President Mugwump's assessment of DITWC part 2 (Am I still President..? Have I been succeeded? Oh well, I like the title)

For part 1, my key word was chaos. Now, for part 2, I think the terms "urgency" and "hope" are fitting.The fair has come along, although not nearly as far as it should have in the alotted time. There is more urgency among the workers, and architects, more importantly. The dream of building a fair comparable to the one in Paris is attainable, finally. After months of dallying, formalities, and set backs, the fair is coming to life. The sense of urgency is seen through Burnham's invoking of his "czar" clause, and his assumption of full control of the fair. The time to screw around had passed, it was now time for business. However, every time progress is made, a set back occurs. In response to Mayor Mugwump, it really does seem as if Murphy's Law is wreaking its havoc throughout the fair. Olmstead, a chief architect, is dying. There's no way around it. Weather seems to only affect the most important buildings. Inter Committee conflicts add a whole new level of frustration and procrastination. Heck, the fair was denied pure spring water by angry townsfolk, showing how not everyone thought of the exposition in a positive light. Funds were running low. Labor unrest and unions were still issues. Along with labor reform came the women reformers. All these extraneous issues stole from valuable time that could be used to build the fair; so, there was urgency and hope but also setbacks along the way that definitely tested the determination of everyone involved with the fair. 

Now, for the interesting part: Holmes.

Holmes is still as psychotic as ever. Maybe even more so. Admittedly, the chloroform scene was EXTREMELY disturbing, especially the commentary by Larson showing how experienced Holmes was with a body fighting for life. Holmes knew exactly what to expect from a person struggling to breath.. I'm sure he got a kick out of it every time. To top things all off, he kills an innocent child. Wonderful. On a different note, I think Holmes perfectly embodies the American, and especially Chicagoan ideals of the time. He is ever adapting, ambitious, self made, prosperous.. if only he didn't need murder and manipulation to get to his position. 

Other new characters intrigued me as well, especially Sol Bloom, the Midway man. Bloom embodies the American spirit, and has done so with a relatively clean slate, building himself up to a prominent business man by the age of 19. Also, the theme of urgency shows up again when he is immediately given his outrageous demand for 1,000 dollars a week to work on the midway attractions. Things needed to get done, and Sol Bloom was the man.