Candide by Voltaire (Chapters 16-30)

Summary : After killing Cunegund's brother he and Cacambo escape and when they stop to eat they hear cries and two monkeys show up and Candide kills them and the two women cry over the dead monkeys' body. He didn't believe the monkeys were the women's lovers then he remembered that Pangloss told him about it before but he thought it was a fable.  Then the girls tied them up when they were asleep and was surrounded by Oreillionsbwho wanted to kill and eat them. But Cacambo persuaded and told them not to kill them and they took a canoe and ended up at Country of El Dorado. There the pebbles don't count as anything when in Europe they are their currency and they have all the religions in the world. They had supper with the king and they wanted to leave after a month with some of the pebbles so when they returned home they would be rich and get Cunegund back. Cacambo went alone to get Cunegund, while Candid and his new philosopher Martain went on a boat to Venice. They stopped at France and there they say plays and a woman threw herself at Candid but he only wanted Cunegund, do they left and when the reached Venice Martin told Candid to forget about Cacambo and Cunegund. They visited a gondola and traveled to many different places that one day they were dining with six strangers and found out the the slave that was there was Cacambo and he told Candide that Cunegund had become ugly but they still try to go find her on the way they find Pangloss and Cunegund's brother who they believed had both died. When they find her Candide does not want to marry her but he still does and everyone lived with them including Martain and Pangloss his two philosophers.


Quote: "Thou mayest kill me again,” said the Baron; “but thou shalt not
marry my sister while I am living" (Voltaire 93).


Reaction: When i read this quote, i still did not understand why the Baron, still did not want Candide to marry his sister , even after he say that he had gone a long way just to find Cunegund . Candide still married her even when she lost her beauty, so i do not understand what he thought what everything Candide did was for. Because Candide would not reallly be gaining anything because after that entire they were looking for she became ugly. Candide mentioned himself that he did not want to marry her because she became ugly but he would still marry her because he promised her that he would. I think that it shows that Candide was kid of growing and understanding life better after he got ripped off like a million of times and getting i so much trouble. it felt as if the book was going in circles because in the beginning her was with pangloss, he lost him and then at the end of the story Pangloss came back, and they found each other some how. This book was very confusing like parts with monkeys and Pangloss and the baron still being alive, and how the Baron still would not want Candide to marry his sister, but overall if it did not have a lot of events occur i do not believe that would understand how that each religion has something that has to do with killing and how some of it seems inhumane but others its the way of life, and it is what they believe in.

Candide by Voltaire (Chapters 1-15)

Summary: In these beginning chapters it explains how Candide was born in a rich family, a son of a Baron's sister. The Baron was a very powerful lord in Westphalia. Everyone was loyal to him and did what he told them to do, and every time he made a joke they would laugh even if it was not funny. at the castle Candide listened to Pangloss the preceptor, and he listen Miss Cunegund who also liked him. One day during dinner they left the room and started to kiss and The Baron say this and kicked Candide out of the Castle. now Candide was on in the world hungry and homeless. he meet a couple of me that decided to take care of him. after a little of talking and drinking they hand cuffed him and said that he supported the Bulgarians. He was whipped a thousand times at the dungeon, and before they were going to whip him some more he begged for mercy and they stopped whipping him. A war occurs between the Bulgarians and Abares, and Candide decides to escape. And he sees all the blood that was shed and he leaves to Holland. there he is taken in my another man in his rug factory, and during his time there he starts to believe in Pangloss's theory. He meets a beggar on the streets and finds out it is Pangloss the person that is taking care of Candide, James who is an Anabaptist, sends a doctor for Pangloss who was sick. On their way to Lisbon, a storm came and James starts to drown and Pangloss tells him that that was suppose to occur. An earthquake occurs in Lisbon, and they decide to help the wounded. the Portuguese believed that if they killed some people in a ceremony that it would stop the earthquakes. As part of the ritual they whipped Candide, hanged Pangloss and killed some men that would not eat bacon. But latter on that day another earthquake occurs.An old lady helped him, and gave him a place to sleep, and all of a sudden he finds out that the old lady was with Miss Cunegund, she explained to him how she ended up in Lisbon. How she was taken as a prisoner of war, and when Senior Don Issarchar, the Captain that took her, saw that they were alone in the room, he got angry and it lead to Candide killing him. After this happened Candide and Miss Cunegund and the little lady ran away to to Cadiz. The old lady finds out by telling them her story that he brought up Miss Cunegund when she was a baby. Went on a ship and landed on Buenos Ayers, and meet the Governor who feel in love with Miss Cunegund, and the old lady tells her to marry him. Candide has to leave again because people are looking for those that stole the jewelry Conegonde, had tried to sell it. He left with Cacambo, and on their journey they meet Cunegund's brother. He tells him that his sister is till alive. They decide to go find Cunegund and bring her back, he did not like the idea that Candide was going to marry his sister, and they start to fight and he kills Cunegund's brother. With out thinking Cacmbo tells him to but on the dead mans cap and pretend that he his the Reverend Father Colonel


Quote: “Candide was flogged to some tune, while the anthem was being sung; the Biscayan and the two men who would not eat bacon were burned, and Pangloss was hanged, which is not a common custom at these
solemnities. The same day there was another earthquake, which made most dreadful havoc" (Voltaire 14).


Reaction: When i read this quote i could not believe that they thought if they did this that it would stop earthquakes from occurring. this kind of reminded me of the movie 300 B.C because they were suppose to be seemed as very powerful and loyal to god, but their life was surrounded by killing people to show their power. i did kind of laugh when i read this because i thought it served them right to see that killing people was not going to end earthquakes. Overall it showed me that this book has a lot of information about families being tared apart by war. It is a little similar to the plays by Shakespeare, like Romeo and Juliet. But instead it has to do with more about their beliefs in their religion. There are a lot of things that i do not understand in the story especially when Miss Cunegund keeps on saying the number two, i was not able to get the symbolism if there was any.

The Devil in the White City (Pgs 221-370)

Summary:

The only part of the fair that was not done was some of the building and the Ferris wheel, which was suppose to be taller than the Eiffel tower. However, they still went on with the fair, which was dedicated to Christopher Columbus. They thought that because the  fair was not finish that it would not attract a lot of people to the fair. But many people still attended and had a great time. The fair was not suppose to stay forever, so many people came to millions of people from around the world came to see the fair. There were many diverse things at the fair, like belly dancers, and different types of music and every candy and food. They did not let anyone come into the fair free, even those that were really poor. Even the wealthy that had a lot of connections still had  to pay the entrance fee to the fair. During this time Holmes was getting a lot of business. But part of his plan was to only let women stay at the hotel. People started to disappear from the hotel, and no one really questioned what was going on because some much was going on in Chicago, with the fair and all. Int the hotel, things felt gloomy but the girls would say say because of Holmes personality, it made everything seem more cheerful. The hotel, had an odor of medicine, and bleach bu people did not really comment on the smell, because they knew that Holmes worked with medicine and had a pharmacy. And when Minie's sister came to visit they also went to the fair, and had a really great time, to the point that she decided not to leave for the summer. During this time they were putting up the Ferris wheel, and people that first got on it did get hurt but later on it was safe to ride on.That even people started to get married at the highest point of the Ferris wheel. At the end of the fair, some of the buildings got burned down. It also affected the economy because many people now did not have a job. But the good thing about the end of the fair, was that now the cops were able to become more focused on the missing people. Geyer, who was a detective was the one to uncover the crimes that Holmes had done from killing women, men, and even children. he was also able to find out that Holmes had committed insurance fraud, and was  not using his real name anywhere. When Holmes was doing to court, he got a book published so that the public would be on his side, but he was found guilty for the murders. But the thing that had surprised so many people was that Holmes was able to get away with all the people he had killed, and the cops in Chicago did not suspect that anything was going on. This shows, that even at the best time in history it begins with people dying and ends with people dying.


Quote: "There was speculation that during the world's fair he might have killed dozens of people, most of them young women" (Larson 363).



Reaction:

When i read this quote, it made me want to learn more about the other killings, because the novel really did not talk about a lot of the people that he had killed. They might have not really talked a lot about the murders because Holmes, may have gotten rid of any evidence that they were even alive. This is something that i was never able to understand, how Holmes was able to kill so many people and he was not caught by the cops. This would be considered a time in history when cops were not really on their job. I think if i was a cop i would have felt very guilt for not noticing what had occurred to those that disappeared. But i would not have blamed him that much because they were trying to help the fair stay under control. Even though what Holmes did was very inhumane i do think that what he did should be given a little praise, because he was able to live a wealthy life and fool everyone into thinking that he was akin man, who would not hurt a fly. But the truth was that he was a cold hearted man. This shows that people are not always what they portray to be, because there is always another side we do not see.

The Devil in the White City (Pgs 167-220)

Summary:
The fair, was starting to be built.However there was barely enough time left, because of Hunt delaying his drawings. This was worrying Burnham allot because he just ad about a year, until they present the completed copy of the far to the world. People were not all agree on how things should look like. For example the only lady that was working on the fair, was getting mad because she had made plans for how she wanted the building to look like however, during the period that she was not there things did not really go her way. Another man that was helping her out, decided it would be good to get decorations donated from everyone in the world, so that it could be more diverse and by the time he got all the donations, they had like art gallery of pieces of art. however this is not what Hayden wanted she believed that her plans were much better. This was not the only problem that was occurring. people that Burnham wanted to work for him decided not to accept the jobs, making him have to look for other people. The weather was getting worse, to the point that sometimes they had to stop doing their job, and leave it for another day. The fair was a mess, ad everyone was rushing trying to get it done on time. They did not want to let everyone hopes down, because they wanted to be known for this fair. Holmes, was still in Chicago, and was becoming very rich with his business, and his soon to be hotel. One of Julia's old neighbor would  constantly ask question about where Julia had gone to and if she had every came around. And every time Holmes would just come up with a lie ad go on with his day. But now he had a new girl that he was with, and her name was Minnie. Who was a girl from Mississippi, and now lived in Boston. Holmes would frequently go visit her. Unlike everyone else that he knew she would call him Harry, instead of Holmes. But there was a time he stopped visiting her, and she became sad, and then decided to go visit Chicago, and sent him a message than she was going to be in the area. When she got to Chicago, Holmes greeted her with open arms, and tears in his eyes. After staying in Chicago, she started to work with him and latter on they got married. Her sister Anna, got suspicious and thought that the wedding happened too quick. So that Anna wouldn't think something else, Holmes invited her to Chicago and said he was going to pay for everything. he said this because he knew that she would not give up a free break in Chicago, and get to see the fair. The process of the fair was a disaster, things didn't not go as planned sometimes, and some workers died in the process. But at the end they were able to finish the fair.

Quote:
"Holmes--Harry--wanted the wedding done quickly and quietly,just him, Minnie, and a preacher" (Larson 205).

Reaction:
While reading this quote, it made me think about Holmes plan and what he was trying to do. It got me to understand that he wanted the marriage quick so that he could kill her. The point of the marriage was that when she died he would get all her money. He wanted the ceremony to be quiet because he did not want people to suspect that something was going on. I think that is how people in the city did not really notice that he got married really fast. From this i don't believe that anyone knew that he was getting married to all these girls, because if they did know then they would have said something to the police. They might have just thought that they all were temporary girlfriends. But  the thing that i do not understand is how can he get married and all of a sudden that person disappears, and no one really makes a big deal. It might of been because Holmes is considered a charmer and many people wont think that he would dare try to hurt someone. This reminded me the saying "It is always the quiet ones", because Holmes, seems like a very conservative person and from the story, i don't believe that he even has friends. What i really want to find out what happens to his life during the fair, cause from reviews it seems like that is really when all his mischief and sneakiness is shown.

The Devil in the White City (Pgs 128-166)

Summary:
Now everey was in process. Burnham rarely saw his fammily and was into his work and trying to meet the dead line. His partner Root had died and he had to find a different way to get the job done by himself. This was something that was hard for him. Including that people that were working on the project like Hunt were taking their time with their jobs. His job was to design how the place would look like. The thing was that he was in Chicago during that time, so the message for him to hurry up with his drawingss would take time. Days went by and there was no response from Hunt so Burnham sent him another message that this was causing a delay in their work, and this was becming an embarassment to him, and Chicago. Burnham just wanted him to give him what he had so far. He thought that Hunt could just come to Chicago and finish his draws there instead of wasting so much time. Olmsted another important person during this project for the fair to become complete on time, was getting sick. But he still went one with out stopping his job. The person that had created the Effiel tower, sent a message o Burnham about helping them out with the fair. Burnham was surprised that he would even want to help make a building that was taller than the Effiel tower for them. The would got spread around and it cause the workers to become anrgy because they beileves that they had the right to help be part of this project, more than Effiel did, that he should not let him work on the project. this made Burnham happy because he could not bielve that they are showing how much they truley care about this project. But the thing was that he was not going to even to let Effiel work on the job because he did not respound to the letter he had sent him. During this project, Burnham wanted clea water for his workers, and he wanted to create a machine that would take the river water and clean it , but he was worry that a fire would be caused but he still did it, and he would benefit from it because he would sell the clean water to the people during the fair. He was really scared that the fair would burn down that he did not let people smoke around the work area just incase anything happened. Julia another girl that Holmes was see, told him that she was pregnant that he would have to marry her. The reason was because having a baby without being married was consisdered a disgrace. Holmes agreed to this marriage but she had to get an abortion, and he would do it for her. On Christmas morning he got ready to do the procjure, and then he drugged her and her daughter. After this day noone knew where Julia, and her daughter had gone. But some people thought that Holmes had killed her but they did not bring this information to the cops. Holmes just jkeept on telling stories that they had to leave on a family emergency and that she wouled not be coming back ever.

Quote: "He held the cloth over her nose and mouth. her eyes fluttered and rolled upward...His own excitement rose" (Larson 148).

Reaction:
When i read this quote i was very surprised and did not really understand what was going on. I had to read it a couple of times to understand that this was not part of the procejure, and that instead that he was killing her. I could not believe what I was readding because, it stated that he was pleasing to him and that he killed to see others getting killed. How could someone be so inhumane, and be able to watch another persons death, clamly. I think that Holmes has a serious problem and that he he enjoys killing people. The thing is that he barely knew her and that he had another wife, and child. The thing that was surprising also was that he did not kill his first wife and child. I was never able to understand why he killed theses people that you can call strangers. This was a part of the novel that really showed his true colors, and i was able too see more about him, cause throughout the novel, the reader just gets told what everyone else sees and thinks. But now I was able to see what really happens.

The Devil in the White City (Pgs 75-127)

Summary:
Burnham and Root are getting ready to build the fair, and they thought that they would just design it themselves. However later on they decided that it would be better if they just hired people to design the fair, because then not only them would get credit for the new attraction to Chicago. While they were trying to negotiate with the architects on how they can build the fair in just three years, which to them it seemed impossible, Root was not able to attend the meets because he was very sick. As weeks and days passed he got sicker and they found out that he had pneumonia. and just after finding out he had pneumonia he, had died. This was a very tragic thing that occurred in Burnham's life because he had been working with Root for the past eighteen years. And he could not believe his best friend and business partner had died. This news of Roots death did not only surprise Burnham but also the city of Chicago. Root's death made Burnham want to quit the job but he was convinced that he should not quit. But working on this project with out Burnham felt different for him, and he just felt as if he was missing something. The project went on and more people had gotten involved. They need as much people to help them out, that with out knowing they even hired an opium addict, showing that they did not have a lot of time to do back ground checks on people. So they had to just find those that were best at their job. While this was occurring Holmes who was already a married man was trying to get married to a man's ex-wife. He was causing ciaos in other people lives.

Quote: "I was born with the devil in me...I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing"(Larson 109).

Reaction:
I thought that this was a great way for Larson to end part two of the story with this quote because it made the story a little bit more exciting and it would just make the reader want to read more because they want to know what else is going to happen. But I think that this quote has no life to it, no emotion, or even a heart for human kind. Because whoever is saying this quote, is say this like murdering is involuntary and that it just happens. However I think opposite because it is not like being a poet, whose poems makes people sing. It is the most inhumane thing to say, and i really  do not like what this quote is trying to do, because it is trying to compare a poet with a murderer and saying that they are similar. But that is not true because a poet creates something that is beautiful, and a killer just creates sorrow and death in the world, which are two opposites.

The Devil in the White City(Pgs 11-74)

Summary:
This book starts talking about how Chicago and how  it is over populated there are a lot of people   disappearing from the city people where not making a big deal about it because it was a huge city. It was a very busy town, many people would come a visit to see the huge buildings, and the tallest skyscrapers in the world. Which was built by Burnham and Root, who were able to defeat the law of gravity and build building that was one of the tallest buildings in the world and it attracted many people towards Chicago. This lead to Burnham and Root being able to get more jobs in constructing. But one day some of their buildings feel and some got burned and this led to their business going down. Burnham had gone through things before that he did not succeed like getting admitted to Yale and Harvard. But that did not stop him from becoming an architect. And these events would not stop him from doing what he loved the most. Burnham and Root kept on building and, while they still had the one of the tallest buildings, Paris came with the Eiffel Tower, which became the tallest skyscraper in the world. This lead to the business in Chicago to decrease, and people from coming to Chicago. But it did not let Holmes from staying away. Holmes was not his real name, but to everyone in the city. The only thing that people knew was that he was a gentleman and was a ladies man. He was able to persuade anyone to do anything, to the point people did not mind what he was doing or saying. One day the entire town was excited because they found out that Chicago was the place that they would build the next tallest building and Burnham and Root was going to be the ones that were going to build it and they had to do it in 3 years. While this was occurring,mes was working on a project of his own. he was creating a huge hotel, near where the building was going to be built. He had become successful after a couple of years owning his own business, and had a wife and daughter. But even though how nice he was people did not totally trust him because there was something about him that made people think twice. On top of not using his real name he also would buy everything on credit and would never pay it back even though he had the money, and everyday he would fire someone that was working to build his hotel. There were times that people had suspicions about Holmes that his hotel was more than just an hotel, because of what he said at times it got them scared for their life.

Quote: "One day he offered to pay her $6000 if he would acquire a $10000 life insurance policy...She was on the verge of accepting the offer when Holmes said to her softly, Don't be afraid of me"(Larson 73).

Reaction:
When i read this quote i had to read it twice because i was amazed that he would say such a thing to her. What i learned from this quote was that all he liked was money, and that was the only thing he was trying to get from life. That he might do anything to get his money, because everything in his is an investment to him. An image of a guy with a huge grin popped up in my mine when i read this quote because, it was the point of the story when you see that he is truly not a real nice person, but that he has a dark side and people just don't know, his real personality. This made me just want to learn more about Holmes, and see what he is going to do throughout this story. Another thing that i thought was that he was going to kill her because if he did he would gain a profit of $2000 dollars. And if he did not kill her it would take a long time for her to die because she was a healthy person.