Analyzing Evidence

  1. Sample Thesis:

Rather than using precise measurements to describe the size of the fair and its structures, Erik Larson instead borrows Sol Bloom’s approach, and uses comparisons to familiar and impressive objects. This strategy helps the audience imagine the grandeur of the fair as Larson wants them to, with a sense of awe.

Sample Evidence/Analysis:

Larson writes, “A single exhibit hall had enough interior volume to have housed the U.S. Capitol, the Great Pyramid, Winchester Cathedral, Madison Square Garden, and St. Paul’s Cathedral, all at the same time” (5). Larson could have been more exact in this description if he hadgiven the actual height and square footage of the building. However, many readers might have difficulty appreciating just how big the hall was if they only looked at a number, so Larson tries to help the readers imagine the hall by referring to structures that they are likely to recognize. The effect of such a list is first and foremost to impress the readers with the size of the hall. These structures mentioned are all quite large. The idea that the hall could have housed the U.S. Capitol building alone would have been impressive. That it could house all of these great structures at the same time is likely to be astonishing. In addition, the buildings in this list are iconic, and come from all over the world. As such, they lend a kind of magnificence to the description. It is almost as if not just the size of the buildings is being compared here, but the cultural importance as well. Through a kind of subtle transference, the audience may read this description and begin to see the fair’s hall as part of a long line of iconic buildings, and the fact that it is a building at the world’s fair is underlined in the comparison not only to American buildings, but to those from Europe and Egypt as well.

  1. Sample Thesis:

Although Erik Larson is certainly celebrating the Columbian Exposition and all that it did to shape America in positive ways, he also points out how the fair introduced and reinforced racist stereotypes that would develop into a much darker, more disturbing legacy.

Sample Evidence: Pick one of the following examples, write out the quotation you would use from that page, and then write an analysis of it.

p. 121

p. 276-277

p. 311

p. 313-314

YourAnalysis:

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