Rhetorical Analysis Of The Devil In The White City By Erik Larson

Growing up a swimmer, I know how much work it takes just to swim 0.1 seconds faster in a race. From hours working on technique, to a couple minutes of sprints after practice, the chances of change are gradually increased. If any athlete is asked if it takes dedication to achieve his or her goals, almost all will answer yes. Progress is not made without determination. Like athletes, people during the time of Chicago World’s Fair possessed a lot of ambition. Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City is a historical record about the juxtaposition between two famous people during the late 1800’s: Daniel Burnham and H.H. Holmes. Many critics believe that Larson’s use of rhetorical devices embellish history too much to be considered a work

Eventually Holmes was imprisoned and later hanged, but Holmes’ murders went unnoticed for years. Euphemisms show how unaware people were of Holmes’ actions. For example, Larson uses euphemisms when expressing the hiding of Holmes’ bodies: “He remained in Minneapolis until May 1886, when he left for New York City, planning to take “a part of the material there,” and to leave the rest in Chicago” (43). By using the word material instead of bodies or cadavers, the murders are again perceived as not influential. Most people were not suspicious of Holmes because of his charming capabilities. Throughout the time of the fair there were many unexplained disappearances, “the women were presumed to have been ravished” (103). This euphemism makes the vanishing of women seem not so serious. This is similar to how Holmes most likely felt about killing them. He is a very self-centered man who treats other people like insignificant objects. Another example is when Larson describes the abortion Holmes performed on Julia, “Holmes denied that he and Julia had ever engaged each other physically, or that she had undergone “a criminal operation”” (152). Holmes becomes very good at covering his tracks and lying. He always knew how to deny accusations and make people trust him. He was lying until he took his last breath. Holmes was undetected for a long time before he was imprisoned for fraud. Eventually, everyone found out about the extent to Holmes’ killings and was appalled. Euphemisms establish Holmes’ progress as a