Devil in the White City Blog 3

The Chicago worlds fair was a grand array of numerous attractions and exhibits showing the wonders of many nations all across the globe. In all honesty, I have never previously heard of the fair before reading The Devil in the White City, but as I read on and learned from research the more I have seen things remaining that were established during the fair. The Ferris Wheel, Jackson Park, aquariums and Japanese architecture were all developed at the fair remaining forever a part of history. Many of these things made for the fair have resided with our culture, such as Jackson Park, the Ferris wheel or aquariums. The fair was the birthplace of many things that are common to our culture today and received a huge success at the fair for being unique and never before seen to the naked eye. People such as Thomas Edison, Walt Disney’s’ father, Walt Disney himself and Susan B. Anthony were among those who were influenced by the fair. Many got to display their inventions at the world’s fair, such as Thomas Edison who educated people on the use of electricity.
The Ferris wheel can be described as the most famous piece of the World’s Fair being that most people can identify what a Ferris wheel is. The Ferris wheel is seen in most, if not all, carnivals and fairs today and, unbeknownst to most people, was the biggest and mostly widely remembered part of the fair. The aquarium is another widely known invention of the World’s Fair. Although not invented at the fair, the aquarium introduced people to the idea that fish were not just to be viewed as another product from the grocery store. The aquarium allowed for people to see the majesty and beauty of fish, sharks and even a whale. This instilled in the people of America that not everything that we eat is just to be seen as dinner, but also that it should be appreciated and not taken for granted. Jackson Park, seen before the fair as a wasteland of brush and swamp is now embraced for its once holding of the World’s Fair. The main manufacturers building still stands in Jackson park today as a symbol of what place and influence that the fair had on the history of contemporary culture and society.
The fair invited great minds from all regions of the world to come and lend their inventive ideas to the structure, exhibits and aesthetics of the fair. Walt Disney’s father, Elias Disney, was inspired by the fair to create his imaginative dream of Disney Land; Walt Disney even modeled Magic Kingdom after the glorious World’s Fair. Thomas Edison attributed to the many lamps and lights of the fair, showing people the way of the future and displaying his fine creation of electricity, that without I could not write this blog with. Women were also influenced by the fair as they viewed women of different cultures belly dancing in risqué outfits; this dancing opened the door for women who wanted to have more freedom among men. The World’s Fair had this effect on many people who visited or even hearing about it recently and will forever remain apart of U.S. history.

Devil in the White City Blog 2

The Fair, as described by Larson, was debated for in a great battle between Chicago and New York, both places wanting to host the fair. The entire fairs over zealous size and huge cost can be said to be an exhibition of arrogance stemming its roots beyond just the battle of where to host the fair. The entire time Burnham is constructing the fair behind every building and structure the goal was to be bigger and more extravagant than that of the Paris exhibition fair of 1885. By creating the fair out of a general want to outshine Europe and its extravagant show of pride one can only wonder if this stands as the reason that evil and madness were drawn to the fair. The fair itself, because it was created out of a general want to be superior to the fair Paris held previously, is clearly a parallel to what its true intention was to be due to the fact that it was created out of feelings of inferiority and the desire to achieve architectural greatness higher than that was achieved at the Paris exhibition. Due to this fact I believe that such creative acts automatically engender a darker, destructive parallel.
The belief that the fair was to show that Chicago was not just the “windy city”, nicknamed the Windy City not for the wind but for the politicians and city boosters who were full of "hot air”, but a city that could hold something as unique and extreme as a world’s fair can attribute to the fact that the fair was seen as an act of arrogance and almost a show of the greatest elements to Chicago, its’ engineers and architects. The fair itself, with its monumental sized buildings and structures is a symbol of the American want to out do its predecessors as is a recurring theme within U.S. history either regarding foreign affairs or even outdoing ourselves in matters of education, science or architecture. The fair is not the first sign of America’s want to stiff the competition; other examples include having skyscrapers bigger than any others seen before, the Olympics and our strong need for competition of a U.S. team, etc. The fair may not be the first example of this self competition between the states within America but it does contain all of the elements precedent in this need to be better than everyone and everything else.
Can anything born from arrogance and the desire to beat the competition really result in anything less than destructive? The fair not only holds exhibits of massive proportions and design but one of the archetypical serial killers of the time. But one may wonder if the fair is a breeding ground for the type of crime Holmes commits being that so much death, either from construction, disease or otherwise has been born from this place of majesty? Holmes himself says the devil was born with him and that he could not help his need to kill more than a poet can not help but sing, there is no doubt that the fair, with its grand exhibits and millions of visitors is a perfect habitat for the kind of destruction Holmes inquires.

Evils Imminent; Devil in the White City Blog 1

Throughout the novel The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, the constant display of good and evil is portrayed through the characters Daniel Burnham and Henry H. Holmes. The Devil in the White City relies on this ancient story of good versus evil to show how there are people in this world who seek to build and others who seek to destroy. The two men represent the sides of the archetypical battle, Holmes representing evil and Burnham representing good. Burnham is an archetype for the hero in this battle, envisioning the man who seeks to build structure and shelter to business men and fellow citizens. Holmes, however, is meticulous and strives only to build a better life for himself through the lives of others. The book itself, within its context that is, reveals that when there is light, there is darkness when saying that for every white city there is a black one to accompany it. The title of the book itself can be seen as a metaphor for the darkness leering in a event that was supposed to bring people together instead of tear them apart. Although the two men are very different, they are also eerily similar and as the book evaluates on the two characters their similarities begin to grow in number.
Burnham was a man of action, taking pride and sacrificing for every detail in his architectural works. This determination and obsession is what creates similarity between him and Holmes. Both have the same lust for perfection and the same attention to detail in their scheming. When the concepts of murder and architecture are taken out of the description of these two men the reader is left with a sense that these two men are not so different in their feelings when going about their individual goals. Holmes kills out of self pleasure, he is tedious when going about his work and has a professional air to all of his strategies. The same applies for Burnham who, rather, built for the pleasure of the people and to see society grow. Burnham was also meticulous in his design plans and saw no room for flaws or errors in the construction of the grand fair. When Holmes builds his house with all the necessities of a psychopath, including a sound proof vault and a furnace used to kill and then dispose of his victims, he is very precise in achieving the perfect furnace so the smell of flesh cannot be detected and makes sure that his vault is sound proof so his victims cannot be heard. Burnham uses this same determination and precision in his field of work, wanting complete power and acceptance from the board of directors of the fair; he even mentions that he wants to get them “on board”. Although two completely different in their end goals their attributes to their work are fairly the same, both men, are obsessed with their work, use precision to perfect every detail and do their own acts out of the want to satisfy, be it himself or all of societies’ well being.

Satire (Participation Blog)

In contemporary society many forms of satirical wordplay and images exist in the media, reading, schools and everyday events. This play on words and "tongue-in-cheek" humor allows for one to be enlightened on any issue that they may have been previously not aware of. Satire, although meant to be humorous, can be a very informative way of helping support or retire a certain cause.By using satire a writer can communicate a point and how false or true it happens to be. Satire is the ultimate form of spoof, either making a valid point or arguing for a position which can be read as a joke but is meant to be internalized for a deeper meaning.

One such event of satire is on the comedic show Saturday Night Live. SNL provides satire with a “news” report which spoofs political and actual news that is usually very controversial or having to do with the entire nation rather than a select group of people. SNL’s use of satire involves issues that reflect the country as a whole rather than a selective group of people. Saturday Night Live is broadcast on basic cable with many viewers who are educated in modern politics and culture so many of the jokes on SNL correlate with the insight of the general public. While meant to be humorous, some who are very involved in politics and have major opinions towards political issues do not find the jokes to be hysterical. The effect that the jokes of Saturday Night Live has on people is usually comical and leaves one feeling relieved that someone, or more a group of people, can spoof current events that otherwise would be in too serious a nature to joke about (i.e. presidential candidates, elections, laws, etc.). In other case, some may be offended by the jokes on contemporary issues feeling that they may be too serious or too judgmental and harsh on a certain person or event. Everyone's opinion varies on how they interpret a certain joke and although Saturday Night Live gets its' praise it also receives critical feedback from viewers as well.

Another example of satire in modern media is Tosh.0, Tosh.0 is another comedic show which involves playing clips that may be controversial and providing commentary that reveals true feelings behind the videos. Tosh.0 uses satire to display videos current to today’s events and provides commentary that may be useful or cause more to be aware. Unlike Saturday Night Live, Tosh.0 plays videos about current issues and videos posted by viewers that include things such as people getting injured, disturbing images and people embarrassing themselves for the world to see. Most of the shows' satire is involved with the commentary that Daniel Tosh, the host, gives for each video, providing humor and sarcasm in most of his comments which allows the viewer to understand that what someone did in the video was not actually a "smart" thing to do. The satire displayed in Tosh.0, although not usually political, displays what most people are really thinking about something they have seen or heard and gives strong humorous feedback that can relate, or just make sense of, to most audiences over fifteen.
Satire is found in many instances of modern media on television, radio, videogames, etc. however many forget the origin of most satire, which stems from literature. The Onion, a publication that is dedicated to making a mockery of current events and pop culture, is credited with making the public aware of how silly and attentive the public is to celebrities and their lives. The Onion now has its' own website with videos and online radio discussing contemporary political issues and providing people with comedic relief in their usually stressful lives. In modern society the satire in a newsletter such as The Onion serves primarily as a break from the run down of every day life allowing people to laugh at issues that would other wise be serious in nature. The Onion and other such publications may have a negative effect on the people, or group, that is being spoofed but the majority can benefit from the humor.
A radio show, which uses satire to mock modern events which would fall under the category just as The Onion, SNL and Tosh.0, called This Sporting Life displays two men who resemble many sports casters today, either being a retiree turned expert newscaster or the classic enthusiastic. The men's act was once summarized by Greig Pickhaver, who happens to be one of the newscasters, as "making the serious trivial and the trivial serious." The radio show's objective is to spoof the severity and influence that modern sports has on the contemporary individual. Although meant to be taken as a joke, similar to all other forms of satire, some serious, "die-hard" sports fans become offended and label the program as not entertaining.
Another form of satire that is not heard of very often is in songs rather than commentary. Songs are universal in making people aware of an issue, songs like Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" provides a satirical approach to celebrity consumerism and selfishness of the 1980's. People of the lower class interpreted the song as a display of something very true while celebrities rejected the criticism. The Crash Test Dummies provide their audiences with an approach to life with the theory that 'you're life may be bad, but it could be worse' with their song "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". This song proves that life goes on in its' own weird and surrealistic way. The song "Hook" takes a satirical approach to music itself saying that it doesn't make a difference what a song is about. Many would argue that this statement is false and criticize the song for its meaning. Queen and Paul Rodgers also made a song that criticizes the celebrity image in contemporary society and is relate able to many new young stars who are becoming famous without have real talent, one may argue Disney channel stars are this way, and the satire allows for peoples eyes to be opened about the people that are influencing their lives.

Blog #3 A Modest Proposal

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift is a passage which preys off of satirical suggestions to help the people of Ireland out of poverty and help reduce the homeless population. Although completely joking Swift uses the argument that if the people of Ireland simply ate their babies that the hunger problem would be solved because the population continued to increase. The problem would solve itself, Swift argues, if they simply ate their own young, thus ending the population problem and solving Irish poverty. Swift presents his argument in a very logical and reasonable way, to have the effect on the reader that his logic is purely a joke intended to open the eyes of the Irish to solve the poverty problem in humane ways. Swift presents the idea of consuming children by saying that in the streets of Ireland one would see “beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children” and that these people who continue to have children without being able to provide a decent home for them can also make money from selling their infants for others to eat. His argument, a cruel hoax, is very valid in that he provides rational background to his idea and through his joke reveals real solutions to the problems ion Ireland.

The real point that Swift wishes to convey is that the problems in Ireland are not being dealt with in plausible manners and that only an idea as outrageous as eating children can wake the people of Ireland up to the problem at hand. Towards the end of the passage Swift states “Therefore I repeat, let no man talk to me of these and the like expedients, 'till he hath at least some glympse of hope, that there will ever be some hearty and sincere attempt to put them into practice.” The “expedients” that Swift is talking about, which he lists in the paragraph previous to this statement, are actual solutions to Irelands’ troubles such as taxing, limiting foreign luxuries, etc. The point of including actual solutions to the problem is to convey the contemptible efforts with which the people of Ireland were showing towards the issue of poverty at the time. Swift hopes that the reader will interpret these resolutions in the utmost seriousness and actually consider the arguments presented rather than actually believing his satirical argument of eating Irelands’ children to help end the poverty.

To alert the people of Ireland that the poverty was not going to be fixed without action, Swift categorizes the Irish people as being inhuman and uses diction to dehumanize the way they live and the way they handle the issue in Ireland. Swift uses language such as calling the people of Ireland “ghosts” and “souls” to show that the Irish people are not aware of the growing issues in Ireland and although he may not actually feel this way, by using this kind of language Swift hopes to make a point through his satirical calling of Irish people as “souls”. Swifts underlying purpose of calling the Irish people “bastards” and other such dehumanizing names serves as a satirical way to call the Irish people to action and anger them in a way that they wish to solve the problem. The diction in the passage goes hand in hand with the solutions Swift gives, in that the harsh names he calls the Irish people will cause the people to think about why their country is the way it is and reveals the need to follow Swifts examples and repeal the names that swift gives them throughout A Modest Proposal. Swift uses satire to shame the government in Ireland and criticize their handling of the famine.

In contemporary society many forms of satirical wordplay and images exist in the media, reading, schools and everyday events. One such event of satire is on the comedic show Saturday Night Live. SNL provides satire with a “news” report which spoofs political and actual news that is usually very controversial or having to do with the entire nation rather than a select group of people. Just as Swifts use of satire, SNL’s use of satire involves issues that reflect the country as a whole rather than a selective group of people. Another example of satire in modern media is Tosh.0, Tosh.0 is another comedic show which involves playing clips that may be controversial and providing commentary that reveals true feelings behind the videos. Just as Swifts’ argument, Tosh.0 uses satire to display videos current to today’s events and provides commentary that may be useful or cause more to be aware.

Blog #2 The Sun Also Rises Hero

  The character Pedro Romero is described by Hemingway as a pure and whole person who is not inflicted by the same feelings of emptiness that Jake and the rest of the characters in the book seem to be troubled with. In The Sun Also Rises other bull fighters are mentioned as well as Romero, however none of the other bull fighters seem to get close and personal to the bull, they rather fake a closeness with the bull and don't instill emotions in their audience like Romero does. In this way Romero shows his heroism towards truly facing the bull and through his satisfaction with himself and his life while Jake and the rest of the characters are cowards and don't face or accept the lives they lead. Romero is arguably the only character who represents the values that were present before the war and by retaining these values, he has the unique quality of getting emotion out of his onlookers and often clashes with the harsh realities of Jake's generation. Not only is Romero's job, bullfighting, a symbol of heroism in modern times but his career also helps form his identity which none of the other characters in The Sun Also Rises can create from their own careers. Romero's genuineness makes him the archetypical hero in the story in that he knows who he is personally, he fights a bull in the utmost reality for a career, and dares to hold on to the pre-war values that in the current generation have been left behind. 
  When contrasting Romero to Jake the reader can see that Jake, who is very in love with Brett, sacrifices everything to satisfy Brett, while Romero does things to protect his career which shapes him into the moral person he is. Despite knowing this, Jake cowardly brings Brett to Romero in order to satisfy her needs although knowing that foreigners pose a threat to his career. This action makes Jake seem cowardly because of the fact that he is passionate with bullfighting and the fact that he knows that bring Brett to Romero may hurt his career Jake still takes her to him disregarding this fact. Rather than confronting Brett Jake remains silent about his feelings and takes her to Romero which proves that the relationship between them is toxic and hurts all of Jake's other relationships. Romero is undamaged by his encounter with Brett and upholds his values that he had before the war despite the distraction.
  Romero is very much the hero of The Sun Also Rises because of his virtues and stature in the bullfighting ring. This symbol of heroism meshes with contemporary view's of hero's in many ways involving morals, saving the day and preventing corruption. Romero upholds all of his morals that he had before the war and presents himself to Jake and the others as the way they should feel towards their own lives, in other words he sets a good example, just as modern day hero's do, to others who may wish to relate to him. Romero some what saves the day when he helps Jake realize that Brett will never be satisfied with just one man, who even she believes is "the one". Romero also helps Jake see that Brett corrupts and changes all the men she comes in contact with. Although Jake's sees this through Romero's affair with Brett he still does not admit the fact that he has fallen victim to Brett's ways as well. Romero's affair with Brett can be viewed as a warning to the other men, in that she claimed she was in love but very shortly after their affair had begun she leaves him and attempts to go back to the men that she knows she can fall back on. Although Jake does not heed this warning viewed through their relationship, it can be said that Romero helps to open some of the men's eyes towards Brett and her ways. In this way Romero is symbolic of contemporary hero's because he attempts to stop the corruption that Brett leaves in the wake of her relationships.

Turgenev Text: Capitol Punishment

The Execution of Troppman, the main event in Turgenev's writing shows the extremes that capitol punishment presents and that by carrying out an execution in front of a live crowd of people that justice is not really served. Throughout the text, Turgenev's opinion remains solid in that he disagrees with the cruelty and spectacle that public execution presents. While present at the execution Turgenev recalls feeling sick and questioning his right to be at the execution. What right did he and the other men have to see this man die? This is one of the many questions that Turgenev ponders revealing that he feels uncomfortable and out of place at the execution because he is against this form of capitol punishment. His argument towards the fact that they had no right to be at this mans execution is strong in supporting his extreme disagreement with public execution.
The tone of the text reflects Turgenev's view on capitol punishment in that the passage gives an overall tone of disgust and resentment. The tone is set right from the beginning of the text when Turgenev states that he did not really want to go to the execution but that if he refused he would look like a coward. Turgenev resents capitol punishment and by giving the reader a strong sense of this one can see his opinion on capitol punishment clearly. 
The purpose of the paper that Turgenev tries to convey is that capitol punishment is nothing but a source of amusement for onlookers. The purpose of including the crowd of people who usually weren't on the streets of Paris at that time of night is to show that the execution appealed to people who were only interested and awake at that time of night to see a man die, and then the spectacle would be over. Turgenev scrutinizes, not only capitol punishment but the people who indulge in the spectacle of execution. Turgenev describes the roar of the crowd as a crescendo of noise getting louder every hour as the execution neared. His purpose of using the word crescendo to describe the roar of the crowd is to show the growing excitement in the onlookers and he believes that this growing excitement is almost animalistic in that the crowd is waiting to watch a man die.
In my opinion Turgenev thoroughly explains the cruelty of capitol punishment and because of his purpose for writing I strongly agree with his argument. Justice being served does not have to be through a public display of death, however more humane ways of making sure justice is served is an option that I also agree with. Through Turgenevs text, capitol punishment is revealed for the fraud that it is.