After reading Devil in the White City, I feel as though my
work this semester was just a scratch on the surface of becoming a writer.
Let’s face it. I am not attempting to become a writer in any way shape or form,
and thank God, because otherwise, this book would have put me into my place. Reading
DWC was definitely an experience. Its genre and style were both unique, and
took some getting used to… but once I got into the swing of things - such as
the juxtaposition of plot, and the shock-factor of the simple and dry
explanations of graphic murders- it was eye opening.
I can totally see the
value and the strengths that Creative Nonfiction, as a genre, can have on a
piece of literature. Several of these techniques we have been discussing all
semester, and have been ‘attempting’ to work them into our own writing. I say
attempting, because it’s a joke to think that I have even come close to
replicating the skill and thought that has been put into this work. I can’t
imagine how many hours were put into DWC.
Obviously I cannot take the role of a critic of DWC, as I am
in no way a writer, but instead of “grading” the piece by the standards and
requirements of Creative Nonfiction I myself have been graded on, I think I’ll
take a stab at showing how DWC presented me with some ideas about how it should
be done.
The key points of Creative nonfiction are as follows:
Dialogue, Research, THE TRANCENDANT TRUTH, scene by scene construction, and
style (figurative language, showing vs. telling etc), all of which are
components of DWC
Research: Research, research, research. Information about
architectural history and techniques of the era, Burnham’s and Holmes’s early
careers, how Chicago won the right to hold the fair, The exhibitions of the
world fair, the sheer amount of numbers and statistics (what the fair grossed
daily, overall) – the list goes on and on. In fact, there are 33 pages of teeny tiny font dedicated entirely to listing Burnham's sources! Burnham seemed to enlist any type of material possible in order to produce as accurate account of the stories of Burnham and Holmes as he possibly could. Other than official records of weather, court cases etc, Larson drew on the personal letters and journals of his characters in order to find and deliver their true voice to his audience, creating depth and honesty withing the book.
Dialogue: I can’t help but think about it. The hours it must
have taken Larson to pull quotes out of letters, memoirs, journals, diaries,
searching for the character’s own voices which could contribute to the story. I
was actually shocked at the sheer amount of dialogue. Clearly the work has paid
off. To me, the dialogue was part of the reason that stopped me from throwing
the book down the trash chute down the hall.
Without the dialogue, the story would have been bland, and would have
felt forced. It would have read like a textbook. I’ll be honest – it was
difficult enough to wait out the anticipation of the setup of DWC – the
construction of the World’s Fair and Holmes’ torture castle, but the Dialoge
kept me awake – it seemed realistic and added life to the story. The dialogue between Holmes and other
characters was the most intriguing, as his creep factor increased with every
deceit, and every charm he laid on to further his schemes.
Transcendant Truth: This portion is a great follow up after
a description of the extensive research done by Larson. Although research has
contributed invaluable details to the story, there has to be SOMETHING that
isn’t taken directly from research. I understand that Holmes had a journal, and
many people wrote letters and articles during and after Holmes’ schemes had
reached the public. Is it possible that Holmes’ accounts in his diary / memoir
are embellished? Fabricated? I wouldn't trust him for one second. And the scene in which Holmes chloroforms
Emmeline Cigrand? The vivid description of her struggle, Holmes’ satisfaction,
cannot possibly be taken directly from his writings. Even if people write in
their journals information that shows how their mind works, Larson would be
using creative license when writing that Holmes’ smirked after killing a
victim, or felt emotional pleasure as he listened to the screams of his
victims. In the end of the book, Larson states that in order to describe the
scene of Emmeline’s death (as seen in the quote below) he used testimony of the
effects of chloroform, thus presenting readers with the transcendent truth. With
the use of research, Larson was able to enhance scenes and create a more
detailed and hard hitting story-line.
Style: (148)The
following passage pretty much sums it up. The language of DWC is not simple.
This is not a typical history book version of the events of the World’s Fair,
nor is it the typical presentation of the facts of the case of several murders
at the Hand of H. H. Holmes. The language is painstakingly chosen. Every now
and then I catch a phrase which seems perfect, such as the way that Olmstead’s
description is given with words associated with plants and gardening (I touched
on this in a previous blog post!) Take a look:
“Then came the inevitable, reflexive disturbance of muscles, like a dream of running. She released his hand and cast it away with splayed fingers. Her feet trembled as if tapping to a wildly beating drum. His own excitement rose. She tried to pull his hand away, but he was prepared for this sudden surge of muscle stimulation that always preceded stupor…slowly the energy left her, and her hands began to move in slow arcs, soothing and sensuous, the wild drums silent. Ballet now, a pastoral exit”
I could pick apart each phrase in this passage, but it would
take me years to elaborate on the obvious dedication that Larson put into each and every word choice, each and every scene chosen to illuminate Larson's picture of the good and evil of the World's Fair. Everywhere you look Larson uses METAPHOR. DESCRIPTION, IMAGERY - the main ideas that we have always discussed in class.
If you have gotten nothing else out of my blogs this semester, my friends, let this post give insight on Devil in the White City, a great example of the Do's of creative nonfiction.
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