The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsonassignments

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsonassignments

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

1. What is the claim in the full title The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America?

2. What is Larson’s claim in “Evils Imminent” regarding his novel, The Devil in the White City? How does “Evils Imminent” affect both the efferent and aesthetic stance of the reader?

3. Group Project: Students will differentiate among rhetorical appeals, strategies, and devices.

In study groups, students will create a rhetorical collage using examples fromThe Devil in the White City. Each collage should contain the following:
1. Larson's claim in "Evils Imminent"
2. One example each of ethos, pathos, logos (rhetorical appeals)
3.Three different examples of rhetorical strategies. Choose three from the following list: narration, exemplification, description, definition, compare/contrast, cause/effect, division, classification
4. Twelve different examples of rhetorical devices (literary devices) from the content vocabulary list.
5. Explanation of how an efferent or aesthetic stance affects the interpretation of rhetorical appeals, strategies, and devices.

4. In a comprehensive analytical essay, identify and explain Larson’s use of rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos), rhetorical strategies (narration, exemplification, compare/contrast, cause/effect, etc.) and rhetorical (literary)devices (alliteration, allusion, imagery, juxtaposition, flashback, understatement, hyperbole, etc.) throughout the novel to support the claim he makes in “Evils Imminent.” Choose appeals, strategies, and devices that complement one another. Refer to a variety of passages from the novel throughout your essay.

5. Based on the novel in its entirety, does Larson effectively or ineffectively support his claim?

6. Read Colin Morris’s literary critique of The Devil in the White City,Chicago in Black and White. What is Morris’s claim? Is Morris credible? How do you know? How does Morris structure the critique and defend the claim? Do you agree or disagree with Morris’s claim? Are you more inclined to qualify the claim? After reading Morris’s critique, do you view Larson and The Devil in the White City differently? If so, how? If not, why?

7. Using Morris’s critique as a model, write your own critique of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America.

8. Based on your readings, how does the Columbian Exposition change America? How did it change Chicago? Would Chicago and America have undergone these changes regardless of the Columbian Exposition?