Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

We get to know Holmes through his actions. And what his actions reveal is he's an insane, murderous psychopath.

He has a vault built into his hotel, along with gas pipes connected to airtight rooms and a large kiln. When he flees Chicago, leaving behind his castle of torture, he makes a game out of moving the Pitezel family: "[h]e possessed them all and reveled in his possession" (4.1.60).

What his actions reveal is a crazed man who felt zero empathy and wanted to terrorize the weak and innocent.

Thoughts

Burnham's thoughts reveal much about why he was just so good at his job. Numerous obstacles threatened to turn the fair into a flop. And, while most people would have given up, Burnham remains persistent.

Alone neither architect could have done it, but together, Burnham believed, he and Root had the will and the interlocking powers of organization and design to succeed. (1.2.72)

We enter into the mind of Burnham, and learn just what it is that makes him tick. And we see for ourselves just what makes him so great: a can-do attitude and an unwillingness to slack off.

Speech and Dialogue

Lucky for us, people way back when wrote a lot of letters. And Larson used these letters as primary sources in his research.

We learn from Holmes himself in his written confession that he thought he was the spawn of Satan:

I was born with the devil inside me. (1.10.25)

He even confesses that he thinks he's beginning to look like the devil. Does that mean he looked in the mirror and saw horns? A forked tail? A pitchfork? Any way you cut it, we're spooked.

And what about Burnham? His letters reveal a man who is thoughtful, meticulous, and committed to his work. He assures his architects that:

Chicago's fair, unlike any other before it, would be primarily a monument to architecture. (1.6.21)

Direct quotes from actual historical figures definitely helps in the recreation of people who lived over a hundred years ago. When we get to read their actual words, we get an immediate, personal sense of how dedicated Burnham was…and how psychopathically insane Holmes was.