DWC-DQ ~ Part III

6. At the end of The Devil in the White City, in Notes and Sources, Larson writes: "The thing that entranced me about Chicago in the Gilded Age was the city's willingness to take on the impossible in the name of civic honor, a concept so removed from the modern psyche that two wise readers of early drafts of this book wondered why Chicago was so avid to win the world's fair in the first place" [p. 393]. What motives, in addition to "civic honor," drove Chicago to build the Fair? In what ways might the desire to "out-Eiffel Eiffel" and to show New York that Chicago was more than a meat-packing backwater be seen as problematic?

PRIDE, EGO, ARROGANCE!

7. Larson writes, "The juxtaposition of pride and unfathomed evil struck me as offering powerful insights into the nature of men and their ambitions" [p. 393]. What such insights does the book offer? What more recent stories of pride, ambition, and evil parallel those described in The Devil in the White City?

Hitler, Pol-Pot, Charles Manson, Saddam Hussein…There are really a lot of examples of pride and evil in our species.

8. In his speech before his wheel took on its first passengers, George Ferris "happily assured the audience that the man condemned for having 'wheels in his head' had gotten them out of his head and into the heart of the Midway Plaisance" [p. 279]. In what way is the entire Fair an example of the power of human ingenuity, of the ability to realize the dreams of imagination?

The fair was a dream. It was unimaginable and even when it was put into reality the outcome was far beyond what anyone ever imagined. I was the future in action.

9. In describing the collapse of the roof of Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building, Larson writes: "In a great blur of snow and silvery glass the building's roof — that marvel of late nineteenth-century hubris, enclosing the greatest volume of unobstructed space in history — collapsed to the floor below" [p. 196–97]. Was the entire Fair, in its extravagant size and cost, an exhibition of arrogance? Do such creative acts automatically engender a darker, destructive parallel? Can Holmes be seen as the natural darker side of the Fair's glory?

Arrogance is part of our nature that keeps us trying harder to constantly do better and improve ourselves. The dark nature of man is sometimes triggered by this but who knows what really brings the bad out in people.

DWC-DQ ~ Part III ~ In the White City

6. At the end of The Devil in the White City, in Notes and Sources, Larson writes: "The thing that entranced me about Chicago in the Gilded Age was the city's willingness to take on the impossible in the name of civic honor, a concept so removed from the modern psyche that two wise readers of early drafts of this book wondered why Chicago was so avid to win the world's fair in the first place" [p. 393]. What motives, in addition to "civic honor," drove Chicago to build the Fair? In what ways might the desire to "out-Eiffel Eiffel" and to show New York that Chicago was more than a meat-packing backwater be seen as problematic?

7. Larson writes, "The juxtaposition of pride and unfathomed evil struck me as offering powerful insights into the nature of men and their ambitions" [p. 393]. What such insights does the book offer? What more recent stories of pride, ambition, and evil parallel those described in The Devil in the White City?

8. In his speech before his wheel took on its first passengers, George Ferris "happily assured the audience that the man condemned for having 'wheels in his head' had gotten them out of his head and into the heart of the Midway Plaisance" [p. 279]. In what way is the entire Fair an example of the power of human ingenuity, of the ability to realize the dreams of imagination?

9. In describing the collapse of the roof of Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building, Larson writes: "In a great blur of snow and silvery glass the building's roof — that marvel of late nineteenth-century hubris, enclosing the greatest volume of unobstructed space in history — collapsed to the floor below" [p. 196–97]. Was the entire Fair, in its extravagant size and cost, an exhibition of arrogance? Do such creative acts automatically engender a darker, destructive parallel? Can Holmes be seen as the natural darker side of the Fair's glory?

The Devil in the White City

Well, I finally got my book this Monday ya'll. I put in for it as soon as we decided on it. I was 7th on the hold list and it took a little over 20 days. So I'm only a little behind. lol

Luckily, there are no holds on Jim the Boy. So I just have to get the book shipped to my library branch. Going to go do that right now in fact.

Anyways, just wanted to post about being excited to get this month's book.

DWC ~ discussion of Part II

5. The original Ferris Wheel was bigger than I realized, at "a bit higher than the crown of the ... Statue of Liberty" (p. 185), so I asked about you to think about the size of the thirty-six "cars" on the Ferris Wheel.

Several days ago Zorro asked, "Did he say 100 people per car?? Please tell me what the capacity actually was." Sorry to make you wait so long, Mary, but here's the answer:

George Ferris planned to build a vertically revolving wheel 250 feet in diameter. The thirty-six cars, "each about the size of a Pullman" (a train car), would each hold sixty people and come equipped with its own lunch counter. Can you imagine a wheel large enough to "propel 2,160 people at a time three hundred feet into the sky over Jackson Park"? I can't!

Since some of you probably don't click on the photos to make them bigger, I want to show you ... again! ... the one I found of Ferris's completed wheel. This time I'll try to make it as large as possible. (If you click on it, you can make it even larger. Then you can see each "car" more clearly.)



Though I'm struggling to make myself read the parts about Holmes, Marylyn has the opposite problem: "In part II I got bored with all the construction talk and started anxiously anticipating Holmes’s next devious act." Marylyn, we are constitutionally very different people! But I guess we both already knew that, huh? LOL.

DWC-DQ ~ Part II ~ An Awful Fight

I'm struggling to make myself read this book because I really, really, really don't want to read the parts about Holmes. Therefore, these questions all relate to preparing for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. If somebuddy can come up with questions relating to Holmes, I invite you to do so.

In part II I got board with all the construction talk and started anxiously anticipating Holmes’s next devious act. I do have to remind myself that this is NOT fiction and these things really happened. I am holding my breath each chapter to see if he is caught.

3. Did you notice the "water wars"? Because Georgia is currently engaged in what some are calling a "water war" with Tennessee (and because I live in Chattanooga, on the border between the two states), I noticed Burnham's concern about providing clean water to the fair. Georgia's problem is rapid expansion without planning ahead for the water needs of its people; Burnham's problem was sewage threatening Chicago's water supply. Read the section spanning pages 175-176 about the fight to pipe water from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to the fair in Jackson Park. What was the subtle distinction that allowed Burnham to say the water came from Waukesha?

I thought they (Georgia) were going to get water from Alabama. We have had a water restriction every summer since I can remember.
I thought McElroy was pretty ingenious in his idea to re-route his water supply.

4. A tiny (four sentence) section at the top of page 181 mentions a pledge recited by school children on Dedication Day. I'd never heard that this was how the Pledge of Allegiance began, had you? Who was Francis J. Bellamy, anyway? (You may have to google or go to Wikipedia to learn more about him. In my research, I discovered that I was two years old when the U.S. Congress recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge.)

I didn’t know this either. According to Wikipedia, Francis Julius Bellamy (May 18, 1855 - August 28, 1931) was an American Baptist minister and Christian Socialist.


5. The original Ferris Wheel was bigger than I realized, at "a bit higher than the crown of the ... Statue of Liberty" (p. 185). I'm sure we'll read more about it in later sections of the book, but say something about the size of the thirty-six "cars" on the Ferris Wheel.

WOW! I had no idea. It's hare to imagine it, even today 115 years later.

Jim the Boy

I received this from the library so have started it early. (The negative thing about using the library as the first choice for our reads is that they don't necessarily send the book to coincide with when we are reading it. However, the benefits of being free as well of the convenience of being able to order books online with them shipping them to me makes the small negative quite minor.) After the intensity of Devil in White City, Jim the boy seems to be an easy read (even has big print and wide margins)which is a much calmer approach to life. Although the good ol' days weren't as good as folks sometimes like to recall them, this book reflects a refreshing look at a childhood in a rural setting in which a child knew that he was loved.

I hope that others will be able to get the book and will be joining in this July discussion.

Windfalls "A Glimpse of the World's Rough Grace" Discussion Questions

I felt that the book tried too hard to have a redemptive, wrapped-up ending come together conclusively at the end. There didn't seem to be a logical "growth" leading towards the two main characters' decisions to changes their view/way of life. They just suddenly did. And I get that these sorts of epiphanies happen. But to happen to both the main characters one right after the other seemed too pat.

1. What would YOU do if your house burned down, leaving you homeless and with no material resources at your command?

Honestly, and I feel like I'm avoiding the point of the question, I wouldn't be homeless the way Cerise is homeless if my apartment building burned down. I wouldn't have that same place to live in or those same things I had in it. But my parents, sister, and grandparents live 20 minutes away in homes with empty guest bedrooms so we'd have a place to stay. We have a good renter's insurance policy and we both earn good incomes. It would totally suck to have our apartment burn down and have to start over accumulating material possession but it wouldn't devastate our lives the way it does Cerise's.

2. Was there anything Cerise could have done to make a better life for herself?

I don't think she should have ran. She was in school and doing well. She enjoyed it and was passing her classes. Had she stayed after the fire, it is most possible that she could have found another place to live and finished her schooling, leading to a better job.

3. How was it a good thing that Anna and Cerise met each other at this time in their lives?

I think Anna needed someone to ask questions and be curious about art and Cerise needed to spend time with Anna's children and feel like someone was her friend.

DWC DQ Part II

I'm struggling to make myself read this book because I really, really, really don't want to read the parts about Holmes. Therefore, these questions all relate to preparing for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. If somebuddy can come up with questions relating to Holmes, I invite you to do so. This would be hard for me to do since I listened to the audio book. This Holmes is the second psychopath I am reading about this month...also Cathy in East of Eden. They are 'bad seeds' aren't they. What an opportunity for Holmes....people go to the Fair and never return home, and are never heard from again. Communication from other cities would be so much more difficult then than now. He can get away from the murders without even moving around the country. I am reading another book about medical charlatans of the early 20th century, and they were usually traveling to leave their patients behind. Of course their motivation was money, not murder.

3. Did you notice the "water wars"? Because Georgia is currently engaged in what some are calling a "water war" with Tennessee (and because I live in Chattanooga, on the border between the two states), I noticed Burnham's concern about providing clean water to the fair. Georgia's problem is rapid expansion without planning ahead for the water needs of its people; Burnham's problem was sewage threatening Chicago's water supply. Read the section spanning pages 175-176 about the fight to pipe water from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to the fair in Jackson Park. What was the subtle distinction that allowed Burnham to say the water came from Waukesha? I found it very interesting that the Great Lakes were so polluted by the butchery of animals in Chicago that the water wasn't potable. "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink"

4. A tiny (four sentence) section at the top of page 181 mentions a pledge recited by school children on Dedication Day. I'd never heard that this was how the Pledge of Allegiance began, had you? Who was Francis J. Bellamy, anyway? (You may have to google or go to Wikipedia to learn more about him. In my research, I discovered that I was two years old when the U.S. Congress recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge.) I will have to go to Wiki to find the answers. I was in the fifth grade when we started saying "under God" in the pledge. In Texas the schools are required by law to say the pledge each day (and the Texas Pledge also).

5. The original Ferris Wheel was bigger than I realized, at "a bit higher than the crown of the ... Statue of Liberty" (p. 185). I'm sure we'll read more about it in later sections of the book, but say something about the size of the thirty-six "cars" on the Ferris Wheel. Did he say 100 people per car?? Please tell me what the capacity actually was.

DWC-DQ ~ Part II ~ An Awful Fight

I'm struggling to make myself read this book because I really, really, really don't want to read the parts about Holmes. Therefore, these questions all relate to preparing for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. If somebuddy can come up with questions relating to Holmes, I invite you to do so.

3. Did you notice the "water wars"? Because Georgia is currently engaged in what some are calling a "water war" with Tennessee (and because I live in Chattanooga, on the border between the two states), I noticed Burnham's concern about providing clean water to the fair. Georgia's problem is rapid expansion without planning ahead for the water needs of its people; Burnham's problem was sewage threatening Chicago's water supply. Read the section spanning pages 175-176 about the fight to pipe water from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to the fair in Jackson Park. What was the subtle distinction that allowed Burnham to say the water came from Waukesha?

4. A tiny (four sentence) section at the top of page 181 mentions a pledge recited by school children on Dedication Day. I'd never heard that this was how the Pledge of Allegiance began, had you? Who was Francis J. Bellamy, anyway? (You may have to google or go to Wikipedia to learn more about him. In my research, I discovered that I was two years old when the U.S. Congress recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge.)

5. The original Ferris Wheel was bigger than I realized, at "a bit higher than the crown of the ... Statue of Liberty" (p. 185). I'm sure we'll read more about it in later sections of the book, but say something about the size of the thirty-six "cars" on the Ferris Wheel. (Click to enlarge this photo.)

No luck

I am not having much luck with the books at the moment.

Windfalls is on my library catalogue but seems to be lost, and then both Devil in the White City and Jim the Boy are not listed at all.

Maybe the next one.

Jim the Boy

Hey ya'll!

I know of The Devil in the White City because it's been on best sellers lists for awhile but I'd never heard of Jim the Boy. I finally got around to looking it up tonight and I found some links I thought I'd share with ya'll.

A NYT review of the book. There are links on this page to an interview with the author and a profile of him.

The first chapter of the book.

Windfalls "Beyond the End of Everything" Discussion Questions

Before I looked at this discussion questions for this section, I was wondering what the questions might be. For a not particularly uplifting book so far, this section seemed especially bleak and hopeless.

1. Travis ~ The battery in his talking toy is already starting to lose strength. This is a biggie, so don't fail to notice it. Cerise noticed the toy, but did not question why the battery was running down so quickly.

It sounded a little slow, the voice wearier than it had been the day before. Even though Travis would probably have another tantrum, Cerise hoped that meant the battery Melody had got for it was finally wearing out. She hated that toy. (p. 150)

I think I may have missed this question here. I got the impression that Melody have replaced the battery in Travis's toy with the battery from the fire alarm, even though her mother told her specifically not to do that. Since that battery had already been in the fire alarm for some time maybe, it would run out more quickly.

2. Melody ~ Melody burned herself on "the red spiral of the element" (pp. 133-134), just as Cerise had burned herself "against the hot edge of the iron" (pp. 21-22), leaving "stripes on Cerise's wrists [that]turned to scabs" (p. 30). Why do people do things like this? A young woman told me once that cutting herself was less painful than her life, but I don't understand that thinking at all.

Maybe because it is easier to have some physical pain to concentrate on, even for a brief while, than having to think and be present in the unbearable pain that is their life. I have been told, by people and in school, that to them, it is a physical outlet for the emotional and mental pain they are unable to express in words or otherwise.

3. NICU ~ When Ellen was born (pp. 137-146), she was rushed to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Have you ever been in an NICU? Tell us about it.

The medical university where I went to grad school is attached to a large hospital downtown and I had several clerkships during school at that hospital as well as other hospitals in the area. I also have worked at that hospital since I graduated. So I have been in their NICU and PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) as well as the attached children's hospital during my clerkships and making deliveries for my job. It is always very sad to see the really sick children and babies, no matter how many times you see it. The air always seems filled with emotion, both the sadness and worry of the parents and their (and the staff's) hope.

4. Respirator ~ One of my granddaughters (not the one I mentioned last week) was in the NICU for the first days of her life and then was on a respirator, like Ellen. If you have experienced anything like this, please share.

The first three days of Ellen's life, the alarm on her respirator rang so many times that Anna got almost used to the sickening flush of terror that swept over her each time it sounded. (p. 153)

Again, training and working in a hospital, I have seen babies, children, and adults hooked up to life sustaining machinery. With respirators, there is an odd quality to seeing someone breath so regularly since one breathing on their own isn't quite evenly regular, even when sleeping.

5. Cerise ~ After the fire in the trailer (pp. 157-160), Travis suffered "respiratory insufficiency" (p. 164) before he died (p. 171). That's hell in itself for a mother, but can you put yourself in Cerise's shoes enough to understand what she did after that?

Someone was speaking from the doorway. It was the young nurse ... Timidly she said, "We've called Travis's father, Ms. Johnson. And sent for the social worker and the chaplain. They'll be here any minute to talk to you. Is there anything -- should I stay with you until they come?"

Savagely Cerise shook her head. She didn't want the nurse to stay with her, didn't want to have to see Jake or the chaplain or the social worker, didn't want to have to do any of the things words were used to do -- explain, defend, excuse, or soothe. She wanted to be as alone in the room as she was in her anguish, wanted only to scream and howl and moan. But the nurse's question had diminished her to silence. ...

She bent to kiss him [Travis], but the thought came that she was kissing him good-bye, and her body convulsed, propelling her back from that abyss. She turned and stumbled from the room ... (p. 172).

Yes and no. Yes, I think I can understand her reasons for feeling this way and wanting these things having been in situations where I was overwhelmed by sadness and loss. But no, because I don't have children and I don't think anyone who hasn't lost a child can imagine what it is like to lose one.

6. Homeless ~ What would it be like to know, suddenly, that you were quite literally homeless? What would you do?

It was not until she stood on the street that she realized she had nowhere to go. ... She began to walk ... (p. 173).

While I can't imagine a scenario where this could happen in my life as it is currently (too careful financial, a lot of family), that's not really the point of the question. Were I in a situation similar to Cerise, I think I'd be stunned and devastated. Cerise tries to go to the one people left she loves, Melody. I think I'd try to start over one small step at a time.

DWC-DQ Part 1

1. In what ways is this nonfiction book like a novel? Is it more satisfying to read fiction or nonfiction?

The author takes the facts and then fills them in with emotions and details to make it more storylike. For instance, when he buys the drugstore from Mrs. Holton:
"Holmes entered the store and there found an elderly woman named Mrs. Holton. He sensed vulnerability, sensed it the way another man might capture the trace of a woman's perfume. . . He spoke softly, smiled often, and held her in his frank blue gaze. . . "

For me, reading fiction or non-fiction satisfies different needs. I tend to swing from one to the other. I do find fiction easier to read, and with non-fiction I have to concentrate more and I do more rereading of passages, but I love to learn new things and so it's worth it.

2. What have you found out so far about Chicago, the Fair, and the two men: Burnham and Holmes?

The strongest impression I have had so far in the description of Chicago at the time is how relatively safe the world around me is. All the talks of anonymous death, two people killed a day at the city's railroad crossings, heads cut off, carriages careening into crowds, fires killing a dozen people a day and the newspapers saying people were "roasted", all the sickness and murder, etc.--it makes our world look like something from Mary Poppins. We try so much these days to shield our children from viewing too much violence, but in Chicago at the time it was day to day life. It seems like, and maybe I'm wrong, that in today's world, Holmes would have been been arrested for fraud and debt before he even had a chance to build his nightmare mansion.

DWC - DQ Part 1

In what ways is this nonfiction book like a novel? Is it more satisfying to read fiction or nonfiction?

I like to read both fiction and nonfiction--fiction for the way it takes me to places I may never go and introduces me to people I may never meet, and nonfiction for the way it makes me think about the world we live in and draw connections between past and present.

There were a few passages in this first part that really struck me. Here is one from pp. 25-26.

This was the heyday of architectural invention. Elevators got faster and safer. Glassmakers became adept at turning out ever larger sheets of plate glass. William Jenney, of the firm Loring & Jenney, where Burnham started his architectural career, designed the first building to have a load-bearing metal frame, in which the burden of supporting the structure was shifted from the exterior walls to a skeleton of iron and steel. Burnham and Root realized that Jenney's innovation freed builders from the last physical constraints on altitude.

While reading this I couldn't help but think of the burned out remains of the Word Trade Center buildings, and the mass of twisted steel that stood. We don't often think about the skeleton of a building, but the collapse of the towers made them visible. I find I think about how things are made more often now, and frequently take time to stop and watch buildings as they go up.

I found the section about determining a site for the Fair to be very frustrating, and can't imagine what Burnham and Root were feeling. The fact that the politicians dragged their feet so long when they knew time was of the essence and the importance of the Fair to both Chicago and the U.S. must have been infuriating. It's sad that little seems to have changed. The city of Richmond will lose its AAA baseball team this year because the city spent more than two years avoiding the issue of maintaining and updating the stadium. Frustrated by the lack of progress, the team decided to leave. I suppose this happens often, but Burnham and Root had no such out.

After reading this section I wanted to know more about the roots of Chicago architecture. I found a brief article from CNN entitled Chicago: Tracing Modern Architecture. Here's what they have to say about Burnham (and Root).

DANIEL BURNHAM (1846-1912): CITY PLANNER

Burnham was an influential early Chicago architect but is most notable for his 1909 Plan for Chicago and its lasting influence on urban planning.

"Even in modern Chicago in 2007, people think about his plan when looking to do new things in the city," Neises said.

Early in his career, Burnham worked with William Le Baron Jenney, who is known as the "father of the skyscraper" for his work with metal-frame construction.

Later, Burnham and his partner, John Wellborn Root, built a number of buildings in what became known as the Chicago commercial style, which used metal framework to allow for taller buildings with larger windows and more open floor plans.

Don't miss:

The Rookery (1885-88), 209 S. LaSalle St. This building, designed by Burnham and Root, uses both load-bearing masonry and metal-frame construction, tracing the evolution of commercial architecture.

Santa Fe Building (1904), 224 S. Michigan Ave. Designed by D.H. Burnham and Co., the building is the former home of Burnham's own offices and now houses the Chicago Architecture Foundation. It's a mature version of the Chicago commercial style that developed in the 1880s.

The Chicago Landmarks site has an architect's tour you can take online. It introduces Daniel Burnham and then describes some of his major projects and presents photos of them.

That's it for now. I'm still trying to make sense of the puzzle that is Holmes.

Trying to Remember

I listened to Devil in White City several years ago so am trying to remember more about it. The links have been a wonderful enrichment of the story. At first, I was thinking that the popular quilt contest sponsored by Sears was at this Chicago World's Fair, but I just discovered that they were 40 years apart--the book's fair was in 1893 while the one with the Sears quilt contest was in 1933.

The murders were sure creepy! That part I well remember.

Insofar as the non-fiction vs. fictional type of read, I thought the info on the architects did read (or listen) like non-fiction whereas the murderer and victims read more like fiction.

H.H. Holmes and the Murder Castle

June 13, 2008 - 9pm ET
John Borowski appears on
The Biography Channel program:
H.H. Holmes and the
Murder Castle.

http://www.hhholmesthefilm.com/

DWC-Dc-Part I

1. In what ways is this nonfiction book like a novel? Is it more satisfying to read fiction or nonfiction?

I think the author set out to tell a story, it just so happens that the story is about real events. I read a lot of both fiction and non-fiction. I usually prefer fiction because it is usually written for the enjoyment of reading as opposed to most non which is usually written to bear facts. But I have been pleasantly surprised on the occasion when the facts actually tell a story. These are almost never textbooks…Lol

2. What have you found out so far about Chicago, the Fair, and the two men: Burnham and Holmes?

Burnham was very industrious, and thinking well ahead of his time. But I don’t think he would have really made such a large impact on architecture with out Root. It took both the creative and structured minds to accomplish what they did.

What makes men evil? Holmes was gifted with about the same genius and creativity as Burnham but was truly a sick individual. I don’t know if there was a turning point the led to his psychopathic behavior, signs that were missed. We are only recently learning the early warnings of cereal killers such as cruelty to animals and what not and even then it is still over looked until it is too late and those that did see it reflect back and say they excused it because they thought they were just being children…


"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood" Daniel H. Burnham, Director of Works, Columbian Exposition, 1893

DWC - Some Resources

I just started reading yesterday, so I've a bit of catching up to do. I did start by doing a bit of exploring. Here are some sites you may enjoy looking at.

World's Columbian Exposition of 1893: Digital History Collection
This site has photos and other images. If you click on The Dream City you can look at the Fair buildings, art and sculpture and more. The Highlights link also has a variety of interesting materials, like photos of the construction and destruction of the Fair.

The World's Columbian Exposition: Idea, Experience, Aftermath
This is a hypertext exploration of the Fair.

Here are two sites for learning more about the author and the book.
NPR Interview with Scott Simon
Interview with the Author (Answers to questions on the book's web site).

I read a bit of the conversation in the comments about the classification of the book. This is what I would call creative nonfiction. It reminds me a bit of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. It is written to read like fiction, but is thoroughly researched.

Devil in White City Questions

Burnham


Sketches of Holmes ->

1. In what ways is this nonfiction book like a novel? Is it more satisfying to read fiction or nonfiction?

I find fiction more satisfying because there is a story, a plot, with action that I need to imagine in order to understand and enjoy. With non-fiction I need a visual report of the actual people and places, so with this book I have done a lot of googling for images of the Chicago fair.

2. What have you found out so far about Chicago, the Fair, and the two men: Burnham and Holmes? I have found daguerotypes of photos of the fairgrounds. I also am looking for pictures of the people involved in the building of the fair. This picture is landscape architect Fredrich Olmsted.

DWC-DQ ~ Part I ~ Frozen Music

We're really just getting started, and the discussion questions I've found online mostly ask us to look at the whole book. Too soon for that, so here's a broad question ... or two. Before you answer the first question, you may want to see (in the comments section below) what Shelley and Mary and I have been talking about.

1. In what ways is this nonfiction book like a novel? Is it more satisfying to read fiction or nonfiction?

2. What have you found out so far about Chicago, the Fair, and the two men: Burnham and Holmes?

DWC ~ getting to know Burnham & Root

Daniel Burnham and his partner John Root "were Chicago's leading architects" (p. 14). I enjoyed a couple of paragraphs on page 27, one about Root and the other about how they operated their business. I think I would have liked these fellows:

Root played the organ every Sunday morning at the First Presbyterian Church. ... He had a sly sense of humor. One Sunday morning he played the organ with a particular gravity. It was a while before anyone noticed he was playing "Shoo, Fly."

Each man recognized and respected the other's skills. The resultant harmony was reflected in the operation of their office ... Burnham also created an office culture that anticipated that of businesses that would not appear for another century. He installed a gym. During lunch hour employees played handball. Burnham gave fencing lessons. Root played impromptu recitals on a rented piano. "The office was full of a rush of work ... but the spirit of the place was delightfully free and easy and human in comparison with other offices..."

I wonder what they would have thought of our Essencia Island. Ha! As you can see, I haven't gotten very far into the book, but I thought I'd share what I'd found.

Windfalls Art Tie-In

In the Spring 2008 issue of Ms. is an article about artist Barbara Carrasco whose art work deals with skin color and oppression most specifically as it has impacted the Chicana community. One of her featured works is her 1978 "Pregnant Woman in a Ball of Yarn". I tried to Google this to include a link to the work, but had no luck. The lithograph is of a naked pregnant woman entrapped in a ball of yarn with a knitted baby bootie shown as well as an ominous knitting needle. The article descibes the work stating that the artist: "tackles the issue of unwanted pregnancy and the inevitable invisibility, entrapment and social isolation of young unwed mothers. One of her most renowned and haunting images, it captures the economic immobilization experienced by young, poor women of color who find themselves pregnant with no, or very little, emotional support. At the same time, it flies in the face of the sanctification of motherhood by Mexican and Chicana/o culture."

Both the lithograph and the description of it reminded me of Windfalls. Although both of the women in the book were probably white, many of the issues were the same. However, neither faced the "sanctification of motherhood" in their culture nor the religious issue of abortion except Cherise's connection through the clinic. Our discussions really never hit with much depth on the pregnancy decisions nor on how these issues impact different cultural groups.

A little late for the book's discussion, but the article especially this artwork was more meaningful to me because I had read Windfalls.

I figured out how to do a new post!

Question...off to the right of the blog down to the bottom it says a list of "Our Participants" and for me it says Loren, Lori. They are not underlined. Also, I wondered how Loren (that is my name but I do not think I entered it anywhere) got there. Then below that it says "Our Profiles" and my "Lj" is there with a link line there. I wondered how I can get the top area to have a link line!

Did that make sense?

Thanx!
Lj

Windfalls "Into the Flux" Discussion Questions

What depressing things have you picked up in the book? What positive things?

Depressing things I noticed once I'd finished this section are Anna having to consider aborting a baby that she really wants because her husband has lost his job and the family might have to move and Cerise having a troublesome teenage while in school with a toddler at home and not very much money.

Positive things I noticed are Anna's love for her husband, daughter, the place where they live, and her photographs--she sees beauty in a lot of things, and Cerise's love for her children and her hopes for a better future for all of them--she won't give up.

What do you think will come of this fight between Cerise and Melody about the battery?

I think that Melody, being the contrary teenage she is and loving her little brother, will take the battery from the fire alarm to replace the one in his toy, forgetting or choosing not to put a new battery in the fire alarm afterwards. This seems to foreshadow the possibility of a fire in the trailer which they won't be warned about, perhaps leading to dire consequences.