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After reading “Faith and Doubt: The Imaginative Dimensions of the Great Chicago Fire,” it has really opened my eyes to a whole new perspective of both the people and society associated with the fire. Despite the destruction of society and the people behind the fire, Biel stated how the fire actually brought somewhat of a needed purge to Chicago, almost as if God was giving the city another chance; an opportunity for Chicago to be born again from the ashes and start over (Biel 146.) I really agree with what Biel had in mind; after reviewing all of his statements of Chicago before the fire, the city was full of “extra weight;” many citizens were too focused on greed and luxury, some were too obsessed with prostitutes, and in general over-settlement was bringing social chaos into society (131.) If there is something to take away from the chapter, it would be taking things for granted and not truly appreciating what you have until it’s all gone. People have the drive to stand as one and rebuild society once they have all been struck in the same place. It is an event like this that makes me wonder if God did it for a specific reason, not primarily to punish the people of Chicago, but rather to challenge them. As Reverend Poe states in his book, Barriers Burned Away, “All that has come out of the crucible of this fire is my character myself (138.”) When all material possessions were lost, it made people grateful for what they had. In my classmate @ramsescastillo03’s work, I note the part where he mentioned how the fire was just a new experience to the city of Chicago. Experiences like those of Chicago are never easy to recover from, but they have helped me realize that ways of society can always be improved and that society is never “finished;” it all matters on how people work with what they have and how they perceive the situation’s end result.