Governor Mugwump on Devil in the White City

There are some interesting themes going on in Devil in the White City. Firstly is the contrast between the facade that all is good and well in the US, and the dark truth hiding behind this cover. Obviously there is the major economic downturn, but there is also sectional tension. The difference is that the tension is no longer North and South, but East and West. Look at when Burnham is picking architects. The people of Chicago are angry because he picked architects from the east rather than their own home-bred western architects. Even when the location is being picked it is easy to see the conflict between New York and Chicago. This conflict can be extrapolated to a more national scale by showing the conflict between the two centers of the East and the West. The fact that Chicago wins clearly shows the shift of power moving to the west.

In contrast to this division, there is also a startlingly strong sense of nationalism. You can see the people rallying behind the idea of a fair to show off as one nation. Furthermore, the American people are ready to compete on a national level as one people. This demonstrates that the American nation is back and stronger than ever after the Civil war. Yet perhaps this is also a cover up for the weakness that is hiding beneath the sheets.

Economically the nation is developing quite a bit. There are many innovations listed in the book that presents how well the nation is recovering. Yet there is also this air of an almost economic regression, with poverty spreading rampantly and many men being forced to take up menial labor jobs, a step back for sure economically. This can be seen in the huge labor force Holmes has to use. It is also apparent how little protection the government puts out for these working class men in that Holmes is able to get huge amounts of labor done while paying little by scamming the workers.

Furthermore, immigrants become a strong force. The immigrants are making up a good portion of the labor force and as usual you can see the nativist ideals spring up again. In response, many immigrants begin to take up strikes, which calls away major police forces, which enables Holmes to get away with his crimes.

The patronage system and it's influence can be seen in the "interactions", if they can be called that, between Pendergraft and Harrison. Pendergraft wants a job for his support of Harrison in the election, which is also called the spoils system.

This juxtaposition and contrast of the Light and Dark should continue to be a strong theme. Yet, it should be noted that the usage of Juxtaposition implies an absolute-that part of the nation is good and part is bad. In all the good of this novel there is some shadow lurking, and in all the bad there is some hope. To view this novel in the terms of absolutes is to miss the point entirely.

Well, to leave off here are a few discussion/thinking/confusing questions:

Where in the first part can be seen an international/foreign influence?

Is the nationalism of the nation just a cover or is it true nationalism?

In what parts of the first 110 pages is presented information regarding the state of the government?

That is all.
Anthony "the greatest" Chan