Novels are often written to convey an inherent truth about life. However, when a non-fiction book is written and the inherent truth still prevails, one must take note of the lesson to be learned. This concept appears in The Devil in the White City, a nonfiction work by Erik Larson describing the events leading up to and during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago; it is organized in a novelistic way and accompanied by a life lesson, just like in a traditional novel. One of the characters, John Root, and his role in the World's Fair, illustrates the lesson that no matter how hard one works, the realization of one's dreams may never happen. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In The Devil in the White City, Root is present at the beginning of the novel as the architectural mastermind behind the construction of the Fair. His partner, Daniel Burnham, “believed that Root possessed the genius to visualize a structure quickly, in its entirety” (Larson 26). Throughout his presence in the book, he is portrayed as not being particularly good at business, but rather extremely competent - he is the brains behind the Burnham and Root company. Unfortunately, he died of pneumonia before construction of the Fair began. Although he is the more hard-working and perhaps more intelligent of the two, Root dies and is unable to realize his dream of building the Fair, while Burnham, who deals more with the business side of the Fair's operations, The company continues its momentum. This illustrates that although it may seem fair and equitable for a situation to end a certain way, one may end up getting the short end of the stick; while it may not be as drastic as death, as in Root's case, Larson shows the reader that dreams are not always achievable. Root, in history, is credited with overcoming many of Chicago's prevalent architectural struggles due to the swampy soil. His major achievement was developing the specific method of grilling iron rails needed to support the weight of an entire building in Chicago's doughy soil. It was by creating this system that he and Burnham were able to construct the Montauk Building; this structure was their “first significant downtown building” (John). Root was an innovator and his creative ideas often landed himself and Burnham jobs. Another of his many achievements is the advancement of the Chicago School architectural style. He, among other famous architects, is accredited for this development, which includes the mastery of steel in the construction and creation of the skyscraper (Rayfield). However, what would have been his most famous and lucrative achievement was the World's Fair. His previous achievements and advances in the field of architecture, the very ones that gave him the opportunity to build the Fair, ultimately meant nothing to him, since his death erased the possibility of achievements that could have arisen from his aforementioned work. Her situation shows that sometimes dreams, no matter how hard you try to make them come true, may never come true. No matter the job, some things are beyond our control. Root's career as an architect was not given to him. He worked tirelessly during his teenage years to achieve his goals; his brother notes that he was extremely focused as a student: "John was at university...we always had lots of drawing boards in our room on which drawings were made.