DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Trestrail, Susan

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 25
Spring 5-1-2018
Morning Tea
Susan Trestrail
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Trestrail, Susan (2018) "Morning Tea," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 25.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/25
Prairie Light Review 28
Morning Tea
I wait for my orchids to bloom all at
once. Just then my white lace curtains
will flow and billow with the fall breeze.
The lemon wedges line the saucer, lie
near the spiced tea bag dripping with
the remnants of freshly steeped nostalgia.
 
I sit across the desk from the man who
killed my brother. His voice, meant to
comfort, covers me with unending shame.
I swallow his words, one by one, each
a thorn pinched from his memorial rose.
 
Remember always
How to peak meringue
Change a tire.
Yellow paint, blue trim
Collaged wallpaper
Stolen posters
Kitchen puppet shows
and Neverland.
 
The curtain flows, but it is 
cold, so I lower the window.
Before I die, I will learn to 
savor every morsel of my life. 
-Susan Trestrail
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Trestrail: Morning Tea
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English

Morning Tea

Hurst, Sean

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 27
Spring 5-1-2018
Renovation
Sean Hurst
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Hurst, Sean (2018) "Renovation," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 27.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/27
Spring 201831
“Renovation”
Sean Hurst
Photography
1
Hurst: Renovation
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Renovation

Schubert, Susan

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 28
Spring 5-1-2018
Self Portrait
Susan Schubert
College of DuPage
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The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Schubert, Susan (2018) "Self Portrait," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 28.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/28
Prairie Light Review 32 1
Schubert: Self Portrait
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Self Portrait

Davis, Hannah

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 51
Spring 5-1-2018
Self Portrait 2018
Hannah Davis
College of DuPage
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The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Hannah (2018) "Self Portrait 2018," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 51.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/51
Prairie Light Review 62
 My dad stands up, towering over us as we sit crouched in our chairs. 
He turns to me. “Would you like something else to drink?”
 “Uh, sure. Another green tea.” I stare at my mother, who has resort-
ed to picking up a newspaper that a former patron left behind. She purses 
her lips as she reads. When she blinks, I notice her eyes aren’t green at all. 
They are hazel, more amber than green, reflecting the blouse she is wearing 
or eye shadow she has on. Today, she is wearing a red t-shirt, and her face is 
clean of makeup.
 I go up to the counter to check on my dad, with the request for my 
tea to be topped with some ice. The cashier sets down the two drinks and 
rings my dad up. $8.25. My dad uncreases his wallet, lifts out a $10 bill, and 
hands it to the cashier. He cherishes the $1.75 he receives as change.
-Julie P. Center
“Self  Portrait 2018”
Hannah Davis
Photography
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Self Portrait 2018

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 53
Spring 5-1-2018
Gratitude
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in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
(2018) "Gratitude," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 53.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/53
Prairie Light Review 64
Gratitude
We are grateful for programming support from Dr. An Rondeau, Dr. Donna Stewart, 
Barb Groves, Dean Chuck Boone, Dean Sandra Martins, and Cathie Walker. We ap-
plaud the constant nudging from faculty, who encourage their students to submit 
work, and we offer gratitude to the teaching staff, who help students revise and 
perfect their creative submissions. Thanks to Chuck Steele, Shannon Hernandez, 
Jelymar Mejia, Nicole Plumtree, and the Office of Student Life for their constant 
publicity and support. Also, thanks to Bailey Kovac and Doug Wade for their knowl-
edge, patience, and printing service at Alpha Graphics in Lisle.
Colophon
Twice a year for publication in the December and May issues, all students, faculty, 
staff, and the College of DuPage District 502 community are invited to submit up 
to four creative works per entrant of original fiction; nonfiction; vampire/mystery/
fiction; essays; poetry; graphic essays; black and white and color photography; and 
2D and 3D artwork of any medium. A class of student editors who are enrolled in 
English 2210 reads blind entries before making final selections through a numer-
ical voting system. The class is guided by a faculty advisor, who additionally leads 
the hiring process for the officer positions of Editor-In-Chief, Production Editor, 
and Marketing Editor. Over the course of the semester the Editor-In-Chief leads 
the team and supervises all operations, including assisting Marketing Editors as 
they work to advertise upcoming deadlines and events and oversee PLR correspon-
dence, and assisting the Production Editor as they put together the magazine. Final 
edits are approved by the editorial staff before the finished product is sent to the 
printers near the end of the semester.
Cover: 80 Pound Matte Paperstock
Design: Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.5, Adobe Indesign cs6, Adobe Illustrator cs6. 
Composed on a custom Windows workstation.
Finance and Operation: The publication is funded through College of DuPage’s 
Student Life.
Publishing: AlphaGraphics, Lisle, Illinois.
Paperstock: 70 Pound Matte Paperstock.
Photography: All photography in this magazine is provided by the residents of 
district 502.
Typography: Avenir, Avenir Next Condensed, American Typewriter, Calisto MT. All 
fonts are open source and free to use, or paid for by Student Life.
1
et al.: Gratitude
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Gratitude

Fuller, Shaylin

ESSAI
Volume 16 Article 16
Spring 2018
Unchanging Racism in Chicago A Story Retold in
Illinois Literature
Shaylin Fuller
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
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ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Fuller, Shaylin (2018) "Unchanging Racism in Chicago A Story Retold in Illinois Literature," ESSAI: Vol. 16 , Article 16.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/16
33 
Unchanging Racism in Chicago 
A Story Retold in Illinois Literature 
 
by Shaylin Fuller 
 
English 1102 
 
 
 
hicago has a rich history that has been encapsulated by much of Illinois’ literature. The 
embodiment of the city has shifted and developed over time, ranging from its roots in the 
beautiful quiet prairie, to the completely contrasting machines of politics and skyscrapers one 
hundred times the height of the tall prairie grass. Although the city’s past may seem contrasting, each 
stage of its life feeds into patterns; from determination for development to the horrors of prejudice. 
Prejudice towards red skin has shifted to black skin. The Prairie setting has grown into skyscrapers. 
Two stories represent a century of racism “The Indian Hater” by James Hall and “Looking for Mr. 
Green” by Saul Bellow. These two stories, one century apart, tell the truth that racism has not 
disappeared. When looking at the history of Chicago people tend to separate each stage, but instead 
should look at the underlying causes that lie in its history and literature. 
 Looking into individual stories of Illinois’ literature does not tell us the whole story of issue 
or topics written about, but they do serve as pieces to a bigger puzzle of Illinois history. One story 
cannot be regarded as the complete truth, but should be used in tandem and balanced with several 
pieces of literature, documents, and other points of view. Literary devices like symbolism, 
personification, or exaggeration allow us to find patterns or draw similarity between different time 
periods. Analyzing in this way makes it clear that our history is riddled with similarity. James Hurt’s 
1992 book, Writing Illinois, came from his desire to understand Illinois as well as his fellow 
Illinoisans. He talks about the ways they describe the history of the state with, “a mixture of affection 
and embarrassment” (Hurt 2). 
 This compilation gives us insight into many of these important pieces of literature focused on 
the prairie, Lincoln, and Chicago. The book is organized by subject matter over sequence of events 
because Hurt saw these three topics as intertwined, that literature braided them together to create a 
certain culture, a “sort of world we have written for ourselves and the way we have written ourselves 
into it” (Hurt 3). Illinois’ identity is rooted in the prairie, Lincoln is always depicted as a product of 
the prairie, and Chicago is seen as an extension of the prairie. One parallel he draws between the 
three is the idea of conjuring something out of nothing. The first white settlers wrote accounts of 
standing looking as vast nothingness, doubting its ability to support civilization. Biographies written 
about Lincoln wondered how such a great man could rise from a “stagnant, putrid, pool” like Illinois 
(Edmunds 41). And finally, a character in Saul Bellow’s 1975 book Humboldt's Gift says, “I was 
trained in Chicago to make something out of nothing. In Chicago you become a connoisseur of the 
near-nothing” (Bellow, 23). This character is an echo of 100 years of describing Chicago as a sort of 
miracle that rose from nothing. 
 Hurt’s observations of the parallels between these three subjects in literature is an example of 
using literature to find patterns in history. Hurt asks, how could it be something and everything all at 
once, through its whole history? Well, the answer is because the people observing and writing about 
it were simply seeing something new and unfamiliar. It’s flat landscape was far different from the 
varied European landscape with hills, trees, and streams. Likewise, Lincoln’s frontier background 
was not one of leadership that could be recognized by people criticizing him. The confusion of what 
Chicago was through its history is responsible for the way Hurt says people of Illinois currently talk 
about the state, with both affection and embarrassment. 
C
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 A conclusion like this about Chicago’s current state takes analysis of multiple sources. These 
must be taken throughout the state’s entire history, using specific factors (like the prairie, Lincoln, 
and Chicago) as an anchor from which to make comparisons. In reference to the problem of racism, 
the anchor could be the setting that moves from desolate prairie to concrete jungle; and skin color 
that moves from red skin, to black skin. The complexities and distrust of racists are what remains 
unchanged. President Abraham Lincoln encapsulated this lack of change best when he said, “Fellow 
citizens, we cannot escape history” (1862 Address to Congress). 
 In order to clarify the representation of racism in Illinois’ literature, a definition of racism 
must be established. In Chicago’s literature, it presents itself as a racial hierarchy where one is better 
than the other. The result is a set of prejudiced emotions; of seeing people as “the other.” The 
definition of racism, though, should only be a starting point from which to begin learning. Like with 
any topic, many accounts should be taken into consideration with this topic including emotional 
primary sources, and more analytical and historical secondary sources. In order to understand each of 
the stories, historical background should be considered, starting with “The Indian Hater.” 
 In the 1840’s, Americans decided that the West, which they had assigned to the Indians, now 
needed to be subject to their civilization. The previous notion of moving them out of the way was no 
longer an option, for anywhere they thought to move them would put them in the way of Americans 
and their race to innovation. They were now a problem to be dealt and the solution was that they 
became “civilized” or died. The eventual resolution was the reservation system where each tribe was 
assigned a clearly defined zone. Roy Harvey Pearce referred to these in his 1953 book Savagism and 
Civilization: A Study of the Indian and the American Mind, as, “savage islands in the midst of 
civilized seas” (Pearce 239). The choice of the word savage is riddled with irony because Pearce is a 
secondary source, writing about the past with a bias that suggests Americans were in the wrong. 
Without saying it, he is setting a tone of racism that shows Americans viewed their way of life as 
superior and that it should be uniformly practiced among all people. These segregated plots were put 
into place with the hope that once the Native Americans were on their own, they would have the 
sense to become civilized. Which of course, failed as it had many times before. The resulting 
atmosphere was dishonor from the Americans, distress from the Natives, and violence on both sides. 
 A representation of the resulting racism in literature can be found in a collection of short 
stories called “The Indian Hater” and Other Stories by James Hall. In the story, The Indian Hater, 
the subject of the racism is the Native Americans and the setting is the prairie. The story is about a 
backwoodsman who is thought to murder Indians with his rifle because his “kin has been murdered 
by the savages in early times” (Hall 142). 
 Analyzing the literature as a part of the historical whole allows the reader to see the 
emotional side of the story and places the reader in the shoes of whichever character he or she 
decides to identify with. In this story it could be the bystander who is narrating the story. Or it could 
be the the immediate hostility from the backwoodsman. Or maybe the resulting fear the Indians 
express, as if they’d practiced it before. No matter which the reader embodies, a different level of 
understanding is added to the history. At the same time, the contrast between “us” and “them” in the 
story and hatred rooted in the past is a pattern that can be drawn upon when analyzing similar 
literature all throughout history. The racism in this story is perpetuated mostly by Christian 
hypocrisy. The backwoodsman explains his passion for getting revenge toward those who killed his 
family, saying, “when peace came, I continued to make war. I made it a rule to kill every red skin 
that came in my way” (Hall, 12). His vengeance is not toward the individuals, but the whole race. His 
deep hatred is almost ironic when he says, “I could not quench my thirst for the blood of those 
monsters” (Hall, 12). His description of himself as bloodthirsty is a barbaric quality of a savage or 
“monster”. His separation of himself from the those who murdered his family is hypocritical in itself. 
But, the backwoodsman’s hypocrisy runs deeper. He justifies murder and violence because it is only 
unto Indians that he casts it. He says to the narrator of the story, “I shall not hurt a hair of your 
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35 
head...I never harmed a christian man” (Hall, 11). His claims suggest that he thinks he is a good 
christian even though he’s killed innocent Indians, beyond those who killed his family. In one of the 
most well known verses of the New Testament Jesus tells his followers not to indulge in evil and 
revenge but instead, “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if 
anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well” (Matthew 5:38-40). The 
backwoodsman has had his “shirt” stolen from him and instead of handing over his coat, he takes the 
coat off the back of every man that resembles he who stole his shirt. 
 The style of the end of the story sounds almost biblical as the backwoodsman urges the 
narrator to go, and leave him on his way and to try to condemn him if he ever loses all of his loved 
ones (Hall, 12). This style effectively provokes the reader to make a biblical connection and notice 
the theme of hypocrisy. The emotions of feeling the need to defend “the other” against the hypocrite 
make the reader realize the injustice of hatred of an entire race and the killing innocent individuals 
without having to say it outright. These emotions can be felt no matter the subject or the setting. 
 A century later, Chicago has modernized and industrialized but the deep rooted divide can 
still be recognized in literature. Red skin is now black, and the tall prairie grass is now giant 
skyscrapers. 
 Violent crime is a huge problem in many of Chicago’s neighborhoods. Today, homicide rates 
in Chicago are blamed for a spike in the rates of the entire nation (Wheeling 1). Shooting sprees and 
other violent incidents constantly flood the news. This isn't the case in all Chicago neighborhoods; 
the predominantly white neighborhoods have actually improved. The violence in black 
neighborhoods is due to a history of policies that leave people in these neighborhoods deprived of 
resources like good health care, jobs, and schooling, similar to conditions in Native reservations. 
 Many factors are to blame, including housing like The Projects—rows of housing that stack 
poor people on top of each other. These housing projects can be compared to the reservations that the 
Natives were set aside on. That is because they are both based on the same prejudice ideal that one 
race is less civilized and needs to be contained elsewhere. Another problem often talked about is 
Chicago Public Schools; 60 years after Brown vs. Board of Education, segregation in schools is still 
clearly present. Budget cuts and layoffs result in lack of opportunity for low income students that 
don’t have the choice of private schooling. 
 Analysis of literature on the topic of Chicago’s racism brings the reader into the emotional 
identification with black characters, similar to prejudice toward Natives in “The Indian Hater” . Saul 
Bellow’s 1968 story “Looking for Mr. Green” lets the reader in to the emotional world of prejudice 
in Chicago during hard economic times. It also allows the reader to draw chilling parallels between 
both pieces of literature and realize this is an unchanging problem. 
 Just like Hall, Bellow uses irony to move his story along, making the journey all about a 
white man not able to find the man who desperately needs this government relief check. The divide 
can be seen when Grebe, the white man delivering the check, is questioning colored people that work 
with Mr. Green. Their replies are distrustful because Grebe is seen “as an emissary from hostile 
appearances” (Bellow 23). A probable cause for their distrust was the recent 1919 race riot, only 
years before the story, which is set in an economically depressed 1930’s Chicago. Bellow’s approach 
is the opposite from Hall’s, putting the white man into the presence of “the other”, instead of having 
“the other” walk in to fear of the white man. In both stories, an atmosphere of distrust, even hatred, is 
created along a divide that is deep-seeded. The story uses a lot of symbolic representation through the 
characters of a system that confuses Grebe, as he wonders why we are accepting of paying for the 
terrible way things are, giving the El as an example of this success. The notion of making something 
from nothing is seen again when Grebe contemplates the amount of times Chicago has been rebuilt. 
 In many cases, the underlying importance of money and the need to “make something out of 
nothing” is the cause of distrust and prejudice. Pearce describes this correlation of prejudice toward 
the Natives. He mentions that, to a westerner like Senator Thomas Hart Benton, the Natives failure 
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36 
was a success. This is because “his eye was always on the bigger and better and richer life that was to 
rise when the West was civilized” (Pearce 239). The result of the importance of wealth is economic 
competition that creates a divide. In a speech Benton made to his colleges about the inferiority of the 
Indians, he talks about how the “red men” are in the way of commerce that needs to happen with the 
Orientals (yellow men). Benton articulates that the white race is superior, and “the other” is simply 
an obstacle and a problem to be dealt with. As a result, “it would seem,” he said, “that the white race 
alone received the divine command, to subdue and replenish the earth!” (Pearce 239). This is again 
the notion that something is to be made of nothing. The view that there is something to be fixed here, 
and that what is currently there (the Indians), is no good. The result of this outlook is a city still 
riddled with racial conflict. 
 Today, one in seven Illinois residents is an immigrant. Also, one in six Illinois workers is an 
immigrant, making up a huge part of the workforce among a range of industries from health care to 
construction. Among other benefits of Illinois Immigrants is billions of dollars in tax contributions 
and tens of billions in consumption dollars toward Illinois’ economy (American Immigration 
Council). Despite known benefits, President Donald Trump is committed to develop policies not in 
their favor, like border security. Policy about a wall is eerily familiar to the past.[-p (projects, 
reservation, moving the problem elsewhere, the problem being “the other” “Their dream is now a 
nightmare.” 
 Literature can provide a reader with much more information than history books alone. When 
the two are paired together, history looks less like a timeline and more like a variation of stories, all 
separated into topics. Each story repeats itself, with the same cause and effect pattern found one 
hundred years before—only the character and setting change. In the case of Chicago, racism is one of 
these topics and the stories are repeated through and through its past. The authors of these stories 
suggest that viewing events in history is naive. In order to analyze an event, we must look at the 
whole picture, using literature as a tool. 
 
 
  
 
Works Cited 
 
Bellow, Saul. Finding Mr. Green. 1968. 
This is a secondary source because it is fiction. I used the story to represent the manifestation of 
racism in more recent times. 
 
Bray, Robert. A Reader's Guide to Illinois Literature. Springfield, Authority of the State of 
Illinois, 1985. 
This is a secondary source. I used it to get information about the types of literature in Illinois and to 
get a better picture of its history as a whole. 
 
Edmunds, George. Facts and Falsehoods Concerning the War on the South, 1861-1865. 1904. 
I chose this source to get reliable quotes. The description of the book is an extremely rare source that 
show that American people have not been told the truth about the “Civil-war”. It is a secondary 
source but I used it as a primary source, because it uses quotes from Northerners that were primary 
sources. 
 
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37 
Hall, James. "The Indian Hater" and Other Stories. 1828. 
This is a secondary source because it is fiction. I used this story to analyze the manifestation of 
racism in earlier times. 
 
Hurt, James. Writing Illinois. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 1992. 
This is a secondary source. I used this book to get the idea that everything in Illinois history is related 
to the Prairie, Lincoln, and Chicago. I also used it to get the idea that subject matter is a good way to 
organize things rather than chronology because history repeats itself. 
 
“Immigrants in Illinois.” American Immigration Council, 9 May 2018. Pearce, Roy Harvey. 
Savagism and Civilization: A Study of the Indian and the American Mind. 1953. 
This is a secondary source with a lot of good analysis and history on the time period of the story 
“The Indian Hater” that I did not know. 
 
 
 
5
Fuller: Unchanging Racism in Chicago
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Unchanging Racism in Chicago A Story Retold in Illinois Literature

Khorfan, Samira

ESSAI
Volume 16 Article 20
Spring 2018
The Need for Tolerance & Self Acceptance
Samira Khorfan
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Khorfan, Samira (2018) "The Need for Tolerance & Self Acceptance," ESSAI: Vol. 16 , Article 20.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/20
48 
The Need for Tolerance & Self Acceptance 
 
by Samira Khorfan 
 
(Honors English 1153) 
 
 
 
edia today has caused homosexual matters to seem as a topic that is widely accepted. 
Shows such as The 100 and Orange Is The New Black lack in contemplating the social and 
psychological hardships the LGBT community face for deciding to be themselves. By not 
reminding society of the pain these individuals endure, people begin to forget that homosexuality 
continues to be a taboo topic. According to CNN, Wisconsin became the first state to outlaw 
discrimination against those with a different sexual orientation in 1982 (“LGBT Rights Milestones 
Fast Facts”). However, it’s critical to remember that there were artists who addressed this issue back 
when homosexuality was heavily frowned upon. The play The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman is 
a piece that notoriously brought up the subject of homosexuality during an era in which art 
experienced an extreme number of regulations on what it could express. The play follows the 
aftermath of a student falsely blaming her two female teachers of engaging in homosexual acts. This 
accusation causes the two women to loose their family and community’s respect. One teacher even 
reveals that she looses respect for herself. I would like to propose The Children’s Hour by Lillian 
Hellman as one of the theatrical performances to be produced next year at College of DuPage and 
that each production held will be followed by a group discussion. Both the play and discussion will 
provide awareness on the importance of tolerance and self-acceptance in regards to homosexual 
matters. 
 The first step in accepting new beliefs begins with tolerance, which is a characteristic society 
in the 1930s was not implementing. Written in 1934, The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman 
highlights the lack of tolerance two young self-employed teachers, Martha Dobie and Karen Wright, 
receive when they are falsely accused of having an affair by their student Mary Tilford. Due to the 
lack of tolerance that existed towards homosexuals during this decade, Martha and Karen’s academic 
business was immediately destroyed because of this accusation. Martha describes the scene as “(…) a 
madhouse. People [were] rushing in and out, the children [were] being pushed into cars” (Hellman 
47). Rather than focusing on the level of education, work ethic and values these women exemplified, 
the parents solely focused on their supposedly abnormal sexual preference, and they had no interest 
in tolerating it. Amelia Tilford (Mary’s Grandmother) states, “This—this thing is your own. Go away 
with it. I don’t understand it and I don’t want any part of it” (Hellman 49). Even though these women 
were not truly in an affair, the treatment they received from the town (who believed the accusation) 
will allow the audience to feel sympathy for their hardships. Providing students with an 
understanding of the pain discrimination and a lack of tolerance can induce. Society continues to 
tackle these problems, but surprisingly, has not found a path towards resolution. 
 According to research conducted by GLAAD (an LGBTQ media advocacy organization) on 
the years 2016-17, “Of the 901 regular characters expected to appear on broadcast scripted prime 
time programming this season, 58 (6.4%) identify as LGBTQ” (France). This statistic is a record in 
the 21 years GLAAD has been tracking these numbers (Sidahmed). However, such attention has not 
improved the treatment the LGBT community faces. In fact, the FBI found that “In 2016, 6,121 hate 
crime incidents were reported --an increase of five percent from 2015.” (Dashow). In addition, a 
survey conducted by the Harris Poll found that society has become increasingly more uncomfortable 
with individuals that are part of the LGBT community. Per the Harris Poll, “In 2014, 30% of those 
surveyed said they were “very” or “somewhat” uncomfortable having their child placed in a class 
M
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49 
with an LGBT teacher. (…) 2016, 28%. In 2017, it jumped to 31%” (Miller). As a result, the 
assumption that modern day society has surpassed the times of prejudice against homosexuals 
because of the TV industry’s increase in LGBT content is false. Sadly, American citizens continue to 
be harmed because of their differences. 
 In addition to facing discrimination from the public, Martha Dobie experiences a struggle to 
accept herself as a lesbian living in the 1930s. Towards the end of the play, Martha experiences a 
personal revelation about who she truly is. However, rather than accepting her identity, she begins to 
express self-hatred. Martha states, “I’ve been telling myself that since the night we heard the child 
say it; I’ve been praying I could convince myself, I can’t any longer. It’s there. (…) I’ve ruined your 
life. I’ve ruined my own” (Hellman 71-72). This inability to accept herself causes Martha to end her 
life in frustration and sadness: “Martha looks around the room, slowly, carefully. (…) [She] stands at 
the door for a second looking at Karen, then slowly shuts the door behind her. (…) A shot is heard” 
(Hellman 72). Martha’s self-hatred is what causes her to commit suicide. Obviously, this is not the 
correct way to deal with such a revelation, and I want the audience to understand this because this 
still continues today. Today, suicide amongst the LGBT community is not an uncommon ordeal. 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Nearly one-third (29%) of LGB youth 
had attempted suicide at least once in the prior year compared to 6% of heterosexual youth” 
(“Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health”). A lack of self-acceptance still exists within the 
LGBT community, and people continue to find it difficult to be themselves. This complex subject 
should be elaborated on in the after show discussion to provide further awareness. 
 Due to society’s continuous inability to fully accept or tolerate the LGBT community, a 
discussion should be held after every performance to encourage the audience to take action. The after 
show discussion could begin with the actors and audience examining the themes present in the play 
and how they connect to the present day. By allowing students to compare and contrast the 1930s 
with today, they will notice how these topics continue to resonate. In addition, the discussion should 
include a brief speech from the advisor and president of Pride Alliance, which is an organization at 
College of DuPage that supports and accepts the LGBT community. These advocates could elaborate 
on how being tolerant impacts the LGBT community and how the audience can begin taking action 
to create a world where the United States becomes more accepting. Moreover, the purpose of the 
after show discussion will be to provoke the audience to take action and remember that the themes 
present in The Children’s Hour are more than just the building blocks that form the plot of the play. 
 By creating a production of The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman, students will become 
aware of the importance of tolerating and accepting the LGBT community. This performance will 
highlight the false portrayal of acceptance displayed by series, such as The 100. However, the 
unfortunate truth is that a play created almost 80 years ago continues to exemplify the country’s 
struggles. People continue to have a delusional mindset, which is something this play will change in 
the College of DuPage community. As a result, I would like for the committee to truly consider 
staging The Children’s Hour and hosting a group discussion after each performance to improve the 
tolerance and acceptance that exists on our campus. 
 
 
  
 
Work Cited 
 
Dashow, Jordan. “Data Shows Increased Reported Incidents of Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes.” Human 
Rights Campaign, 13 Nov. 2017, hrc.org. 
France, Lisa Respers. “GLAAD: LGBTQ Representation on TV Improving.” CNN, Cable News 
Network, 9 Nov. 2017, cnn.com. 
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50 
Hellman, Lillian. The Children's Hour. Kessinger Publishing, 2010. 
“Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 June 2017, cdc.gov. 
“LGBT Rights Milestones Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 1 Apr. 2018, cnn.com. 
Miller, Susan. “Tolerance Takes a Hit: Americans Less Accepting of LGBT People in 2017, Survey 
Shows.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 25 Jan. 2018, usatoday.com. 
Sidahmed, Mazin. “LGBT Characters on TV Will Make up Larger Percentage than Ever, Study 
Finds.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Nov. 2016, theguardian.com. 
 
 
 
 
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The Need for Tolerance & Self Acceptance

Wang, Tiffany

ESSAI
Volume 16 Article 29
Spring 2018
Good Theory Gone Bad -- Preformationism
Tiffany Wang
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
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Recommended Citation
Wang, Tiffany (2018) "Good Theory Gone Bad -- Preformationism," ESSAI: Vol. 16 , Article 29.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/29
80 
Good Theory Gone Bad – Preformationism 
 
by Tiffany Wang 
 
(Honors Chemistry 1551) 
 
 
 
reformationism, or preformism, was a popular theory that tried to explain how organism 
developed from the the moment it could be perceived as an individual organism from its parent 
(“Epigenesis and Preformationism”). The theory stated that “the generation of offspring occurs 
as a result of an unfolding and growth of preformed parts” (Lawrence). In other words, these 
preformed parts were already present in the organism as a kind of blueprint or model for the 
organism, and the organism develops its parts based on those preformed parts. 
 
  
 
 
 
Fig 1. Left-most image originally drawn in 1695 by 
Nicholas Hartsoeker, a preformationist. This is a 
popular image used to reflect the ideas of 
preformationism (Philpot Education). 
 
This theory had “philosophical roots” in Descartes’ 
works (Lawrence), that nature is a machine. He said 
that nature had mechanistic-like properties and 
actions, with a small difference of humans being a 
machine but with a soul, unlike other organisms 
(Descartes). 
 
 Descartes’ philosophy introduced the idea that nature had a pre-determined process of 
growth and behavior, which preformationism is based on. As Figure 1 demonstrates, a preformed 
human in a sperm develops into the human, reflecting the image and parts of the being in the 
sperm that had served as a model or blueprint. 
 The two differing models of preformationism are the ovism model and the spermism 
model. The difference between the two models is described in an article, stating that “ovists... 
argued that a miniature human was housed within each female egg,” and “spermists… argued that 
each sperm contained little people, or homunculi” (Ludwin). 
 The ovism model was first thought up before the spermism model. Eggs were known to be 
present in the process of many animals’ initial developmental process. This idea was then thought 
to be applied to all animals, and it was concluded that “animals that gave birth to live young might 
also have an egg stage in their early development” (Lawrence). Organisms were then concluded to 
have originated from the egg, which was used to support the ovism model. In addition, the ovism 
model was supported by the idea that, because “the spherical nature of an egg [was] a universal 
symbol of generation (like the Earth, the Sun, and the chicken egg)” (Ludwin). 
 The spermism model was formed when microscopes were further advanced.  Sperms were 
observed by Nicholas Hartsoeker under a microscope, and “Oppenheimer and Lefevre's 1984 edition 
of Introduction to Embryonic Development states that ‘In 1664 Niklaas Hartsoeker drew a figure of a 
miniature human (homunculus) inside a sperm, presumably representing what he saw under the 
P
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Wang: Good Theory Gone Bad -- Preformationism
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2018
81 
microscope’” (Pinto-Correia). Hartsoeker concluded that there was a small being, a homunculus, in 
sperms, because under a microscope, he “observe[d] sperm cells moving in semen. These 
animalcules, as they were called then, seemed a perfect delivery system for little offspring, and... 
their existence in itself indicated that the homunculus was contained in the sperm” (Lawrence). In 
other words, the movement of the sperm convinced Hartsoeker that there was a miniature person 
operating the sperm from the inside of it. 
 At the time, the preformationist models competed and conflicted with the epigenesis 
approach. While preformationism states that the form of the organism has already been determined, 
and that development is leading to the form that has already been predetermined, the epigenesis 
approach is “the view that the organism is not fully formed at the beginning of embryonic 
development; rather, its form arises gradually, changing shape and acquiring its adult parts over 
time.” Epigenesis’ difference from preformationism is that organisms’ forms are not predetermined. 
These two approaches were popular at their time, and reflected similarities with the psychology 
nurture vs nature debate. 
 The preformationist model was ultimately disproven by cell theory, the division of cells 
involved in development and growth. In the book “Whose View of Life?”, Jane Maienschein 
described von Baer’s observation of cell division and conclusion about preformationism 
(specifically about the homunculus), stating that “How… could a tiny, preformed being exist in the 
unfertilized egg, be divided up by such furrowing, and retain its form?” (35). Furthermore, August 
Weismann concluded that, “within the context of cell theory and given that the entire body begins in 
one fertilized cell, all the diverse body parts can become so diversely differentiated” (“Epigenesis 
and Preformationism”). 
 
 
  
 
Works Cited 
 
Descartes, René. Discourse on Method. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1637. 
Lawrence, Cera R. “Preformationism in the Enlightenment.” Embryo Project Encyclopedia, 11 
Aug. 2008, embryo.asu.edu/pages/preformationism-enlightenment. 
Ludwin, Raymond. “The Ovary of Eve: Egg and Sperm and Preformation.” Canadian Journal of 
History, vol. 33, no. 3, 1998, p. 501. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com.cod.idm. 
oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=cod_lrc&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA56184257 
&asid=d2b2874f29bbf4b8f7e67a3a0946eb96. Accessed 12 Nov. 2017. 
Maienschein, Jane, and Edward N. Zalta (ed.). “Epigenesis and Preformationism.” The Stanford 
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 11 Oct. 2005, plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/ 
epigenesis/. 
Maienschein, Jane. Whose View of Life? Harvard University Press, 2003. 
“The Mystery of Reproduction: IVF and William Harvey.” Philpot Education, 
philpoteducation.com/mod/book/view.php?id=832&chapterid=2871. Accessed 12 Nov. 
2017. 
Pinto-Correia, Clara. “Strange Tales of Small Men: Homunculi in Reproduction.” Perspectives in 
Biology and Medicine, Winter 1999, p. 225. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/ 
i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=cod_lrc&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA54189800&it=r&asid=86e2 
57232fd238d72f1233d625240ce8. Accessed 12 Nov. 2017. 
 
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ESSAI, Vol. 16 [2018], Art. 29
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Good Theory Gone Bad -- Preformationism

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