Written by Nohad El Sayed

for Prof. Catherine Payne

FBI investigators estimated that, in 2012, approximately one percent of the general male population and fifteen to twenty percent of the prison population are psychopathic (Babiack). Surprisingly, this means that in a college containing five thousand male students, fifty would have this personality disorder.  Even though the most famous psychopaths shown in Hollywood movies are known to be murderers, it is important to understand that psychopaths are not necessarily dangerous. However, in the non-fiction narrative book The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, a mysterious character named H.H. Holmes seems to be the kind of psychopath that most people would not like to meet. In fact, his cruelty and his dangerous nature can be felt throughout the entire book. Indeed, H.H. Holmes’s dangerous nature is revealed through the use of various literary devices such as setting, imagery and anecdote.

To begin, in the chapter “The Black City“, the character of Holmes is introduced with the description of a remarkably dark and violent setting. In fact, the story takes place during the emergence of the city of Chicago, which could explain the instability that is omnipresent in the atmosphere. Because of the lack of municipal services and organization, and because violence was a way of life, the city encountered many fires, unnatural deaths and many other problems: “Streetcars fell from drawbridges. Horses bolted and dragged carriages into crowds. Fires took a dozen lives a day … There was diphtheria, typhus, cholera, influenza. And there was murder” (Larson 12). All these terrible facts are presented in the introduction of the character of H.H. Holmes in order to illustrate the dangerous and gloomy setting surrounding him, and thus, attempt to reveal the darkness of his depths. Moreover, Chicago is described as being very attractive to people with bad ambitions: “It was so easy to disappear, so easy to deny knowledge, so very easy in the smoke and din to mask that something dark had taken root”(12). These words show how all the conditions of the setting were favorable for evil to happen. Of course, the appearance of H.H. Holmes in a chapter where fear, violence and darkness are meticulously described is certainly not a coincidence.

Besides the setting, imagery is also frequently used to communicate the dangerous nature of H.H. Holmes. In fact, throughout the book, vivid pictures are presented along with Holmes in order to divulge the obscurity of his thoughts: “He entered a world of clamor, smoke, and stream, refulgent with the scents of murdered cattle and pigs. He found it to his liking”(12). Disgusting smells of dead animals give a bad first impression of him and make him look like a predator. Indeed, they expose the threatening side of his personality. The stench also represents death, which is directly related to Holmes because of his lack of feeling and empathy. Further in the story, a similar image involving horrible smells surrounding Holmes is used: “The air was stale and still, suffused with the scent of rotten peaches, horse excrement and partially combusted Illinois anthracite’’(35). Interestingly, Holmes’ handsome physical appearance is described in the same moment: “Holmes looked fresh and crisp … the glances of young women fell around him like wind-blown petals” (35). This imagery reveals an important aspect of Holmes by illustrating how his inner-self was the total opposite of his physical appearance. Thus, the difference between the inside and the outside of this character communicates his dangerous nature by showing how people surrounding him could not see the devil in him. Moreover, what Holmes loved about Chicago was the fact that it was very easy to make a woman disappear and that all that was left was “a blade-thin track of perfume amid the stench of dung, anthracite, and putrefaction”(62). This imagery uses the smell to expose the unsafe atmosphere that Holmes created and how the stench left no chance for the perfume of his innocent and vulnerable victims to be recognized. The word “blade” also refers to the dangerous nature of Holmes because it is directly related to his “occupation”. In brief, imagery plays a fundamental role in the revelation of Holmes’s dangerous behaviour.

In addition, anecdote is another device used to reveal Holmes’s evil nature. In fact, two important anecdotes are presented further in the book to illustrate how abnormal and inhuman Holmes is. The first anecdote exposes the shocking discussion that Holmes had with George Bowman. Indeed, Holmes asked him to throw a rock at his “brother-in-law” in a strange and frightening way, “about the same manner one would expect from a friend who was asking you the most trivial question”(68). This shows how human life did not seem to have any value in Holmes’s point of view, which contributes to the communication of his dangerous nature. The second anecdote involves a character named Jonathan Belknap. In fact, Belknap was one of the few who felt something terrifying about Holmes: “Holmes was charming and gracious, but something about him made Belknap uneasy”(87).  For this reason, Belknap locked the door when Holmes invited him to his hotel because he did not trust him. Surprisingly, Holmes and his accomplice, Patrick Quinlan, tried to enter his room while Belknap was sleeping: “I heard my door tried and then a key was slipped into the lock”(89). This illustrates how evil and dangerous Holmes is because the only reasons that could justify such an act are the intentions of murder or robbery.  Moreover, by trying to persuade Belknap to visit the roof, Holmes probably had the intention to get rid of Belknap by pushing him off the roof. The several attempts of Holmes to murder Belknap illustrate how ambitious he is. However, the anecdotes show how his ambition was dangerous and this contributes to the exposition of his evil nature.

In the final analysis, several literary devices, such as the unstable and aggressive setting, imagery involving horrible odours, and terrifying anecdotes are presented in order to disclose Holmes’ danger to the public. Hence, the meaning of these literary devices and their importance for a clear understanding of the book could simply not be neglected. Obviously, the reading experience would not have been as captivating and as appealing as it was if they had not been present.

Works Cited

Babiak, Paul et al. “Psychopathy.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. The FBI Federal  Bureau of Investigation. Jul. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City. New York: Vintage Books, 2003.