DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Keiser, Kate

ESSAI
Volume 16 Article 19
Spring 2018
Is Woody Allen a Hedonist? A Look through the
Lens of Film-Philosophy at Crimes and
Misdemeanors
Kate Keiser
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
Keiser, Kate (2018) "Is Woody Allen a Hedonist? A Look through the Lens of Film-Philosophy at Crimes and Misdemeanors," ESSAI:
Vol. 16 , Article 19.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/19
44 
Is Woody Allen a Hedonist? 
A Look through the Lens of Film-Philosophy at Crimes and Misdemeanors 
 
by Kate Keiser 
 
(Philosophy 1110) 
 
 
 
n the critically acclaimed 1990 film, Crimes and Misdemeanors, two characters’ lives are 
juxtaposed; we see their worst fears, their desires for happiness, and their ethical decision-making 
paradigms. Within the timeframe of about four months, we are offered a cinematic glimpse into 
the morality and life-philosophy of two human beings. We are also given insights into the writer, 
director, and co-star’s life-philosophy. Woody Allen crafts a film that forces the viewer to ask many 
pertinent and probing questions. Crucially, in terms of “theoretical-applied” ethics, we are compelled 
to inquire: “If that were me, what would I do?” 
 Meet Judah Rosenthal, a wealthy, successful husband, father, and opthamologist who is at the 
end of a long-term affair with a younger woman, Dolores. Meet Clifford Stern, husband, uncle, and 
aspiring film-documentarian, who is at the end of his marriage, seeking to begin an affair with a 
younger woman, Halley. While not an immediately gripping plot premise, perhaps the questions and 
problems facing the characters, and by extension, all of humanity, is what makes this movie an 
acclaimed exposition and exploration of the philosophy of happiness. Allen’s brilliance is 
demonstrated as both major and minor characters’ decisions and behaviors center around the pursuit 
of happiness with all of its confusion, contradiction and nuance that comes with being human. Many 
philosophers have identified and labeled the elevation of happiness as the highest good and its 
relentless pursuit, hedonism. The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE), is credited 
with first articulating the framework of morality that maximizes pleasure and avoids pain (Shafer-
Landau, 2018). Briefly, hedonism’s ethic states that pleasure is good and pain is bad. Therefore, 
when placed in a decision-making paradigm, to pursue pleasure and avoid pain is the right and 
“good” choice. 
 The earliest scene featuring only Judah gives us the first look into his pain. He stands in front 
of a peacefully burning fireplace in his luxurious home where he discovers and reads an unopened 
letter from his lover, Dolores addressed to his wife. The missive is a desperate attempt to bring some 
honesty to the love triangle, of which Mrs. Rosenthal is completely oblivious. Ironically, the letter 
opens with the phrase, “I do not wish to cause suffering.” Judah’s expression turns to a grimace as 
the voice of Dolores is heard narrating the letter’s contents while the agony visibly crosses his face 
and the flames flicker in the background. While clearly distressed, his deliberation does not last long. 
The letter is committed to the consuming flames behind him. Judah encounters pain and deftly avoids 
it; for now. It becomes clear that at this juncture in his life, Judah is at a crossroads. Dolores’s 
increasing neuroticism correlate with her decreasing attractiveness, while his choice seems to be 
predetermined: despite the pleasure found in the affair and long-running deceit, he will not lose his 
social status by choosing a stewardess over his wife of twenty years. However, the pain of the guilt 
and the pain from dreading discovery is all-consuming; avoiding these pains quickly becomes his 
chief goal. 
 The archetypical scene establishing Woody Allen’s character, Cliff, features him and his 
niece exiting a movie theater in the middle of the day chatting leisurely. The act closes humorously 
with some unscrupulous advice on school and life given by uncle Cliff. Later, his niece is personified 
as the fun Cliff chooses over the work he should be doing in an admonishment from his wife. “She’s 
just so great!” he rebuts.  Events unfold in a seemingly lackluster way for Cliff and he finds himself 
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documenting his despised (and much more successful) brother-in-law for a television series on 
brilliant minds. Things bump along dismally until Cliff meets Halley; then the pursuit of the 
culmination and realization of his happiness is epitomized in winning her for himself. The flippant 
way in which he discusses his love for her with his niece while also nonchalantly acknowledging his 
current marital state is greatly indicative of what Cliff is about and how he makes his decisions. Over 
integrity and loyalty, he is after pleasure; specifically the pleasure of Halley’s reciprocal love. 
 The philosophy of hedonism, in its most idyllic and authentic form, runs much deeper than 
quickly acquiring and consuming all the base physical pleasures possible while excluding oneself 
from all pain. It recognizes a hierarchy in the quality of pleasure and elevates “attitudinal” pleasures 
(such as the enjoyment that comes from invigorating mental stimulation and being physically fit) 
over the more immediate and material ones. We see the elusive pursuit of these “superior” pleasures 
demonstrated in the eerily relatable characters on the screen before us. Cliff idealizes and lauds an 
estimable philosophy professor, Dr. Levy. It seems that he is worthy of imitation and Cliff has 
undertaken to encapsulate his worldview by filming many hours of his existential orations on the 
meaning of life. Professor Levy is a holocaust survivor who eloquently states, “It is the humans’ 
ability to love that creates meaning which lends itself to happiness.” Halley admiringly notes that 
Levy’s perspective is “so large and life-affirming.” Because Woody Allen shoots these reverential 
interactions with no humor or tongue-in-cheek dialogue, we are led to assume that Levy’s philosophy 
is not only praiseworthy to Cliff, Halley (and most people), but to Allen as well. This is the single 
character in the movie that demonstrates what ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) 
referred to as “phronesis,” which is a form of wisdom that organizes the “good” in life. It is 
essentially the happiness to be had within one’s own life contemplations or philosophizing as it 
intimately relates to one’s practical existence. However, Allen hoodwinks us, because although we 
hear of him and see Cliff’s grainy film footage, Levy remains an eerie disembodied presence. 
Anticlimactically, the last we hear, he has “gone out the window,” according to his pithy suicide 
note. This tragic incident is the impetus for a tender moment of confusion and sorrow shared by 
Halley and Cliff. However, it is in this scene that Cliff is quick to capitalize on Halley’s sympathy 
and procures his first physically pleasurable act with Halley. They kiss amidst the backdrop of his 
hero’s grand philosophical outlook evaporating in a simplistic and perfunctory act that represents 
humanity’s confusion and devaluation. 
 Congruently, we continue to witness Judah’s struggle for a life excluded from pain. It is hard 
to garner much sympathy for someone that has foolishly and volitionally fixed themselves in such a 
dilemma, however, the audience is gently rebuked by the compassionate and winsome character of 
Ben the Rabbi. During a doctor-patient interaction confirming the imminent loss of Ben’s eyesight, 
Judah forgoes his ophthalmologist persona for bit and confesses his predicament to the kindly man. 
The humanity and grace with which Judah is counseled highlights the singularity of Ben’s character. 
He is singular in that he is the only person which Woody Allen allows us to respect wholeheartedly. 
While potentially sympathizing with Allen’s other characters, their flaws are so apparent that the cast 
is nearly wholly unlikable. Upright, kind, gentle Rabbi Ben is the one exception. Ben exudes the 
“attitudinal” pleasures of grace and peace in the final scene where he is both completely blind and 
joyfully celebrating his daughter’s wedding. Woody Allen has beknighted him as the only character 
in his story who seems to truly “see” the way to happiness and demonstrates unflagging “moral 
wisdom,” which is essentially the emotional maturity and know-how to be both ethical and happy 
(Shafer-Landau, 2018). Both Judah and Cliff know someone exemplifying the superior pleasures of 
life. Although one seems to have given way to hopelessness, both Professor Levy and Rabbi Ben 
have confronted and, each in their own way, have overcome suffering and eloquently express 
contentment. Judah and Cliff can respect deeply and admire greatly yet fall short of being able to 
transcend to their exemplar’s heights of attitudinal pleasures. They seem stuck in the basement of 
hedonism—interpreting happiness as the fleeting, easily acquirable, and often unsatisfactory base 
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pleasures. They are marooned in the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain at the sensual level. 
 By the end of the movie, all of Cliff’s pleasurable pursuits have come to naught. In a 
particularly brutal twist of fate, Halley, his quintessence of happiness, ends up with his detested 
brother-in-law. Cliff embodies what philosophers call the “paradox of hedonism” in which the 
myopic pursuit of pleasure often causes its complete evasion (Shafer-Landau, 2018). Conversely, 
Judah seems to be a paradox of pain; in exclusively trying to avoid pain, he causes much more of it. 
After excruciating deliberation, Judah utilizes the resource of his shady younger brother to 
orchestrate what seems to be the only way to escape his pain. Although it is euphemized as a “small 
burglary,” Judah has Dolores killed. Allen approaches this decision in terms that smack of an ethical 
indictment; he makes sure his audience can discern that this ultimate choice is only made after the 
threat to Judah’s happiness surpasses just his personal life and threatens his reputation and, notably, 
his finances. It seems that the pleasure money affords is one Judah will not give up at any cost. Since 
hedonism is an ethic that can be seen clearest through the lens of that which causes oneself the most 
or least pleasure, the pain this drastic measure causes Judah is what Allen highlights. Omitting any 
scenes showcasing hurt caused to the family and friends of Dolores, Allen only lets us into the vortex 
of Judah’s torment. He flails around trying a variety of pain-quenching techniques including self-
condemnation and delusional attempts at elevating himself (the instigator and financier) over his 
brother (the engineer) and the henchman (the executor). Allen’s directorial astuteness is revealed in 
that the audience is never under any pressure to believe that Judah is somehow not culpable. His 
fears, pain, and regrets are relatable, maybe even drawing sympathy, but his guilt remains stark. 
Much like the letter at the beginning, Judah flings Dolores into the consuming flames of 
obliteration—all in the name of avoiding pain. 
 While the ethic of hedonism proclaims happiness to be the ultimate goal, other philosophers 
have placed high value on happiness only to the degree that it can and should be obtained while 
retaining goodness or “virtue”. To return to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, he assumed that all 
people seek happiness and acknowledged its value; however, he did not fully condemn suffering nor 
purport pleasure to be the preeminent goal (Aristotle). Aristotle is said to be a “virtue ethicist,” 
which, although the philosophy demonstrates hedonic originations, departs from hedonism as it 
incorporates virtue and character into its ethical schema. But Allen unflinchingly questions this 
worldview as well. Is happiness possible? Who ends up happy? In the final scene, we learn that 
months after his dastardly deed, Judah has successfully flung off both his religious upbringing and 
his guilt. To Cliff, it is greatly implausible that someone could be happy living with themselves and 
the knowledge of their own heinous immorality. However, Judah seems to contradict this and walks 
away contentedly with an affectionate wife under his arm, leaving Cliff alone in his misery 
pondering the ‘hypothetical’ story he has just relayed. Judah, our one happy character, has gotten 
away with it. He has avoided a world of pain; not only from the perspective of personal disaster and 
legal justice, but also from the trappings of his own morals, and seems to have successfully 
accomplished happiness within the working framework of hedonism. 
 The message that Judah is happy because he can successfully reject his religion and numb his 
feelings of guilt while Cliff is unhappy simply because he is not extraordinarily successful 
(economically, personally, and professionally) is a blatant challenge to the morals that make us 
comfortable. Our craving for justification is starved and our normalized principles are left dangling. 
Woody Allen cleverly tells us that he did not wrap up the story in a tragedy—a narrative that ends 
sadly, yet still retains the appeasing fact that evil meets justice. Instead, Allen leaves us with just 
questions; What is morality? Who qualifies as a good person? What does it take to be happy and is 
the cost worth it? Potentially a little more unsettling than our sense of unrest, we are also gifted a 
mirroring of ourselves; the cast is compiled completely of  imperfect question-askers imperfectly 
pursuing pleasure. Is this all life is? Seeking answers? Chasing down elusive ‘happiness’? According 
to Woody Allen, the answer seems to be: “Maybe.” If Allen is neither a hedonist nor a virtue ethicist, 
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he is definitely an artful film-philosopher. He not only leaves us where we started—on our couch 
asking questions about the meaning of life—he is practically sitting right next to us. “Pass the 
popcorn please, Mr. Allen.” 
 
 
  
 
Works Cited 
 
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, trans. W. C. Ross. New York: Oxford University Press. 
Shafer-Landau, Russ. (2018). The Fundamentals of Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press. 
 
 
 
 
 
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English

Is Woody Allen a Hedonist? A Look through the Lens of Film-Philosophy at Crimes and Misdemeanors

Lawson, Mikey

ESSAI
Volume 16 Article 21
Spring 2018
Peleus' Kids
Mikey Lawson
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
Lawson, Mikey (2018) "Peleus' Kids," ESSAI: Vol. 16 , Article 21.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/21
51 
Peleus’ Kids 
 
by Mikey Lawson 
 
(English 1159) 
 
 
 
irst they’re sour, then they’re sweet” is a phrase we hear from the candy, Sour Patch Kids. 
This candy has a sour coating on the outside but is sweet once the sour is gone. Although 
there are so many candies like this, I’ve decided to create my own brand based on the 
Greek hero, Achilles. Throughout Homer’s The Iliad, we see Achilles - the bravest, the meanest, and 
the greatest warrior of the army of Agamemnon in the Trojan War. Towards the end of The Iliad, as 
the audience, we start to see Achilles’ true personality of sour and sweet. The candy will take the 
shape of swords, spears, armor, and shields to represent the things used for fighting during the Trojan 
War. Sour candies tend to have one flavor per piece of candy, but Peleus’ Kids will have multiple 
flavors per piece of candy. Example being: the sword consisting of the handle being apple, then the 
blade being watermelon. The reasoning behind the name of the brand, "Peleus' Kids," is the 
personality that is found in the son of Peleus, Achilles. His sour and sweet personality plays on the 
Sour Patch Kids' slogan which influenced the name. In Homer's The Iliad, Achilles can be seen as 
sour while he's killing multiple people and sweet when he gives the body back of a son he killed to a 
father. The sour coating of the candy will be representative of Achilles’ anger toward the city of Troy 
and Hector, and the sweetness of the candy will be his sympathy for Priam. 
 Before Achilles joins the fight, he is very stubborn and refuses to participate. He makes it 
very clear that he will be taking no part in the fighting, that is until his beloved cousin, Patroclus, 
who some say even had a romantic relationship with him, dies by the hands of a man named Hector 
who leads the army of Troy. During the battle, Patroclus is met face to face with Hector and soon 
enough, Hector wins the fight ultimately killing Patroclus. Achilles receives the news of his beloved 
cousin and turns into a blinding rage which I refer to as his sour side. When I say sour, I am referring 
to Achilles’ anger toward the city of Troy and Hector. To show his rage, Achilles joins the fight 
against Troy and slays everybody in his path. One scene takes places next to a river where Achilles 
slays his enemies then throws everyone he kills into the river. After many bodies have been thrown 
into the river, the river speaks to Achilles saying, 
 
“Stop, Achilles! Greater than any man on earth/ greater in outrage too/ for the gods 
themselves are always at your side!/ But if Zeus allows you to kill off all the Trojans/ 
drive them out of my depths at least, I ask you/ out on the plain and do your butchery 
there./ all my lovely rapid are crammed with corpses now/ no channel in sight to 
sweep my currents out to sacred sea/ I’m choked with corpses and still you slaughter 
more/ you blot out more! Leave me alone, have done/ captain of armies, I am filled 
with horror!” (21.240-250) 
 
As made obvious by the graphic imagery and death surrounding Achilles, the scene proves to be one 
of the most gruesome parts throughout The Iliad. Homer explains that Achilles is killing lots of 
people and throws them into the river. So many people are being thrown into the river that it starts to 
clog and turn its water red. Achilles’ dreadful and harmful actions are all done to avenge his dead 
cousin, Patroclus. 
 The sourness of Achilles continues to be exemplified through his fight with Hector. Again, 
Hector is the character that killed Patroclus and Achilles will stop at nothing to kill him. Achilles 
“F
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52 
fights Hector right outside the walls of Troy, with the help of Athena, in front of all of Hector’s loved 
ones. The fight begins with both men throwing their spears and missing, then follows by the men 
exchanging sword thrusts, resulting in Hector losing. The two men knew at the beginning of the fight 
that the greatest consequence of losing would be the loss of their own lives. Hector struggling for 
breath, asks Achilles, “I beg you, beg you by your life, your parents/… but give my body to friends 
to carry home again…” (22.399-406). Though Achilles, with all his vengefulness, made it blatantly 
clear that would not happen. After Hector is dead, Achilles 
 
…triumphed/ and now he was bent on outrage, on shaming noble hector. / Piercing 
the tendons, ankle to heel behind both feet/ he knotted straps of rawhide through them 
both/ lashed them to his chariot, left the head to drag/ and mounting the car, hoisting 
the famous arms aboard/ he whipped his team to a run and breakneck on they flew/ 
holding nothing back. And a thick cloud of dust rose up/ from the man they dragged, 
his dark hair swirling round. (22.466-473)  
 
Achilles’ disrespect and sourness is shown by him mutilating his enemy’s body. Greek traditions for 
the dead usually involve a proper funeral in order for their spirit to pass into the underworld, but 
Achilles being so vengeful, is taking those burial privileges away from Hector and Hector’s family. 
Instead of handing the body over, it is explained in the passage that he ties Hector’s body to the back 
of the chariot and lets his body drag behind, while he rides back into the Greek camp. 
 Achilles, though clearly exemplifying sourness throughout The Iliad, melts away his outer 
layer and begins to show sweetness when Hector's father, Priam, sneaks into Achilles’ tent with the 
help of Hermes. In the middle of the night, Priam has a deeply emotional conversation with the man 
who killed his son. The encounter starts with Priam walking in, kneeling down, and kissing the top of 
Achilles’ hands, which no man has ever done before. The words and actions by Priam touched a soft 
spot in Achilles as they both began to cry and mourn for their loved ones. As they were both done 
crying, the opinions each man had of each other begins to change. Changing emotions are 
exemplified when Homer writes, “Then, when brilliant Achilles has had his fill of tears/ and the 
longing for it had left his mind and body/ he rose from his seat, raised the old man by the hand/ and 
filled with pity now for his gray head and gray beard/ he spoke out winging words, flying straight to 
the heart” (24.600-604). Achilles begins to realize the harm he has caused and him grieving over 
Patroclus helps him understand the extreme sadness Priam is experiencing. Achilles goes on to say to 
Priam, “Poor man, how much you’ve borne-pain to break the spirit/ what daring brought you down to 
the ships, all alone/ to face the glance of the man who killed your sons/ so many fine brave boys? 
You have a heart of iron” (24.605-608). After this, Achilles sees the pain he has caused Priam so he 
decides to grant his request and give him his son Hector back. Achilles even goes out of his way to 
wrap Hector up and put him in the back of Priam’s chariot. He then grants Priam and all of Troy a 
truce, not to attack the city. During this time of peace Achilles has granted, Troy will give Hector a 
proper burial. This shows remorse and the sweet side of Achilles.  
 A candy that is sour when one first experiences it but then transforms to a sweet flavor 
connects directly to the Greek hero Achilles in The Iliad. The shapes of swords, spears, armor, and 
shields will represent the hostility and equipment used by each side during the fighting.  Homer’s 
message to the audience is based around the powerfulness and pride shown through the characters in 
The Iliad. Though Achilles, for example, believed he would have no remorse for the people he 
murders and puts into the river, it is clear that his emotions made it impossible to have such an 
intense disconnect from people. The emotional weakness shown through this example is telling of 
Homer’s message of mortality with the scene of Achilles showing remorse for Priam. Though a 
seemingly emotionally disconnected person can perform such murders, it is not likely that one would 
be able to remain without emotions forever. Homer’s message to the audience becomes clear as not 
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even the most ruthless characters in his book lack sympathy for others all the time. 
 
 
  
 
Works Cited 
 
Homer, The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin, 1990. 
 
 
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Peleus\u27 Kids

Marks, Jordan

ESSAI
Volume 16 Article 23
Spring 2018
Gentrification and Chicago
Jordan Marks
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
Marks, Jordan (2018) "Gentrification and Chicago," ESSAI: Vol. 16 , Article 23.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/23
58 
Gentrification and Chicago 
 
by Jordan Marks 
 
(English 1102) 
 
 
 
magine residing in one place your whole life, in an affordable apartment, living a simple yet 
comfortable life. Then one day a new library opens in your neighborhood. At first it seems like a 
good thing. Seemingly overnight tourism starts to increase, which brings money into the 
neighborhood.  Then you start to notice an influx of new people moving in. This seems benign in the 
beginning, but as the months pass you notice as your rent and utilities begin slowly increasing in 
price. You come to a point where you can no longer afford to live in the place where you had spent 
so many years, and are suddenly forced to find cheaper housing in a neighborhood you had 
previously deemed undesirable and unsafe. This “forced migration” is the unfortunate reality for 
many longtime Chicago residents facing the gentrification of their lower income and ethnic 
communities. For many years the city of Chicago spent a lot of money and manpower implementing 
projects aimed at increasing public influx into lower income neighborhoods, ostensibly to build up 
and improve the neighborhoods for the residents. However, contrary to popular belief, these 
neighborhood upgrades have created more harm than good. Gentrification is playing a huge role in 
the destruction of the cultural and creative integrity of the city of Chicago and counteracting it could 
result in the preservation of important ethnic centers and cultural hubs. This essay will focus on the 
harm caused by gentrification, the negative long term effects, and the benefits of counteracting 
gentrification in Chicago neighborhoods. 
 Gentrification is not a new concept. Defined as: “the buying and renovation of houses and 
stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, 
raising property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses” 
(“gentrification”), gentrification is a process that has been reshaping neighborhoods all over the 
country for decades under the guise of “progress.” In Chicago, many refer to an urban renewal 
project in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in the mid 1950’s as the beginning of what was to become 
a long string of neighborhoods lost to gentrification.  As a part of this initial project, many older 
housing projects in the area were demolished to make room for newer, more expensive housing. That 
soon led to wealthier people moving into the area, who demanded more upscale restaurants and 
stores to complement their expensive apartments and condos. As developers rushed in to meet the 
need, prices on homes and rents on small, family-run business that had anchored the neighborhoods 
went up, and soon the original residents could no longer afford to live in the community that they had 
built (Bennett 1). Another example was the trend in Old Town in the 1970’s of the purchasing and 
refurbishing of antique homes by affluent benefactors. As the homes were upgraded, developers 
wanted to get the maximum return on their investment, so they began charging higher rents.  This 
drew affluent purchasers who were drawn to the “charm” of living in a quaint, old-fashioned 
neighborhood. But they also demanded a more upscale type of quaint, so once again developers 
began purchasing real estate and driving old tenants out by raising rents.  They got rid of the small, 
family run businesses and rented the buildings to business that could support the lifestyle of the new 
inhabitants.  This “turn-over” of Old Town is often referred to as the first case of actual gentrification 
to take place in the city (Bennett 1). Throughout the seventies, major housing projects and 
renovations led to the gentrification of areas such as Wicker Park, Logan Square, and many other 
areas within the Northwest side, the West side, and the south loop, driving out the original and often 
immigrant populations and replacing them with upgraded urban vignettes that were more pleasing to 
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wealthier buyers.  Even now, projects are in the works for the south side and lower west side, a few 
of the rare remaining holdovers of small, lower-class ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Byron 
Sigcho, a member of the Pilsen Alliance, a group determined to halt the gentrification of their lower 
west side city, says: “If we continue to displace more and more low income residents, we will lose 
what makes Pilsen so special, so unique. That welcoming, that diversity it’ll be gone if we don’t have 
that diversity” (Schutz 1). What Sigcho means by this is that if these big construction companies 
want to come into their neighborhoods and build expensive housing, they will no doubt drive lower 
income residents out and subsequently destroy the cultural integrity and diversity that is the very 
thing that makes Pilsen so unique. 
 Pilsen is a strong example of a community trying to hold on to the foundation on which it 
was built, but is struggling against the tide of middle-class demand.  A traditionally lower income, 
Hispanic neighborhood, Pilsen has unfortunately seen first hand what gentrification can do to a 
community. In the last 20 years alone, nearly 11,000 Hispanics have been displaced from their Pilsen 
homes, relinquished to a recent white influx to the area, a 2013 UIC study found (Lulay 1).  
Fortunately, Chicago leaders have found a possible solution to this, one that could invigorate the 
community, bring in more tourism, but also protect Pilsen’s long time residents. For a long time, the 
residents of Pilsen have wished for a trail connecting their community to the nearby Little Village 
community for two reasons: to remove the derelict train lines that have been an eyesore for the the 
past several decades, and to create an easy, accessible footpath to their city that could result in a 
spike in both tourism and revenue without degrading the integrity of their community. In a fortuitous 
turn of luck, the city of Chicago had actually been in the process of creating a network of elevated 
walkways and trails from the remnants of old BNSF railroad lines (Wisniewski 1). The residents 
appreciate the idea and are hopeful that their close-knit community will benefit from this project, but 
they also worry that this will have a similar outcome to that of the construction of the 606, a similar 
rails-to-trails project in the gentrified upper west side of Chicago. Many residents believe that like 
the 606, instead of helping to keep the integrity of their original neighborhood, the new trail system 
will draw in more middle-class buyers who want to enjoy the trails as part of their middle-class 
lifestyles, and housing prices and rent prices will skyrocket in the area surrounding the new trail 
system. Their fears are not unwarranted, and Chicago officials have acknowledged the concerns 
about losing established communities by proposing both a potential property tax freeze and strict 
zoning regulations on property lining the trails-to-be to try and thwart the creep of gentrification 
(Wisniewski 2). 
On the contrary, on the Northwest side of Chicago, Wicker Park and Bucktown, 
gentrification has been the norm since the early 1970’s and residents have had no choice but to adapt. 
In the early days, Wicker Park and Bucktown were home to well-to-do groups of German and 
Scandinavian immigrants who worked in nearby industrial complexes. After the immigrants who 
initially settled the area moved on, the area became renowned as a haven for artists and musicians, 
who sought affordable housing in a close-knit community. Because of its popularity amongst writers, 
musicians, and artists, many trendy clubs and bars began to appear, including notable venues such as 
The Artful Dodger and the Rainbo Club.  Places like these solidified artistic presence in the area, 
which caught the eye of wealthy investors who were thirsty for real estate in upbeat, popular urban 
centers (Lucido 1). During the late 70’s, realtors saw opportunity with the rows of Victorian style 
mansions and multi-level lofts.  Throughout the 80’s, investors slowly chipped away at the integrity 
of the area, buying out smaller loft spaces and art studios, but critics say that the first major upscale 
turnover in the area was the mid 90’s conversion of the Manchester Lofts, a former artists’ space, to a 
series of high rent condominiums. Within 15 years, rising rents and utilities caused the beloved 
Artful Dodger to close and just in the past few years legendary music venue Double Door was forced 
to close due to rent (Little 1). As one can see, greedy investors took charge of a unique, quirky haven 
for artists and musicians and turned it into a vanilla middle-class anytown, just to make a few bucks. 
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60 
They were not concerned about the culture, or the art, or the heritage; all they wanted to do was open 
the same few boutique chains as well as provide extremely limited space for upscale standalone 
businesses so that they could profit. 
 Most people are often led to believe that gentrification only takes place in disheveled outer 
neighborhoods that are facing imminent decline, but gentrification can affect downtown 
neighborhoods in large cities as well.  The Medinah Temple is a great example of this. Originally 
built in 1912 by the Shriners, an appendant body to the Freemason cause, the building was an 
architectural testament to the classical Middle Eastern aesthetic that they cherished. In this 
beautifully designed building, the Shriners held large meetings within their elegant concert hall and 
preached their message of fellowship and philanthropy (“History” 1). Things changed in the late 
1990’s, when the Shriners decided to sell the block that included both the temple and one of 
Chicago's oldest artists’ houses, Tree Studio. Investors quickly jumped to purchase, but when 
prominent developer Steven Fifield proposed a $21 million plan to tear down the temple and 
surrounding buildings in order to build a parking garage and expensive high rise condos, public 
outcry angered the Shriners and it took Mayor Daley himself to halt the plan in order the protect the 
historic buildings (Zhang 199). Daley formed a deal with developer Albert Friedman to completely 
renovate both Tree Studio and the old temple. As renovations began, much to their chagrin the 
tenants of surrounding buildings, who had advocated to save the temple for its historical beauty, saw 
their rents increase from around $400 to nearly $1,200 a month, rendering their once-affordable 
apartments now financially unreachable. In the early 2000’s a large Bloomingdales was opened 
inside the renovated temple, putting the metaphorical nail in the coffin for preserving the historic 
interior and function of the building. The Tree Studio renovation was finished in 2004, yet never 
drew an artist population because of inflated rent prices. At the end of the day, the only people who 
were to be found in either of the buildings were affluent shoppers or pricy lawyers. In lieu of 
preservation, the area saw the departure of almost all independently owned businesses; small 
restaurants, brick and mortar shops all paid the price of gentrification in the loop (Zhang 203). One 
may ask, what does this all mean? The example with the Medinah Temple demonstrates that 
gentrification can take place even in the heart of the biggest cities, shaping them by crushing their 
unique pockets of character in an effort to pander to the upper classes. The tragedy of the degradation 
and misuse of historic buildings, or the irony of hyper-inflating rent prices in an artist's’ studio, 
making it too expensive for any artists to rent, is lost on developers who only care about their bottom 
lines. 
 Whenever there is one side to an argument, there is always, naturally, a second. Although 
opposition to gentrification is widespread and well voiced, the support for it unfortunately comes 
from the select few who have the money to make it happen at the snap of their fingers. One of those 
people is Cubs owner and self-proclaimed “savior” of Wrigleyville, Tom Ricketts. During his tenure, 
Ricketts has been doing all he can to gentrify the neighborhood, whether it be opening upscale 
restaurants, inciting massive renovation projects or just erecting giant advertisements. Ricketts 
definitely does not want his neighborhood to come off as a bad one in any way at all (Thompson 1). 
During a question-and-answer meeting, Ricketts gloated about the “positive reaction” the 
Wrigleyville renovations were receiving, then mockingly recalled a time where he referred derisively 
to Wrigleyville tenants as “resistant to change” when they strongly opposed the prospect of installing 
a 38-foot Toyota advertisement right above the left field bleachers, which for some people was right 
outside their window (Thompson 1). Just the mere idea of Ricketts referring to those people as 
“resistant to change” highlights his arrogance, insensitivity, and cluelessness. Ricketts wants his 
neighborhood to pump out as much money as possible, even if it means the obstruction of a view that 
someone paid for, or the removal of “troublesome” lower income tenants in the area. 
 In conclusion, gentrification is a phenomenon that exists on a much larger scale than just in 
Chicago. Every city sees gentrification in one way or another and it can affect almost anyone. 
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61 
Nothing demonstrates this idea more clearly than Sherman Alexie’s short story “Gentrification”. In 
this story, a lone white man moves into a black neighborhood. He immediately notices a dingy 
mattress that had been sitting for a few days, and he understands that there will be a surcharge for not 
scheduling a trash pickup, so he goes out of his way to drop it off at the city dump himself. When he 
returns from the dump he finds the owners of the mattress are very unhappy with him and his actions. 
He is confused as to why they are unhappy with him, and he soon comes to the realization that he 
will most likely be shunned by the neighborhood (Alexie 615). What he doesn’t understand though, 
is that the people that were already living in that neighborhood see this singular white man as the first 
step on the slippery slope of gentrification and the inevitable loss of their community. He doesn't see 
it,  but to the residents, he is the first of many new additions to the neighborhood that will ultimately 
lead to loss of their homes and their livelihoods. And the residents are doing anything they can to 
stop it. Gentrification may seem like an unstoppable force, but there is almost nothing that public 
outcry can’t fix. It looks like it is going to work in Pilsen with their trail, and it has worked in Wicker 
Park and Bucktown as well. Gentrification is built on a thin foundation of community improvement, 
but it really is the death of the communities that give America its unique and diverse culture.  At the 
end of the day, stopping gentrification in Chicago is no simple task, but unless we want to live in a 
sterilized homogenous city, it is paramount to preserve the diversity that defines and celebrates our 
history. 
 
  
 
Works Cited 
 
Abcarian, Richard, et al., editors. Literature: The Human Experience, 12th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 
2016. 
Bennett, Larry. Fragments of Cities: the New American Downtowns and Neighborhoods. Ohio State 
University Press, 1990. 
“Gentrification.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/gentrification.  
“History.” Beginnings - History - Shriners International, 
www.shrinersinternational.org/Shriners/History/Beginnings. 
Little, Rebecca. “How Bucktown Got Boutiqued.” Chicago Magazine, 
www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2007/Chic-Chicago/How-Bucktown-Got-
Boutiqued/. 
Lucido, Gary. “Fighting Gentrification In Chicago Is Like Fighting Gravity.” ChicagoNow Is Full of 
Win, 5 June 2017, www.chicagonow.com/getting-real/2017/06/fighting-gentrification-in-
chicago-is-like-fighting-gravity/. 
Lulay, Stephanie. “Pilsen Gets Whiter As 10,000 Hispanics, Families Move Out, Study Finds.” 
DNAinfo New York, DNAinfo New York, 13 Apr. 2016, 
www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160413/pilsen/pilsen-gets-whiter-as-10000-hispanics-families-
move-out-study-finds/. 
Schutz, Paris. “Logan Square, Pilsen at Crux of Gentrification Debate.” Chicago Tonight,  WTTW 
21, March 2017, https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/03/21/logan-square-pilsen-crux-
gentrification-debate  
Thompson, Phil. “Ricketts Wants Legacy to Be about More than Baseball.” Chicago Tribune, 2 May 
2018, pp. 1–1. 
Wisniewski, Mary. “Pilsen, Little Village Still Await Trail: Land Acquisition and EPA Cleanup 
Delay Conversion of Old Rails .” Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2018. 
Zhang, Yue. “Historic Preservation in a Neoliberal Context .” Neoliberal Chicago, University of 
Illinois Press, 2016, pp. 193–205. 
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Gentrification and Chicago

Naseem, Nemra

Nemra Maseem reads  Human Family  and  Woman Work  by Maya Angelou

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 3
Spring 5-1-2018
About
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Recommended Citation
(2018) "About," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 3.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/3
Spring 20183
ABOUT: The Prairie Light Review is the College of Dupage art and literary 
jounral. We are a student-run, biannual publication that seeks to honor and 
showcase the creative talents of our diverse community. All of the material in this 
magazine is the work of students and residents of District 502. Each piece has 
been selected blindly to ensure objectivity.
Prairie Light Review can be picked up in the Library, McAninch Arts Center, and 
outside of our office at SSC 1227.
JOIN: To join our Editorial Team, enroll in English 2210. Find more information 
at www.cod.edu/plr.
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et al.: About
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About

Anderson, Heather

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 7
Spring 5-1-2018
Slow Down
Heather Anderson
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Anderson, Heather (2018) "Slow Down," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 7.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/7
Prairie Light Review 8
Slow Down
Our lives dart by in a flash
like a pebble
hopping across
a murky stream. 
As we wander the trail,
our limited time
acts as the relentless mosquito buzz in our ear--
our most hated, swattable sound
We eye the barren field ahead of us with clenched teeth
yet we keep running 
Right past the blooming lilacs
and the powerful oak 
As rain beats down on our heads, 
we run right past the outstretched, umbrella arms of the willow trees 
No time to rest. 
We run until sweat pours down our backs, 
until the trail is near its end, 
and then we wish we could run it all again,
to take in the scent of the fresh, dewey purple lilacs,
to climb the oak tree,
and sit under the willow 
as we see the short trail ahead of us,
we take a breath and for the first time, 
we slow down
-Heather Anderson
“At River’s Edge”
Tania Blanco
Acrylic on Canvas
1
Anderson: Slow Down
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Slow Down

Evans, Mark

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 11
Spring 5-1-2018
Dark World
Mark Evans
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
Evans, Mark (2018) "Dark World," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 11.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/11
Prairie Light Review 14
Dark World
In a black world
of streetlights and quiet buildings
of glass and steel
the elevator hum is the only sign
that anything is vaguely alive
 
abandoned parking lots
filled with the decay
of another time zone
now just dim shadows that remind one
that they’re all alone
and nobody sees them
 
wash out of nothingness
voids that last miles
the occasional farm light
illuminates lonely grain elevators
and then they slide back 
into unforgiving night
 
the empty promise of conversation and embrace
of flesh and touch,
of kiss, heat, and smell
as plastic as the distant signs 
of instant food and comfort
that are never fulfilled
 
all prisoners of the night
work hard for the singular allowance
of daylight and life
just a once a week hope
from long hours and cracked skin
fatigue and zombie driving
and lonely corridors filled with deadly silence
 
gas station gatherings
under bright neon lights
the color of Christ’s halo
brief encounters of wanderers of the dark
the occasional conversation with one who is like you
but speaks very little of the language you grew up with
yet knows the vague lonely pain you are feeling
-Mark Evans
“The Stars of  New Mexico”
Jon Ruffolo
Photography
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Evans: Dark World
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Dark World

Morris, Wilda

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 14
Spring 5-1-2018
Hawker on Jackson Boulevard
Wilda Morris
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Morris, Wilda (2018) "Hawker on Jackson Boulevard," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 14.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/14
Spring 201817
Hawker on Jackson Boulevard
He stands tall, ebony eyes
greet passersby, no shoulder
drooping or face to the ground.
He’s young, with a physique
that spells vigor. Unlike so many
on the streets of Chicago
asking for handouts or hawking
snacks to make a buck,
he wears clean blue jeans,
a collared shirt beneath
an untattered navy blue jacket.
 
The sign he holds in his box
of candy bars doesn’t claim
he’s a homeless vet, doesn’t say
he needs food to feed his kids.
It says, PREPARING FOR PROM.
I pass him by, but then turn back
and ask, How much? I pull
from my pocket two dollars
I’d set aside for a copy of Streetwise,
purchase a package of Reese’s Pieces.
Got a date lined up? I ask. His grin,
as wide as Michigan Avenue,
accents his words, She asked me!
She’s lucky you said yes, I think,
but only say, Good luck!
I go on my way, my smile
almost as big as his.
-Wilda Morris
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Hawker on Jackson Boulevard

Sadah, Alana

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 16
Spring 5-1-2018
When Time Moves On
Alana Sadah
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Sadah, Alana (2018) "When Time Moves On," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 16.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/16
Spring 201819 1
Sadah: When Time Moves On
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When Time Moves On

Miklosz, Molly

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 38
Spring 5-1-2018
Sewing Drawer
Molly Miklosz
College of DuPage
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Miklosz, Molly (2018) "Sewing Drawer," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 38.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/38
Prairie Light Review 44 1
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Is Woody Allen a Hedonist? A Look through the Lens of Film-Philosophy at Crimes and Misdemeanors

Peleus\u27 Kids

Gentrification and Chicago

Nemra Maseem reads Human Family and Woman Work by Maya Angelou

About

Slow Down

Dark World

Hawker on Jackson Boulevard

When Time Moves On

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