnham? Both Holmes and Burnham are working and living the climax of their lives in Chicago. Also, both men were considered smooth, handsome, persuasive, and noted for having remarkably blue eyes. Furthermore, Holmes and Burham were adept at their chosen professions, skills, and interests.

2. How do you think Holmes’ childhood affects him? Events in childhood immensely impact one's adult self. His adult personality, actions, and profession were obviously impacted by the events in his childhood. When the bullies made him face his fear of the real skeletons in a doctor's office, he decided that he wanted to become a doctor. However, it also foreshadowed that he would become a sick individual because the look that he gave them not only showed that he was no longer afraid, but it sent chills down their spine so much that they ran. 3. What is your opinion on Holmes’ confession, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing?” Do you have any predictions? Based on the story so far, it seems that Holmes will be worse than Jack the Ripper, as he seems to intent on torturing his victims. Not only does he truly seem to have the devil in him, he believes this and that he was born to kill and cause pain. The worse fact being that he seems to have the brains and cunningness to murder without being detected for quite some time.

4. How was the present economic status of America, Chicago itself, and the people running the fair hindering the process of it being built? Both America and Europe were leaning towards economic slumps as banks were failing and many people found themselves jobless; this may have provided an influx of workers for the fair, but a limit to the money used on the fair. Although Chicago was chosen for the site of the fair, it did not provide the best choices of areas for building it as the terrain was less than adequate. Those in charge of building the fair hindered the process as they took months to decide on the location, partly because of the terrain, and they squabbled amongst themselves about the architects to be chosen and which area of Chicago would get the fair built in its area. 5. How is Chicago suitable for objectives of both Holmes and Burnham? Chicago is suitable for Burnham as it is the location of the world's fair and his business as well as it was where they wanted to build skyward. It was suitable for Holmes as the police enforcement wasn't strong and due to the shortage of detectives, when people went missing, no investigations were occurring. Also, Chicago also had the highest murder rate, a few more deaths and disappearances would go unnoticed. Furthermore, Holmes was well known as he owned his drug store and several other business in Chicago and had made friends with many citizens and police officers.

Maura 1. Why is hosting the World's Expo so important to the people in Chicago? What does this say about the city itself at the turn of the 20th century? Chicago wanted to prove that it was better than New York City and Paris. At the turn of the century, Chicago was becoming more cosmopolitan and enhancing its architecture. 2. What was Burnham's motivation for moving the city forward? His motivation was to surpass New York and prove that Chicago could handle the task of the World's Fair. Furthermore, he wished to satisfy America's desire to out do France. 3. __The Devil in the White City__ is based on real life events. How does that affect the way that you read it? It makes the events of the book scarier. A reader can see how the threat of serial killing has grown since Holmes was the first serial killer in America. 4.In a note from the author, an architect and a serial killer are described as the two elements that "characterize the the rush of America toward the twentieth century" (Larson). What is the author saying about the 20th century? How does he want to portray it? The "architect" represents how America was commercially expanding as it entered the 20th century and becoming a world power. The serial killer represents how for the first time, Chicago and other cities were experiencing a lifestyle that was sometimes violent. 5. On many occasions the author describes the smell of Chicago and how it repulses most people but attracts Holmes. How does this apply to Burham and Holmes? Burnham does not like living in Chicago while Holmes does. Burhman was suffocated by the smoggy air of Chicago. Holmes thought that the smell signified that the city allowed rule-breaking and other people like himself. === = = === WEEK 2 A. Lexi

B. Lexi On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? I believe this book is written in a mix of classic and modern writing, this is somewhat shown in the example "he did not wish to trouble the manager, only to seek his advice, for which he would pay an appropriate fee" p.91. Although, sometimes while the words are not hard to understand, the author sometimes does not clearly explain the topic so you must be able to infer a little bit. There were very few times I didn't understand a word, but I do believe this book should be recommended for 9th grade level and above because I feel as though a younger reader would not understand the book enough to fully appreciate it.

C. Maura On Friday morning, we enjoyed the bagels, chocolate milk, and orange juice that Lexi generously provided for us. Before we began, the group casually discussed our opinion of __The Devil in the White City__. The general consensus is that the books drags on a little. Many of us are bored by the long descriptions of world's fair architecture. While we agreed that the characters are interesting, we were disappointed to find that the book does not deliver the excitement that is usually a staple of its genre. We began to answer the questions that Sammy and Danarenae had written. Their questions led us to an interesting discussion of Holme's personality and motivations. Each of us had noticed that characters have different reactions to Holmes; most women are charmed by him, while men generally mistrust him. We contemplated the author's description of him as a psychopath, and considered that personality trait as his motivation for killing. We tried to make predictions about his actions at the upcoming world's fair and if that sets the stage for more brutal murders. Furthermore, we discussed the progress of the planning of the exhibition. Some members of the group predict that it will not be a success, taking in account the death of Burnham's partner Root and the delays encountered by the builders. We ended our discussion by making conjectures about the role that new characters will play. For example, some group members thought that Prendergast will be an accomplice to Holmes, while others disagreed.

D. Sammy and Danarenae Sammy 1. Give at least two examples of women that Holmes was “ attracted to” and whom one could tell that he had something for? Why was Holmes like this and how did it help him? Julia and Gerty were both women that Holmes was attracted to. He would allure in the women, find their weaknesses, and exploit them because he enjoyed the sensation of death. He uses the bodies to sell for money to medical fields. 2. How does Burnham handle the bad soil in Jackson Park for building? Where the soil isn't good, Burnham used Root's old system of foundation building. 3. How does Burnham handle Roots death? How about the other members of the committee? They grieve for a small time, but hire another architect to get the building's success moving. 4. What do you think that Holmes will do at the fair that is so terrible? Will he use his hotel to attract “victims”? Will he use his brick burner? He will use the effect that the fair is down the street to attract customers. He will use the burner to kill people and so no smell is released. 5. What was the purpose of Holmes' killing of Pearl? What did he do with her and Julia? He killed Pearl because she would be in the way, and did not want the extra baggage of a child. He uses the body to sell to a medical field for money.

Danarenae 1. What does the World’s Fair offer Burnham in contrast to Holmes? The World's Fair offers Burnham a chance to become even more famous and successful, and prove himself to the world as one of the greatest architects. In contrast, the World's Fair offered Holmes a supreme opportunity to kill and go unnoticed. His prey will be coming to him in mass quantity. 2. What are the two different ways people view Holmes? Explain why. Some people get a untrustworthy, creepy vibe from him and tend to want to get out of his presence as soon as possible. On the other hand, people, especially women, fawn over his good looks and charisma and want to spend time with him. These are the women that will become his victims. 3. Are there any predictions on the role that Prendergast will play? Some believe that Prendergast will play a role not involved with murder, as others are inclined to believe, and instead he is involved with purely politics and advancing to high powered job. 4. How are Burnham and his colleagues moving past all the problems that are arising? Burnham and his colleagues are struggling to meet the time requirements, so they decide to make all of the buildings out of a material called "staff." They are also using unions from Chicago to deal with the unhappiness of Chicago's citizens that arised when immigrant workers were used. Similarly, more Chicago architects were highered as complaints were made. Also, Burnham and many workers are living on site to eliminate time loss. 5. Contrast Sol Bloom and Holmes. Sol Bloom uses his charisma to get ahead in a honest business, while Holmes uses his charism to lure in his victims and to defraud people. Bloom's use of his skills will most likely bring him success, while Holmes will eventually be captured and killed. 6. How are characters such as Dr. Cigrand and Ned fueling Holmes success as a murderer and allowing him to continue without hindrance? Both men did not act upon their feeling and instincts that something was wrong with Holmes, and failed to warn and keep their families safe as they felt it was not their place to interfere with their affairs.

E. Maura Summary In the second fifth of the book, Burnham continues to plan the world’s fair. He must first recruit architects to design the buildings that will become the pride of the exhibition. However, he encounters reluctance and prejudice towards Western values from the New York architects. Eventually, he convinces a team of the best architects from both the East and the West to take on the task. However, his struggles have not even begun. Burnham’s partner, Root, dies suddenly of pneumonia, causing Burnham to question his ability to go on with the project alone. Even after Root’s replacement is found, the architects encounter time restraints and architectural difficulties. For example, in a major building area, the soil was so deep that horses sunk to their bellies in it. Meanwhile, Holmes was in the midst of constructing and running his hotel. He had put an incinerator in its basement for the destruction of murdered bodies. After his divorce from his estranged wife, Myrtle, Holmes entertains a family in his hotel. Holmes begins to court the two women of the family, Julia and Gertrude. Julia soon becomes pregnant, but Holmes kills her during her abortion. We leave him when he sells her body to science for a profit. === = = === WEEK 3 A. Danarenae

B. Maura 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? (B)

The overriding emotions of this book is foreboding. __The Devil in the White City__ is written in a very straight-forward tone. This is most likely due to the fact that it is non-fiction, and the author probably wants to stay true to the events that actually took place. This gives the book a feeling of history and importance. For example, much of the book covers the sequential planning of the fair and a logical insight into the personalities that made the it happen. This tone covers the planning of the fair and the conflicts that arise. However, foreboding comes into play because the fair sets the scene for grisly murders. The book is dark and grim because of its descriptions of Holmes and his actions. The book becomes increasingly dark as the plot involving Holmes thickens. Interestingly, this mood parallels that of Chicago itself, which was crime-ridden and dangerous during the early 20th century. The author's tone in telling the story helps set the scene very well and contributes greatly to the drama of the story.

C. Sammy (Summary) This week's book club started off with Maura answering the questions about mood and tone to help jump start the discussion. The tone of the book is very strait forward giving the book a factual and important plot. Although, the author's tone is beginning to darken as Holmes, the murderer, begins to plot his murder. We next answered Deandra's discussion questions. Some of us drew blanks as to what the answers were. This could be due to how the book is very slow and hard to read. We saw some foreshadowing of the great depression, which Lexi's discussion questions then issued. Our group agrees that the man with the prosthetic legs will come back into the story and be some form of foreshadowing. Overall our discussion went well, but we all wish that we liked the book more than we do.

D. Deandra 1. What benefits will come from he creation of the world's fair? The fair will lure new people as well as make money and bring fame for Chicago.

2. Why do you think Burnham wanted all of the entrances to the fair to be located at the court of honor? All of the entrances were located at the court of honor as it was a big attraction and had a beautiful and majesty affect on the entrance.

3. In your opinion, if you wanted to rent at room at the world's fair hotel, would one be available to you? In my opinion, a room at the hotel would be available to me as I am a female, however, if I was a male, the hotel would most likely be full.

4. With all of the problems and changes to central park in New York, what finally gave Olmstead some satisfaction? After his relaxing trip to Europe, Olmstead was pleased that Burnham decided on electrical boats instead of steam powered ones. Also, he was satisfied that the wooded island showed noticeable changes.  5. How did the first spray painter occur and how is it beneficial to the world's fair? Francis Millet, who replaced William Pretyman, had to find a faster way of painting because his time was limited. This short cut allowed more paintings in less time.

D. Lexi 1. Do you think this type of fair set up on New York City would have created such a big deal on opening day, like this one in Chicago? No, because NYC is known for extravagant things, while this was an eye opener for Chicago.

2. On page 237, do you think there is a connection with the name of the introduction song and the name of the fair? No, and if there was, it wasnt very signifigant to the book.

3. On page 240, do you believe there was a greater meaning for Larson to tell us about the banks failing, and the bank in Nebraska? It may have been forshadowing a fall in economy because the fair is costing so much money to build. But we dont know about the bank in Nebraska, because how could Chicago have anything to do with Nebraska.

4. Do you think they should have postponed the fair until it was 100% finished, or was it okay when it was opened? No, because the fair was very famous, and it would be to hard to spread the word of a change of date, and would be inconvenient to the visitors.

5. Do you think that when larson had the short paragraph about the man with no legs was random? Or do you think he will come back into the picture? Yes, he will come back into the picture we think, but then again like the Nebraskan bank, maybe he wont. === = = === WEEK 4 A. Maura

B. Sammy On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning?

Because this novel is a history novel, it is very rare to see many diverse types of imagery throughout the book. It is uncommon for an author of a historical novel to turn facts into a more elaborate, imaginable idea. That is why the reader of this book face very miniscule amounts of imagery. Although, to describe the fair grounds, the author greatly elaborates on the architects plans, ideas, and purposes. It almost explained in too much detail how the fair will be architecturally built, that it becomes boring to the reader. In addition to this, the last chapter of part 3, 'The Black City' can serve as a piece of imagery. Since the title “The White City” comes from the clean nature of the Chicago's world fair, its white buildings, and the fair's overall success is greatly put down in this chapter. The contrast of black versus white alone explains a lot, and how things turn from good, to bad, or from clean to dirty. After the fair hotels, stores, and even apartments were empty. Not only this, but two separate fires started, one destroyed the Court of Honor. Erik Larson made it easy for the reader to determine the tone of the pre versus post fair.

C. Danarenae On Friday, we had our fourth week of Book Club. Maura passed out the bagels, orange juice, and chocolate milk that she so kindly brought. While we were eating, Sammy read her anaylsis of the themes and images used throughout the novel thus far. We discussed and found it interesting how the White City, which rose among the bleakness of the Dark City that is Chicago, could fall so quickly and blend back into the sickness of the Dark City that surrounded it. Furthermore, we also discussed that the book may be more interesting if Larson had not gone into such detail with the construction of the fair. However, we all agree that Holmes has developed into an interesing, complex, twisted character. Thus, we are interested if he will be discovered, or if he will continue his game without notice. Next, Lexi asked us her questions, and then Deandra asked us the ones that she had prepared. Both set of questions were thought provoking and allowed us to focus on the underlying psychology of serial killers and many reoccurring ideas throughtout the book. Moreover, we all found it interesting that the time period when the White City was constructed had so many technoglical advances, such as the telephone, and several famous people, such as George Ferris, the man who invented the Ferris Wheel. Also, we discussed the pattern of hard work and dreams being realized only to be brought down and ruined by some uncontrollable factor.

D. Deandra

1) Why did Burnham, a controlling individual, feel like a failure? He felt like a failure as he was not prepared to deal with the problems of which many were out of his realm of control.

2) How did Burnham's world fall apart and what was his reaction? His world fell apart because he wanted to take a break and return to his family which he had not seen in a while.

3) What made Ferris' dream go without much notice? What other character experienced a similar situation? Spanish royalty including the Queen came over and everyone was paying attention to the Queen instead of the ferris wheel. Burnham experienced a similar situation as he worked really hard, yet no one noticed the effort that he put into the fair.

4) How is Holmes different from most serial killers? He is different from most serial killers as he didn't want to keep a part of the victim's body, he only wanted to have the memory of the victim screaming. Also, he was able to get away with many more murders than other serial killers.

5) What does love have to do with the Ferris Wheel? People that went on the ferris wheel ended up falling in love.

D. Lexi

1.) On June 1st 1893, everything finally was coming together, and the finishing product was coming together, and began to show, would you have expected this time frame, or longer or shorter? We thought longer, because it didnt seem like there was much progress because there was so much fighting, and the book made it seem like it wasnt going to get finished.

2.) They talk about the amount of electricity used to run the fair, all-in-all would would you have agreed to having the fair knowing how much money, time and other aspects went into it? Yes, because we needed something to show up the effiel tower, and it turned Chicago into a major city.

3.) Do you think it is factual how the man who started the pledge of alliegence, the builder of the eiffel tower, and the created of the ferris wheel, each had a part int his book. I think so, because it was such an important error, where all the new technology was being created, so time was of the essence.

4.) Holmes talks about his measure of power when it comes to killing, sometimes when people who need power or control were taken advantage of growing up. Do yout hink this is the case with Holmes. Yes, because his experience with bullies and doctors led to his phychological issues.

5.) They frequently compare things to the eiffel tower stating to out-iffle the effiel, or comparing the fairs structures to it. Why do you believe they do this? The whole point fo the fair was to show up Paris, and that they could produce something as good, and the tower was the standard that they had to go up against.

Last Book Club Meeting of Round 1**
 * October 22, 2009

A. Sammy

B. Deandra Even though thoughts turned to the Closing Day ceremonies of the World’s Exposition, Burnham’s dream of Chicago being looked upon as a real metropolitan city was realized. However, Closing Day, as sad as it was had promised to break the Chicago Day record in attendance. Unfortunately, Harrison’s death by Prendergast, made the ceremonies of music and fireworks into a funeral service for a friend of Chicago’s workers. Furthermore, the White City quickly became the dark city of litter and filth, as well as two fires destroyed buildings. In the late 1894, Holmes, no longer in Chicago, finally became a suspect for so many missing people. His manipulation of the lives of people, who trusted him, was a game that was over. After 900 leads, Holmes was indicted for the murders of Benjamin, Howard, Alice, and Nellie Pitezel. Yet, it is believed that he murdered up to 200 people. While many other characters at the end of the story were left with unhappy fates, Burnham was able to feel a sense of contentment with the recognition that he received as the first urban planner and environmentalist. Overall, the book was not as interesting as we had hoped. If a person is interested in architecture and events that impacted history, then we would recommend this book. However, for the most part (besides Danarenae), our group disliked the historical facts as it did not keep our interest. On the other hand, we enjoyed reading sections about the mystery of the murderer and how someone could take the lives of so many people and get away with it for so long. Furthermore, the topic of serial killers has been discussed in another books effectively such as //My Life Among the Serial Killers: Inside the Mind of the World's Most..//. This book is already on the school's curriculum list, and we believe it should remain there with a choice as a suggested reading book.

C. Lexi This week was our last week of book club, meaning we finished the last 85 pages of our book. We started off our meeting by eating delicious doughnuts and homemade cupcakes, and fresh apple cider. We started off the meeting by having Deandra explain what she wrote about, (B), so we talked about the end of the book, and the last impressions of each character. Next, we had Maura ask questions that pertained to multiple topics such as Holmes and connecting the story line. Next, we had Danarenae ask her questions that also talked about Holmes and connecting the story line, and they also talked about the effect on America and Burnham. We all collectively at the end of the meeting agreed that we would not reccomend this book, to someone looking for a murder story, but we would reccomend it to a reader who was interested in architecture and was looking for a history book.

D. Maura 1. How does the author tie together the plots of the World’s Fair and Holmes at the end of the book? The world’s fair was connected to Holmes because his victims were the people who attended it. He could never have killed, as he estimated, 200 people, if there hadn’t been a fair. Also, the fair attracted accomplices for him. 2. How does the story come full circle to the beginning? The book begins as Burnham is about to learn that the only other surviving pioneer of the World’s Fair has died on the Titanic. The book ends with Burnham mourning his death that same night. 3. On p. 395, Larson suggests, “Exactly what motivated Holmes may never be known.” What are some of his possible motives? The author stated that Holmes was a sociopath and was driven by his brain chemistry to kill and enjoy death. Although Holmes claimed that the devil was inside of him, this was his excuse for killing, rather than his motive. 4. Why did Holmes have such power over his victims? Why wasn’t he caught earlier? Holmes had power over his female victims because he was charming and handsome. He always made excuses when his victims went missing and talked his way out of trouble. Also, the police were preoccupied with other crimes in Chicago and the world’s fair. 5. Did Chicago’s world fair change America? The Ferris wheel was invented for the fair as well as the pledge of allegiance. Furthermore, many architectural advancements were made.

D. Danarenae 1. How are both Burnham and Holmes similar in the realization of their dreams? Both men had dreams that were semi- successful as they did not get to fully reap the benefits of their actions and dreams. Burnham's dream was overshadowed by events such as Harrison's death, and came to an abrupt end with the White CIty being destroyed and littered with trash. His hard work and tremendous effort was never fully acknowledged by the public. Holmes was put in jailed and sentenced to death before he was able to collect the inheritance of all of his victims and enjoy the life of the rich.

2. Overall, what happens to those who directed and built the fair? Almost everyone died broke and were never able to reach the happiness they had during the fair. Moreover, many died after suffering painfully with diseases such as gout. Burnham died at his after suffering a devastating blow of diabetes and food poisoning at the same time. Francis Millet, the last person who worked on the fair with Burnham, froze to death during the sinking of the Titanic.

3. How did Holmes try to continue his game, even after he was placed in jail? He still tried to win over the public as he thought his camouflage was still intact. He also wrote a book to get the public back on his side. However, this tactic failed as it was released after the bodies of Pitezel's children were found in the places he killed them in and shipped them to.

4. How did the plots change America? Holmes was the first serial killer and he made people realize that people would kill others with no motive. Furthermore, Prendergast assassinated Harrison, whom was loved by all, especially workers. This action showed the extent of what others’ actions could cause, as the assassination not only overshadowed Burnham's and others' hard work creating the White City, but it also left the lower class without a person whom they felt represented them in the government. Lastly, the fair made people realize that a city can be clean and look nice; it also lead the way for urbanized, grand cities.

5. How did the plots interconnect? The fair Burnham built lead victims to Holmes. Also, Prendergast killing Harrison took away from the fair, especially from Ferris, as the events were overshadowed by Harrison’s funeral.