H.H. Holmes VS Patrick Prendergast

    The antagonist of the novel, H.H. Holmes, is a psychopathic practitioner,

pharmacist, and serial killer from New Hampshire who comes to Chicago a few years before construction of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Patrick Prendergast, a young Irish immigrant and staunch supporter of Carter Harrison, who works for a famous newspaper. Holmes and Prendergast are both the killer characters in the novel. They shared many similarities and differences in the novel.

     Though they had not any connection in the novel, they did the identical thing. Their murders were impressed people and influenced the Columbia Exposition Fair deeply. Both of them were born in a small town and moved to Chicago. Holmes had a solitary childhood and he was a very silent boy in the class just as Prendergast. They had no friends in school. In addition, Holmes was the dedicated person who always focused on his killing and swindle, likewise, Prendergast was the dedicated man, too.  He kept focusing on the political things and Mayor Harrison by writing postcards madly. At the end of the story, both of them were executed, which was inevitable. The jury found them guilty and the judge sentenced them to death.

       In spite the similarities between these two men, they shared a lot of differences. First of all, their personality was totally different, which differentiate them into two kinds of people. For example, Holmes was a charming and gentle man, and he was attracted by women. The ladies were easy to involve with him, which was the good opportunities for his murder. However, Prendergast was a man that kind of madness and illness. He had no friends and did not like talk to people expect writing his postcards. Comparing with Holmes’s string mind, Prendergast’s character was weak. He had grand hopes for the future, but all of which rested on only one man: Carter Henry Harrison.

        Furthermore, they shared the different killing style, such as they had different killing target, killing purpose and killing method. Holmes was the serial killer who had killed over two hundred people, yet Prendergast killed only the Chicago Mayor Harrison. The main purpose of the Holmes’s killing was the fun of slaughter. However, disappointment and madness induced Prendergast to kill Harrison. Holmes killed people by vary methods except by using a gun, he liked using gas. On the contrast, Prendergast shot Harrison five times by using his revolver. Also, Holmes made several voluntary assistants to help him to hid and dismember the bodies, while Prendergast was a sole killer who had no one else to support him. According to the novel, Holmes’s murder was terminated because of his caught by faking the death of a policyholder and he denied all the murder charges. Unlike Holmes, Prendergast confessed his crime to the police.

     Holmes and Prendergast were different roles and totally had no common murder methods in the novel. However, they still shared a lot of similarities. They still had a great and widespread impact for the Columbia Exposition Fair.

    

Compound sentences VS Complex sentences

charpter 14
This is the first time the reader actually sees Holmes involved in killing someone.
Compound sentences:
1.He would  use chloroform, and she would feel nothing and awaken to the prospect of a new life as Mrs.H.H.Holmes.(p146)

2.She tried to pull his hand away, but he was prepared for this sudden surge of muscle stimulation that always precede stupor, and with great force clamped the cloth to her face.(p148)

3. These did not trouble Chappell, nor did the corpse on the table, for Chappell knew that Holmes was a physician.(p148)

4. Holmes possessed Julia now as fully as if she were an antebellum slave, and he reveled in his possession.(p146)


Complex sentences:
1. Though sexual liaisons were common, society tolerated them only as long as their details remained secret.(p146)

2.Other did see Julia again, although by then no one, not even her own family back in Davenport, Iowa, could have been expected to recognize her.(p149)

3.When Holmes next appeared, Mrs.Vrowe asked him where Julia might be.(p149)

Some Vauable Pictures

   The Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition opened on May 1, 1893, celebrated the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in America.Organizers had been at work on the event since 1889 and the Exposition opened to great fanfare around the country. Before it closed on October 31, the Fair recorded 27 million admissions. I choose 3 colorful pictures to show you how was the fair look like in 1983. Colorful pictures can show the happiness better.It seems more cheerful.

1.Original 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition Poster

    the poster is colorful and attractive, and it express the welcome emotion of chicago

2.The Official Bird’s-eye view of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition
 the bird's-eye view shows the whole exposition,colorful and beautiful

Nothing is impossible

Nothing is impossible

      I used be a PR planner before I came to the Unite State. Because of my PR planner experiences, I got a chance to be a stage designer for a children organization.

     The children organization will hold a sing and dance show every year. All the show will be performed by the children and the youth. Basic on the tradition, there will be an anchorperson in the show. The anchorperson will got the list of the program. He will announce the items on the program. In my opinions, this is boring. So I designed a song and dance documentary without a anchorperson for the organization. It’s funny but difficult. Everybody said it’s a really good idea, but it cannot be realized.

    What I believed is “nothing is impossible”. So I tried to write a perfect script for the show, and I tried to communicate with the director. I wanted to make sure all the program would fit for the main idea of the show. We fixed the script again and again. We practiced over and over. Finally, the show was successful.

 

Questions for classmates

Questions for the connection of the theme of “death” and Root (one character)

1.      What’s the influence to Burnham of Root’s death?  Especially the influence of the Fair and their firm, and Burnham’s life.

2.      What are the opinions from the outsiders about Root’s death? What are they wondering?

impression of the novel

Impression of the novel

    So far I have read about 30pages of the book, and I also read some background of the era the story had happened. This is a developing period, Mark Twain called it the "Gilded Age."

   In the book, I know that the city of Chicago got bigger, and richer; but it also grew dirtier, darker, and more dangerous in this era. Just like the city, the main character became richer and more successful. In the beginning, the book has shown the job experience of the main character, Burnham. In these 30pages, we know how Burnham and his partner Root became successful, and we know how they design the first skyscraper in Chicago. And it also talks about the fair held in Paris. The Chicago got the right to hold  the fair, and Burnham and Root  would be the lead designers.

    After  reading these sections of the novel,  I feel just a little boring of it, because so far,  I still cannot read something about the murder. The beginning of the novel is too long. But I still expect the rest of the book will be much more brilliant.

new blog

aha`~my new blog~