The Devil in the White City

          Dr. H.H. Holmes is the antagonist in the book The Devil in the White City. He displays a charming and charismatic personality that lures many young women such as Julia Conner, “Holmes knew he possessed great power over Julia. First there was the power that accrued to him naturally through his ability to bewitch men and women alike with false candor and warmth; second, the power of social approbation that he now forced upon her,” (Larson 146). He is smart and with his infatuating character he was able to avoid numerous suspicions against him from police officers, detectives, and family members of victims. Holmes had a certain confidence and warmth that made him attractive. Women would fall head over heels for him, especially with his dark blue eyes, “Emeline was infatuated with Holmes. She loved him for his warmth, his caresses, his imperturbable calm, and his glamor. Never had she met a man quite like him,” (Larson 165). Despite his alluring character Holmes knew he was dangerous man for he knew there was an evil in him, “Closer at hand a far stranger creature raised his head in equally intent anticipation. ‘I was born with the devil in me,’ he wrote. ‘I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing.’”(Larson 109). Although Dr. H. H. Holmes is a serial killer, he is a very interesting character to get to know.

 

Daniel Burnham is the protagonist in the book The Devil in the White City. He is an architect. He built many buildings with his late partner John Root. However, his greatest accomplishment was constructing the White City in Jackson Park. Burnham is a hard worker and gave all his attention to his projects. Burnham would immerse himself fully and wholeheartedly that he would sacrifice dear things to him like his family, “Burnham saw his family rarely now. By the spring of 1891 he was living full time in the shanty at Jackson Park; Margaret stayed the Evanston with a few servant who helped her care for their five children. Only a modest train ride separated the Burnhams, but the mounting demands of the fair made that distance as difficult to span as the Isthmus of Panama,”(Larson 128). Burnham is very organized and highly motivated in his work. He is a control freak, he liked to control everything, he liked things in a certain time and for everything to run smoothly, however this was not the case for building the White City, “For Burnham, too, the meeting in the Rookery had produced a heightened awareness of how little time remained. Everything seemed to take longer than it should, and nothing went smoothly,”(Larson 119). Burnham took precautions and tried to anticipate every threat the fair could face because he was that kind of person. He is well prepared and very business-oriented, “Burnham tried to anticipate every conceivable threat to the fair. Aware of Chicago’s reputation for vice and violence, Burnham insisted on the creation of a large police force, the Columbian Guard, and place under the command of Colonel Edmund Rice, a man of great valor who had faced Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg,”(Larson 137-138). Burnham is a great man and a terrific architect.

 

Olmsted is a lot like Burnham because they share many key attributes such as motivation, persistence, and diligence. Throughout the book Olmsted faces continuous illness, “yet throughout the first months of 1892 he kept up a pace that would have been punishing for a man one-third his age,” (Larson 167). This shows that he possesses a strong sense of responsibility and he is committed to his work. He takes his job very seriously and with pure will he manages to fight against the full force of nature. “Soon after the meeting Olmsted composed a strategy for the transformation of Jackson Park. His ten-page memorandum captured the essence of all the had come to believe about the art of landscape architecture and how it should strive to conjure effects greater than the mere sum of petals and leaves,” (Larson 117). This quote shows how Olmsted constantly pushes his limits despite his weak condition to efficiently provide information and materials to help the group of architects stay on pace.