Extended Reflection Journal (BLOG)

Extended Reflection Journal (500 Words min.) - Due Tuesday May 31, at 8 AM

In describing the collapse of the roof of Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building, Larson writes "In a great blur of snow and silvery glass the building's roof—that marvel of late nineteenth-century hubris, enclosing the greatest volume of unobstructed space in history—collapsed to the floor below" [p. 196–97]. Was the entire Fair, in its extravagant size and cost, an exhibition of arrogance? Do such creative acts automatically engender a darker, destructive parallel?

Money, fame, style; extravagance defines America. We watch, absorbed, as celebrities flaunt fortune, cars, boutique fashions and more. Size of things gets bigger and smaller and transfixes the consumers of our generation along with cost. As it rises more people purchase gaining status for material possessions. Throughout American history, our forefathers have created and displayed America as one of a kind amazement. Thus the world fair was born; a tool to launch our civilized country into a prosperous nation conceived on jealousy and materialism.

The World's fair introduces a new found obsession with becoming a world superpower in America in the 19^th century. Arrogance is an overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors; directly relating to the fair. The fair is only installed and designed in order to project America as a wondrous country better than that of the Paris exposition. Its supposed to be designed bigger and better than anything in existence no matter of cost or physical, earthly, limitations. The fair was one hundred percent a display of American arrogance during the 19^th century. It is used throughout its running as an act to draw in and hypnotize tourists to believe and register America as a world power; the best, and only, of its kind. In order to reach this level of greatness no cost limit was implicated, displaying the arrogance and pride America soaked in and developed during the worlds fair construction and exposition. America wanted to reach the title of number one, outdoing the competition Paris displayed. This simple act of want, greed, and need for material popularity gained America arrogance not easily forgotten. Arrogance must be displayed in order to gain the superiority America strove for when wanting to build and construct a beautiful, amazing world exposition sure to draw in, capture, and shock tourists and business men from all over ready and willing to watch America sky rocket to stardom.

I believe that when projects are thought out and created with arrogance they can definitely engender the darkness to come. With such an amazing feat of producing and constructing such an impressive monument of a fair, there will always come downfall, danger, and an engendering of darkness that will always accompany feats of amazement, including the world fair. Larson's entire novel is written in the perspective of each of the two main characters lives embodying the question of whether or not the fair contradicts with darkness. This directly contrasts the White city and the black city, the advancement of the fairs technology and architectural design and Holmes's murderous killing spree of darkness and danger. In life, all good parallels with bad and life cannot always be fair. With out this distinct parallel that exists Larson's novel could not have been produced, or written as a factual account of America. You must accept the good, and deal with the bad witch is directly established in the pages one hundred ninety six to seven. By pointing out the destruction of the fair by arrogance and to distinguish dark that always parallels good Larson's novel parallels these features perfectly.

Extended Reflection Journal (BLOG)

Extended Reflection Journal (BLOG) : In the note "Evils Imminent," Erik Larson writes "Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow" [xi]. What does the book reveal about "the ineluctable conflict between good and evil"? What is the essential difference between men like Daniel Burnham and Henry H. Holmes? Are they alike in any way?

As Larson begins his factual tale of two men, he uses this intro to reveal that this novel will contain the good of men, Burnham, and the evil’s imminent in Chicago, Holmes. The gore, smoke and loam is used to describe and set the scene of murderous stock yards, dirty street corners, and smells that only the late 1800’s of Chicago can behold. This short “note” helps readers to determine the main idea of conflict present within the novels context. Similarly, both men, Burnham and Holmes, are blue eyed and passionate. Passion that is beheld to both men in very different ways; murder and architecture. The two main characters are creepily similar in ways of craft. They both abuse the use of precision, completeness, and both strive to obtain perfect perfection. They both achieve greatness and become well-known by pursuing their passion, craft, and by living their lives in the ways they wanted too. Both men use their crafts, though in two different ways, to achieve exactly what each man is looking for. Similarly using passion and will power.

Holmes believes in murder as perfection. He slowly creates “Holmes” as a work of art. A trustworthy, honest man who no one can betray or look at as a “murderer”. He works with what the world offers and sees every person, and idea as opportune moment. Holmes is a man of completeness and uses every moment to perfect his life pursuing evil.

Burnham believes in perfection through building. Always striving for the bigger, better, taller buildings Burnham shapes his world in which not to fail. He wants to gain fame and fortune through his works of art; skyscrapers. Every chance Burnham gets he is working, thinking, visualizing the fair and striving for good.

Although two completely different ways of shaping a life, and pursuing a craft both men put passion into their works. Similar in inner strength to do what each man does and do it to perfection.
Larson states that both men are “unusually adept at their chosen skills”. Burnham is achieving the impossible while Holmes is manufacturing sorrow. Two men; so completely dissimilar but so similar all at once. They are written in a sense to embody America during this time period, and are connected without meeting. Holmes and Burnham are related through their passions and work to perfect; tied together by a single event in American history.

“Good and Evil, daylight and darkness, the White City and the Black”. This is a direct contrast of the books main characters. Holmes embodies the Black City and the evil that exists within it. This contrast is used within the “note” to directly state that though factual and nonfiction, both men embody different views of history though linked to a singular inspiring event. He uses a note to prepare the reader's the contrasting main men, and underlying similarities the opposites share. These men link together in the ways they use passion to achieve even though their individual crafts are for good and evil.