The Devil in the White City Blog 3

The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 changed America by showing the world that America is capable of competing with the rest of the world. The Fair was a success and a tribute to American ingenuity and perseverance.  We did what most--literally most--didn't think we could do despite more obstacles and in the midst of more pressure than one can even imagine.  So the World's Fair changed the world's perception of America.  No one thought the Paris Fair  could be outdone, but it was.  Another change which occurred as a result of this Fair was a more positive image of Chicago in the East, and particularly the residents of New York. 

Lasting inventions that the fair introduced into American culture was electricity using AC current, the Ferris wheel, cracker jacks, ice skating rinks, abundant toilets, and clean water. Without the World's Fair, it may have taken a lot longer for AC current to be integrated into American society. Before the World's Fair, DC current was the prominent form of electricity. However it had many negative characteristics and wasn't very safe. The Fair was the first real test for AC current, and it passed with flying colors. The fair showed the world that AC current was the superior form of electricity, and encouraged others to implement electricity into their cities. Also the Ferris Wheel became very popular after this. The Chicago World's Fair was the first time a Ferris wheel was ever built, and the idea has stuck around. Even nowadays people can still find Ferris wheels at local fairs.

There was also many figures that were critically influenced by the Fair. One is Burnham who became a very famous and influential architect for many buildings around the country after the World's Fair. Also Walt Disney's father was a part of the fair, and his ideas greatly influenced Walt Disney. Walt probably obtained many ideas for Disney Land from the Chicago World's Fair. Another person was Nikola Tesla who invented alternative current, and used the World's Fair to prove to the world that AC current is superior. Also Tesla's rival Thomas Edison was influenced by the Fair, because he was able to show knew inventions such as the motion picture system that was daubed at the Fair. He used a kinetoscope as a machine for film projection. His invention was used for many years after. Europe also used Edison's invention to create the first movie theaters. Of course George Ferris became very famous during the World's Fair. He was the engineer from Pittsburg that invented the Ferris wheel. His invention helped increase attendance to the Chicago World's Fair and he also earned a lot of money. The main goal of the Ferris Wheel was to "out Eifel, Eifel," which many people believe he did. His famous design is still in use today. Another person that gained fame was Buffalo Bill, who hosted a very popular show. He may not have been allowed to do the show inside the Fair, be he did it just outside the Fair, and his show became very popular. 

The Devil in the White City Blog 2

In a way the Chicago World fair was an exhibition of arrogance. When first determining which city should host the world fair, all the cities had a great pride that their city was the best choice. Not only that but they also believed that they could successfully complete in the World Fair in the short amount of time given, and they believed that they could create a World Fair that would surpass Frances'. So yes everyone needed to be a little arrogant to actually believe that they had the ability to produce the World Fair that they dreamed about. When constructing the World Fair, the leaders were constantly pushing the workers to work faster and harder, so that they could complete the fair on time. The main reason for this is that they didn't want to damage their pride. They believed they could complete the fair, and would do anything to make sure it is completed on time. They also had so much pride that they believed they could find millions of dollars to spend on the construction of the Chicago World Fair. Not only that, but they also believed that they could drawn in so many visitors, that the fair would make a profit. This is all based on their pride. They had no facts that this could all be done, they just believed that is could and that believe came from their pride. Another thing they "had" to do was "out Eifel, Eifel." They constantly talk about that. At first the main reason for this fair was to celebrate Columbus' discovery of America, so what would "out Eifeling, Eifel" do. That is all based on pride, that America must beat the French to prove that America's engineers are superior to the rest of the world.

There creative acts did engender a darker, destructive parallel mainly because of the reason that they were rushing everything. When rushing construction that is just asking for bad things to go wrong. However the architects had no other choice. They had to rush everything if they were going to see the World Fair completed. This shows more arrogance, because they had such great pride that they could complete an extravagant Fair in such little time. They also believed they could construct the Fair on not the greatest foundation. All this was due to their hubris. The Fair engendered a "darker, destructive parallel," also because they tried building during their very harsh winters. They needed to complete the Fair on time, so that required them to work through the winter. However the harsh weather constantly destroyed buildings, causing them to have to repair. Many times the killed or injured workers. When things are rushed, destructive traits always follow. Since things aren't being built with the greatest materials and designs, the weather easily can destroy the buildings and force the construction back. Also rushing things also brings a darker parallel, because this causes many people to die. When things are rushed, safety isn't that important and many mistakes can be easily made. Mistakes in construction usually leads to injuries or death. 

Extended Reflection Journal (BLOG) - Burnham/Holmes Comparison (500 words)

The Devil in The White City describes how wherever there is good, there is evil. The Chicago world fair was being built out of good reasons. Mainly to show the world the greatness of America. However while the world fair was being built, a serial killer had other plans on how to use the world fair to his own advantage. He decided to create a hotel to lure people into it, and then kill his guests. The world fair may have been for just reasons, but evil found a way to use the world fair to its own advantage. Also Burnham even created a really big group of security. The purpose was to stop crime, but even the upgraded security force couldn't stop Holmes' plans. This just shows that no matter what you do, evil will always exist among good. There is nothing to stop it. Also no one could ever talk Holmes out of being a killer. He says that people are born into their profession, and he was born a killer. People cannot get rid of his thrill of killing, and the fact that people are born with the fascination of killing just proves that there is no way to end evil. This shows what the book means by "the ineluctable conflict between good and evil"?

                The main difference between Daniel Burnham and Henry H. Holmes is that Burnham is sane why Holmes is a psychopathic killer. Burnham mourns at his friends death, like Root's, while Holmes enjoys the sport of killer people. Burnham uses his intelligence for good, and tries to help the whole country by building the fair. Holmes uses his intelligence for his own purpose; killing people for his enjoyment. Their motivation is also very different. Burnham wants to prove to the whole world that Chicago is capable of building a world fair that can greatly surpass Paris. While Holmes does everything for himself. He does it to satisfy his yearning to kill people. He has some sick fetish of killing people, and develops a great enjoyment from it.

                Holmes and Burnham also have many similarities. They are both greatly ambitious, resourceful, intelligent, and energetic. The main similarity however is their determination to get their job done. They will do whatever it takes to finish their work. They are both very good at fulfilling their goals. They do not believe anything is impossible. They set a standard, and do everything they can do to surpass it. They are hardly ever satisfied, and will continue to improve their building until they are almost perfect. They both also do whatever it takes to succeed. The world thought that there wasn't enough time to build the world fair in Chicago, but he didn't give up and worked endlessly until it was done. Holmes also didn't start off with enough money to build a hotel. He was able to use his charm and wit to buy a pharmacy and make enough money to finally build a hotel, and even evade paying for many other things, which allowed the hotel to be built. So their main similarity is their determination to fulfill their goals. 

The Uses of Satire

The main point of modern satire is to expose new ideas about issues in real life. However, the real good thing about satire is that it does not have to be serious. It can actually consider having crazy ways to present a topic and introduce ideas to the viewers. Satire presents real life situations and events. It can discuss people, places and cultures. The topics are a little serious and are usually simple. However, it needs to be presented in an absurd and funny way. A satire is a discussion or an expression of new point of views towards relatively simple and serious events. Satire can even present funny and radical explanations for the readers to understand the topic.

The real characteristics of satire are to make fun of the topic or to entertain readers. Satire includes both concepts of entertainment and seriousness. Satire is most often found in the performing arts, but it is also found as a genre in writing.  Satire makes fun of real life situations for the purposes of irony and humor with the intent of bringing about shame and change of that behavior.  Although satire is usually funny it can still serve its purpose by displaying a strong sense of wit.  Pieces are saturated by noting the stand out features which make it unique.  A satirical piece about a politician or celebrity starts by selecting the one thing that stands out about that person and then exaggerate it. They exaggerate the feature by drawing particular attention to it.  For instance, in a play or movie, they repeat the turn of phrase loudly or obviously, or for a story they use a signature phrase excessively, to the point of ridicule.  For a public feature they might use a sign-off phrase or focus on a physical aspect, but keep it humorous.

Many satires end by turning the usual ending upside down.  For instance if the hero always saves everyone at the end, in a satire they have their specific trait cause everyone’s demise, or if people usually live “happily ever after”, they have an add-on section which starts “until…” and have something comical such as “she had triplets…” or “he lost his job and started to drink…”

There are many examples of satirical Television shows, such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Onion News, Saturday Night Live (Satires on the News & Politics). Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a good example of satire which basically satirizes everything from religion to science to environmentalism to war. Look in any of the major newspapers in the country and the political cartoon will probably be a satirical look at some current event of the day.  When friends get together to honor a colleague they will often have a “roast” of that person where friends give short speeches which satirize the person’s life in a comical way.  Satire then can be a useful tool to draw attention to particular situations while at the same time entertaining in a light-hearted way.

            Finally, satire can also be used to teach.  Writing satire requires looking at a topic from a

different point of view, and similarly those at whom it is directed are forced to view themselves

from a new perspective also.  However if satire is not written with clear thought, it can also be

seen with ridicule and harm. Satire is generally used for its comedic value though when properly

and thoughtfully applied it can be a powerful tool for change.

Satire is so greatly effective because it points out the stupidity of things. When things are said by

a credible news source, many times people don’t question what they hear. However not

everything they say completely makes sense, and by using satire, it is able to point out

how ridiculous some things are. Satire is also very popular because it is usually quite

entertaining. Satire can be very funny and is used on most comedy shows. Satire is able to be

used to inform people, and to entertain people. Another great effect of satire is that many people

think watching the news or reading the newspaper is boring. However by watching satirical

shows, like the Daily Show, they are able to witness news report, and then see an opinion that is

presented in a satirical way. This entertains the viewers and enlightens them. The main

component of satire, especially in the Daily Show, is the level of seriousness that is displayed

while presenting ridiculous statements. For example when reading A Modest Proposal, anyone

that didn’t understand satire would be disgusted. Throughout the essay it talks about all of

Ireland’s problems, and that a solution to their problem could be to eat babies. This would solve

food problems, abortion problems, money problems and many others. Throughout the essay the

author uses a completely serious tone making it seem like she is serious. However, by using

satire, she is able to describe how bad the conditions are in satire, and even compare the

conditions to be bad enough to start eating babies. Most satirical events are presented in a

completely serious tone. That is what makes them so funny and so informative. By using

a serious tone, the viewer is able to get a laugh, and realize how bad things actually are. In the

Daily Show, John Stewart constantly provides his own solutions that are completely

ridiculous, but he never acts like he is joking. However, his ridiculous decisions, sometimes

actually make sense, which serves in telling the viewer how bad an event actually is. Also John

Stewart is constantly wearing a suit. This helps add to his level of seriousness, and increases the

enjoyment of his satirical skits. Satire is able to bring enjoyment into people’s lives, but can also

serve as a call to action. Since satire is able to point out the problems within a country, or

state, people will help go out and try to make a difference to fix the problem. Since satire can be

presented in many different forms, people can constantly be informed through satirical pieces like

newspaper articles or TV shows. 

Blog 3 A Modest Proposal

A modest proposal by Swift is purely satire. Swift try’s to fix Ireland’s problem in a very satiric way. Swift announces his plan to fix Ireland, which is to stop abortions and to eat the babies instead. The babies would be eaten once they are one year old. This would fix the hunger problem and the over population problem. Also they wouldn’t have to waste money on getting the abortion in the first place. Of course the plan is ridiculous, but Swift presents the plan in such a serious tone, he seems to be very serious. If the reader did not know Swift wrote very satirically, they would probably believe that Swift truly wanted to eat babies. Swift never once acknowledges  that he is joking. He keeps his serious tone throughout the whole essay. He even presents his argument with many facts about why babies should be eaten. He backs up his argument very well, and he may even be able to convince people that eating babies would solve Ireland’s problem. He even states that since the Ireland’s government is not doing anything to fix the problem, at least he is coming out with solutions. Even if his only solution is to eat babies.

                Swift may be very satirical, but it is very hard for the reader to tell. Swift never drops his serious tone throughout the essay. He never once hints that he is joking about his proposal. However him pointing out how bad the problems are in Ireland, that it is almost ironic that eating babies almost makes sense, even though it is completely unethical. That is one of Swift’s main reasons of writing the essay. It was to point out that Ireland has a lot of problems, but no one is trying to fix them. The government is not coming up with any solutions. Also the citizens aren’t either. So Swift decides to just throw out a modest proposal, which is to eat babies to solve Ireland’s problems. I guess Swift decided that if no one else is trying to think of solutions, he can think of the craziest solution to Ireland’s problem. At least he is trying to think of a solution.  Swift is also making fun of Ireland that pointing out that it has gotten so bad that eating babies actually makes sense. Swift is trying to get the citizens and the government of Ireland to step up and make some serious changes, so the country can be saved.

                If I read the modest proposal without knowing that Swift is a very satiric writer, I would have believed that he truly believes that Ireland should eat babies, and that will solve all of their problems. Swift thought a lot about this solution, and seemed to think of every circumstance that his solution would affect. He even backed up his proposal with a lot of facts and evidence. He really thought a lot about his proposal and how to almost make it sound appealing to the audience. However he was not serious the whole time and was just using this as a joke to point out all of Ireland’s problems. He is trying to get them to change, and if no one is going to try to come up with a solution then he will think of the most farfetched solution he can think of. At least he is trying to help Ireland, while the government of Ireland is doing nothing. Even the citizens need to rise up and make a change.

                A modest proposal and be compared to many forms of satiric TV shows now days. For example the Daily Show is a very satiric show. John Stewart presents the news in a very satiric way. He even tries to present solutions that are so farfetched that no one would believe them. But he presents them very comically and it makes it funny to watch. John Stewart will present the actual news, but them throw his own twist on it that makes it funny and satirical. Sometimes John Stewart’s satire can actually point out how bad things are in the world and in the news. Another example is the Colbert Report, where Stephen Colbert does pretty much the same thing as John Stewart. Colbert present the news, but then throws his own satirical twist on it to make it humorous. However our the Daily Show and a modest proposal are alike because they both point out how bad thing can be, even if they offer completely crazy solutions for the problem.

Blog 2 Sun Also Rises

Romero's whole performance is based on grace. All his movements flow and he never jerks or makes any sudden movements. He gets really close to the bull making the crowd feel the danger. However he has great confidence and skill that he is never scared, and is able to continue getting really close to the bull and then escaping gracefully. He never jerks out of the way like unskilled bullfighters do. Romero does what Belmonte once did. He “worked always in the terrain of the bull.” “This way he gave the sensation of coming tragedy.” Every time a bull fighter enters the bull’s terrain they are in great danger, and only the best bullfighters can escape. Also Romero truly gets close to the bulls. Many other bullfighters use illusions to pretend to be closer to the bull then they really are. However they still continue to jerk and are not graceful in their actions. Romero understands that if he moves a second too late he can die, but he continues to be graceful under pressure. He is very brace, and always confronts the bulls head-on. These characteristics make Romero very heroic because he exhibits “grace under pressure,” with his bull fighting because he is under pressure of dying, but his movements are always graceful. Also he is very confident in his skills and confronts the bulls head –on. Even though the bulls can kill him, he never backs away from them. Every movement is controlled and graceful.

Modern day heroes are always very confident with what they are doing. They realize that what they are doing could result in death, but they continue to confront their danger head-on. They never seem to be nervous, and believe that there believes will triumph. Their confidence allows them to exhibit “grace under pressure.” For example Martin Luther King Jr. was under constant threat of being killed. He got many death threats, and realized that every time he gave a speech he was in danger of being assassinated. However he did not allow his fear to stop him from doing what he believed in. He may have been scared of dying, but he did not express that emotion when saying his powerful speeches. By acting brave he was able to deliver powerful speeches while under the constant threat of dying. He was able to exhibit “grace under pressure.” During his speeches he didn’t seem nervous, he said what he felt, and moved thousands of people by delivering powerful speeches. Of course he was in a difficult situation but he confronted the danger head-on. Talking about making the black man free angered many white people. He knew it would be dangerous to confront the injustice head-on, but he also realized that that was the only way to do it. You can’t get what you want be going around an issue. If people want changes they have to confront what the real problem is and express their opinion of what they believe the world should be like. Martin Luther King talked assuredly like he knew that one day black would be free and would be treated equal to whites, even though most people thought that would never happen. However by talking confidently that change will happen, many people were able to believe him and trust in his message and act, instead of just hoping for change. Martin Luther King delivered speeches in the wide open in front of many people. He could have been killed and moment, but he didn’t want to hide his message. If he wanted to hide his message he would have delivered his speeches in a basement in safety, but he did not want to do this. He knew the only way for real change to happen is have the whole world hear his speeches and confront the problem head-on. Even though confronting the problem head on put him in more danger, it allowed for real change to happen.

Blog 1 Turgenev

Ivan Turgenev wrote the text "The Execution of Tropmann." Turgenev was invited to see an execution where he had the experience of going through many different kinds of emotions. The killer, Tropmann, was going to be killed by a guillotine in front of a huge audience. Turgenev was invited to have a "back stage pass" to see the execution up close, and get a "behind the scenes" experience. During this short experience with Tropmann, he felt a close bond to him and actually felt really guilty for his death. During the whole 7 hours waiting for the execution, Turgenev had a dreary feeling and felt really guilty for the execution of Tropmann.

Turgenev talked in a slow uneasy tone. In the text, hardly any happy emotions were displayed, just dreary feelings. He talked as if no one was really alive and everything was just a dream. Before the execution, everyone acted as if they are anxious to get something over with. Everyone that met Tropmann were not excited for the execution, and just wanted to get it over with. Turgenev describes them having "this dreary feeling a hundred times worse then boredom!" His tone gives the reader a dreary feeling, making them feel sad and sluggish, just like the characters in the text. The use of this tone effectively strengthens Turgenev's argument that capital punishment can not be justified because of the negative effect it has on everyone around the execution.

Turgenev purpose of this essay was to describe the horrors of public executions. After this experience Turgenev became an activist and felt that any form of capital punishment is wrong and can not be justified. Turgenev was able to describe the guilt that was passed on to everyone around Tropmann. Also how Tropmann tried to remain as calm as possible because he gave up all hope for escaping. Turgenev wrote this to inform other people about the horrors of executions, and to persuade other people to go against public executions. He also to open the eyes of people that enjoy watching public executions to realize that what they are doing is wrong and that you can not justify the execution. Many people watching the execution in the crowd felt that what they were watching was not real and was just a show. They convinced themselves that what they were actually watching wasn't real.

Turgenev makes a very good argument against capital punishment and is able to move the reader into feeling the same way as him. He does this by making the reader relive his dreadful experience and feel the same emotions that Turgenev felt during the executions. However I still believe that capital punishment is necessary. Public executions cannot be justified because you can't make the death of a person entertainment, but secluded executions are okay. When a person commits a horrendous crime, capital punishment can be justified, as long as it is not public, and is not treated as entertainment.