John Root and Daniel Burnham in The Devil In the White City

    In The Devil in the White City, there was two characters that made a big impact in making the World Fair. These characters kept the city alive with their buildings. They just did not work on the fair, they was also best friends and loved working together. They would impact each other with their strengths. Daniel Burnham and John Root was partners in creating the World Fair and multiple other buildings. Burnham was the architect and business form while Root was the artist. These two men worked together perfectly by using both of their strengths to build. Burnham and Root was the group that everyone in Chicago wanted to be.

    Larson shows Burnham and Root’s gift by talking about how they worked together while they was building. Burnham and Root built the tallest office building called the Montauk, this was their most famous building that they built together. This building put their names on top because of how they used their strengths together in designing this building. Larson describes Burnham and root in building the Montauk as, “Burnham was a talented artist and architect in his own right, but his greatest strength lay in his ability to win clients and execute Root’s elegant designs.”(26) This showed that both men had to work together to get the building up using their own strengths. Burnham and Root was known for their work. Many people would ask Burnham and Root to join them, but nothing was as big as when they worked together. This made the men rich and famous throughout Chicago. After 18 years, Root died leaving only Burnham to run the firm.

    Roots death tore Burnham apart because of how much he loved working with Root. At first Burnham did not know what to do, he would keep silent and considered  quitting the fair. Burnham learned that he could not work alone if he was going to continue Burnham and Roots work. Burnham soon hired Charles Atwood to help him with the workload that increased after Root died. After Burnham hired Atwood it made him get back to work and to be focused on building for the fair. Larson described it as, “ Root’s death had crushed Burnham, but it also freed him to become a broader, better architect.”(377) Burnham became stronger because of Root. He learned how to use his own strength and became a stronger and better architect.

    Burnham did go out and build for the fair, but it was because he wanted to keep Roots name alive. Burnham did have his ups and downs trying to get back to his true self. Burnham missed Root and said,  “ The Fair had begun with death, and now it had ended with death.” (332) Since Root died during the building of the Fair it put death in everything that Burnham did because he missed Root. Burnham was upset and tore up about losing Root because he knew that Root would never get to see what he worked so hard for. Only three out of the twenty seven buildings Burnham and Root built are still remaining. Burnham and Root was strong together, even after Roots death.

 

Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City. Vintage, 2004

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Collaboration casting of ” The Devil in the white city”

    The casting of ” The Devil in the White City” as group was easy in some parts and hard on other parts. We worked together to find the right actors to play which are H.H Holmes, Daniel Burnham, John Root, George Ferris, Benjamin Pitezel, and Frederick Olmsted. We chose these characters out of the book because they are the main characters that hold a strong role throughout the book. We all had a choice of what character we wanted and who we thought would be the best choice for that character. We each chose one character that we used in our individual casting and combined them together.

 

    The group thought that Martin Scorsese choice of Leonardo DiCaprio playing H.H. Holmes would be a good choice because of what Leonardo has played in. Leonardo knows how to embody the character that he is playing and use that in his acting. Erik Larson describes Holmes as someone that, “He walked with confidence and dressed well, conjuring an impression of wealth and achievement…He had dark hair and striking blue eyes… ‘They are blue. Great murderers, like great men in other walks of activity, have blue eyes’”(35). This shows that Holmes was striking to people that he came in contact with and he had a way around people to like him. That is what Leonardo does in his acting, he will show that he can work his way around people and show that he has power. We also chose Daniel Burnham and John Root these two characters are partners in building of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. We decided to chose actors that was close in age because it would give the chemistry that Burnham and Root needed. We decided that Jude Law would play Daniel Burnham and that Tom Hardy would play John Root. Root was the architectural genius and had a certain intelligence that people admired. Erik Larson says, “‘His conversational powers were extraordinary,’ a friend said. ‘ There seemed to be no subject which he had not investigated and in which he was not profoundly learned.’ He had a sly sense of humor” (27). Tom Hardy goes with Root because Hardy has played in many thriller movies that shows his imagination. That shows that he has the intelligences that he needs to talk to people in a extraordinary way. Burnham was the architect behind the World’s fair, he was the businessman between him and Root. We thought the actor Jude Law would best fit this because Jude Law has played as an architect in a few movies. In the movies that Jude Law has been in shows that he is a businessman and shows that he is someone in charge. Erik Larson describes Burnham as, “Burnham was said to be the business genius of his firm, Root the artist”(53). This is why we put the actors Jude Law and Tom Hardy as Root and Burnham. Another character that worked with Burnham and Root was Frederick Olmsted. We picked the actor Donald Sutherland to play Olmsted. Olmsted was the landscape architect that Burnham and Root hired. Olmsted was driven to his work and had much pride in his work, “ Olmsted had a reputation for brilliance and tireless devotion to his work” (53). Sutherland played in many movies as a guy with power and as a guy that would take pride in his work. Sutherland has played in many serious movies and is why he is perfect to play Olmsted. The other character that we casted is George Ferris. George Ferris was unnamed throughout the majority of the book. This hid is identity from people knowing who was building the ferris wheel. Erik Larson said that Ferris was, “At one table sat a thirty-three-years-old engineer from Pittsburgh who ran a steel-inspection company that had branch offices in New York and Chicago and that already possessed the exposition contract to inspect the steel used in the fair’s buildings”(155). Ferris was famous for his work that is why we picked the actor Finn Wittrock to play him. Finn Wittrock is famous for the many movies he has played in. He always played the main character in the movies he was in. He was the actor that shows people how to make it to the top no matter the situation. The last character that we picked was Benjamin Pitezel. Pitezel was Holmes housemaid until he joined with Holmes by taking his cover and getting arrested for what Holmes did. Pitezel was always a side kick “‘Pitezel was his tool,’ a district attorney said, ‘his creature’” (70). The actor we picked for Pitezel was Robert Downey Jr. because he always played the side man in his movies. Even though he was the side man he would show that he needed others help to get to the top and that is what Pitezel did with Holmes.

 

    Putting the characters with the actors was the hardest part in this casting because each of us had a different view on the characters. We picked the main characters because we could find the most information on the characters and it made it easier for us to find the right actor that would go with them. We also picked out characters that was not a main character, but had a big impact in the book. Having everyone pick their character and have them pick the actor made our decision process faster and easier. Overall, this project was fun and interesting because it made you look at the characters in a deeper way.

 

 

Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City. Vintage, 2004

My creation of “The Devil in the White City”

The movie creation of the book “The Devil in the White City” has casted Leonardo DiCaprio as H.H. Holmes. Holmes is the serial killer in the book that can get around people his is charming ways. Larson describes Holmes as, ” He walked with confidence and dressed well, conjuring an impression of wealth and achievement.”(35) This goes well with Leonardo because in the Movies that he has played in shows him as a serious and mysterious person. He also is always dressed nicely in his movies, usually dressed in a suit. Leonard can show his power around people in his movies and that is what H.H. Holmes did throughout the book.

The two characters that I have choosen to cast myself for the movie creation of “The Devil in the White City” is Daniel Burnham and Benjamin Pitezel. Danial Burnham was the architect that bulit many buildings in New York. The actor I have choosen for Daniel Burnham is Jude Law. Larson describes Burnham as, ” Burnham was decsive, blunt, and cordal.” (53) In the shows and movies that Jude Law has played in he had to be a cordial and blunt person. Jude Law had to show his power and his ways around people. He has also played as a architect in a few of his movies.

Benjamin Pitezel was H.H Holmes sick kick, but started off as Holmes house keeper being a all-around assistant for Holmes. Larson talks about Pitezel as, ” Pitezel was his tool,” a district arrorney said, “his creature.” The Actor I have choosen to play Pitezel is Robert Downy JR. Even though Robert Downy JR does not completly match the apperance of Pitezel he does has the different apperance that Pitezel has. In the movies that Robert has been in it shows that he is better at being a strong side man. He shows that by working with people helps him get to a higher spot. That is how Holmes treats Pitezel in the book as a side man that he knows will sick by his side, but Pitezel is trying to get to the top.

 

 

 

Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City. Vintage, 2004.

Life is a game

    In Dwayne Betts book A Question of Freedom, Betts tells his story of being locked away in an adult’s prison. He does not focus on his crime and why he was there. Betts focus is on his life in prison and what he went through while in prison. Throughout the book he learns why he is in prison and how one little thing can mess up someone’s life in a matter of just a few minutes.

    In A Question of Freedom, Betts writes “There was a spades games being played for our lives and our opponents had set the deck.”(59) When Betts said this he was talking to his cell mate. K. , about the time they are both facing. K. punched a boy in his face and robbed him of some of his stuff. Betts pulled a gun on a man asleep in his car. They knew that they was dealing with sentences that was twice their age. At that moment hey realized that if they was thinking about the victim instead of themselves they would not be where they were. Now they are behind bars being controlled with their every move. There are a few examples of Betts being controlled in the prison throughout his book. One example is on page 190, Betts acts like he is going to hit a CO that was searching him when he left eh chow hall. When Betts turns around to hit the CO he yells out assault then Betts was on the ground by two guards. Betts did not actually hit the CO, but he still got in trouble for it and it added ninety more days to his release date. Betts learns the hard way that life is a game that is set up by their opponents and there is no way out or no way of winning. Betts soon realized that he deserved to be where he is because carjacking the sleeping man was terrible on his part. He was once a good kid, but that moment changed his life and now his opponent is in charge.

    Committing a crime and being sent to prison can change a person and how they view the world around them. Betts points that out in his book by writing about his own experience in prison. During his time he saw how much freedom he had outside of prison and how that changed inside of prison. He compared his life to a spades game that is controlled by his opponents. Betts learned he had to follow the rules of the game because now he is only a player, playing a game that has already been set up by his opponent. Once he gets out of the game, prison, he will get his freedom back. At the end of the book Betts writes “ It is the story of the thirty minutes it took for me to shatter my life into the memory of one cell after another, and the cost of walking away from a bad idea a minute too late.”(237) This shows that Betts knew he messed up, but he could not walks away from his opponent because he was already to far into the game.

Work Cited

Betts, R. Dwayne. A Question of Freedom. Avery, 2009.

Fate: The good and the bad

Fate: The good and the bad

The play Wonder of the World by David Lindsay-Abaire tells the story of the main character Cass Harris. She has set herself free from her marriage after discovering her husband Ted’s secret. Cass meets different characters when she runs away from her marriage to help her find herself.  This playwright show ways that the characters met by fate. The little signs that are shown in the play brings the characters together. Fate is what brought everyone together and is what breaks everyone apart.

The small signs are what showed the characters what to do next in life. It starts with how Cass and Kip met. Cass saved Kip from drowning and saved his life. When Cass saved Kip was the sign for them to get together. When Cass met Lois, Cass said, “I think maybe I’m supposed to save your life” (1.3). Cass said that because Lois was going to kill herself after her husband left her. It starts out with two stories of how two people are brought together to save their life. It does not always show how fate brought together in a good way, it shows the way fate goes in a bad way.  This playwright can tell how the smaller characters get brought together by fate. Karla and Glen killed Caption Mike wife, Dinah, with a large jar of peanut butter. Later in the play caption mike finds out that they do it when they are in group therapy then caption mike gets killed by shooting his self. Another minor character Janie find a watch that says “Love Always” and took it as a sign to marry her husband, Gary. Turns out that was Lois’s watch that she lost while she was on her honeymoon. This watch tore up Lois relationship with her husband, but brought together Janie and Gary. At the end of the play Cass and Lois, barrel gets stopped by a rock while trying to go over the falls. Cass says, “Maybe this is my answer! Maybe this is the hand of God Caption Mike was talking about!”(2.4). This sign saved Cass and Lois life, it was fate that the rock was there.

Having this play revolve around fate shows that everyone can be brought together by fate, the small signs can change someone’s life in a big way. Fate can be what brought everyone together or what breaks everyone apart. The saying “This is a small world” is shown in a big way in this play. When the characters come together at the end shows that everyone has a story that came together. It always showed that everyone can go through the same problems even if you do not know the person. Wonder of the World shows that everything you do in life goes can affect another person in any kind of way.  Everyone has a story that was put together by fate, with the good and bad.

 

 

 

Work Cited

Lindsay-Abarie, David. Wonder of the World. Dramatist Play Service. 2003

About me and who I am as a person.

Hi, my name is Julia Eggers, I am someone that is different in every way. I like to play the violin, I started when I was 10 and always loved it, but I love rock and alternative music. I do not like classical music because most classical music does not have a story behind it or lyrics to listen to. Another thing that sets me apart is that I like being in plays, but not to act in the plays. I like to build the sets for the plays that everyone uses. I have build over six sets, and one was a full house that could spin around the stage with one foot hanging while being spinned around the stage. I am a busy body, that means that I like to work rather than sit around. I love working on my set builds as much as I like playing the violin.