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Huffman, De la Morena 1

Ines De la Morena & Georgia Huffman

Cooper & Whipple

AP English III & AP U.S. History

13 November 2017

Dark Side of Humanity

The Age of Reason accompanied the beginning of an independent nation, free of British

rule, which focused on freedom and opportunity. As a response to this period of rationality and

scientific discoveries, the Romantic movement surfaced during the Antebellum Era. The

movement focused on the exploration of the natural world, the supernatural, individualism, and

emotion. While transcendentalist philosophers focused on the “light side” of human nature, a

different literary branch emerged from the same tree named Gothic Romanticism, so called

because of its emphasis on the dark side of the individual. Gothic literature authors such as Edgar

Allan Poe, with “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, with “The Birth-Mark”, wrote

works with the motif of rationality vs. irrationality, where their main characters became

extremely irrational in the face of an issue within their lives, resulting in the loss of a sense of

reason due to the dark and twisted side of themselves, and their need to control the supernatural

world. The rise of the motif during the Antebellum Era was also reflected in American history, in

the way white settlers irrationally encroached and claimed rights on Native American land, as

well as forcibly removed them from the lands they had called home for thousands of years.

During the Antebellum Period, the Gothic style of writing became popular as a mode of

literature that analyzed the darker aspects of the Romantic movement, and was used to identify

new themes and motifs with regards to human nature, as well as a differing viewpoints appealing

to the more sinister side of humanity. Gothic literature works, such as “The Tell-Tale-Heart” by
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Edgar Allan Poe and “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne exemplify the motif of

rationality vs. irrationality, in which individuals lose their ability to reason and interact with their

surroundings sensibly, while attempting to explore or understand the supernatural world. In “The

Tell-Tale-Heart”, Poe writes the story of the caretaker of an old man with a “vulture eye” that

watched him, and eventually, becoming so fixated on the eye, he felt the need to “take the life of

the old man” and “rid [himself] of the eye forever” (3). The idea that the character wishes to

commit murder because of a minor defect is irrational within itself; however, he even denies his

behavior and proclaims himself sane. He writes, “madmen know nothing… I proceeded

[wisely]” (Poe 3). The caretaker blatantly tries to rationalize his irrational behavior and justify

his dark and evil crime. His irrationality culminates when he dismembers the corpse of the old

man, and hides him under his floorboards. Believing he could hear “the beating of his hideous

heart,” after his murder, the guilt consumes him and his thoughts, and he confesses to the police

by showing them the body (Poe 8). Hearing a dead man’s heartbeat is neither logical nor

reasonable, and is a direct result of the caretaker trying to play God, attempting to control an

aspect of nature not meant to be tampered with by humankind. The caretaker represents the motif

of irrationality, because his extreme fixation with the old man’s eye drove him to take illogical

measures that would not be taken by someone of sound mind, showcasing the dark side of

human nature and its devastating effects. In “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the

narrator, a scientist, is a man of reason, logic, and practical thoughts. He is supposed to

epitomize the rationality of the scientific world. However, he betrays his rational sensibilities and

becomes obsessed with achieving human perfection. Georgina, his wife, was “otherwise so

perfect” that “this one defect… [was] intolerable” in his eyes (Hawthorne 6). Playing God, he

puts his wife through various scientific experiments to remove her birthmark from her cheek. His
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madness bleeds down to his wife as well, as she pleads to “remove it, whatever be the cost, or

[they] shall both go mad!” (Hawthorne 16). His irrational need for this human perfection drives

him insane, for he cannot play God’s role and edit humanity as he sees fit. Aylmer found a way

to twist his reality and rationality to the point of irrationality; in his attempt to fix what was

imperfect by logic, he loses his sense of thus and entertains the impossible. Both stories explore

the dark side of the human self, and the ease by which said side can take over and disrupt natural

order.

Between the years of 1825 and 1838, the reaction of the United States government to the

actions of the Cherokee nation and their attempt to gain legal control over their homeland

embodies the motif of rationality vs. irrationality, because of the logical fallacies made by the

white settlers in an attempt to legitimize their claim to a land that they had only occupied for a

minute amount of time, and the irrationality of the solution to the perceived problem of native

occupation. The Natives attempted to partake in American culture and society through the

Christianizing of their people, and the efforts of men like Samuel Worcester, as well as creating

their own constitutional government in the likeness of the United States. However, the Natives

were still met with continuing forthright opposition from the American people (Garrison and

Dobbs). The Natives attempted to reason with the irrational whites, by attempting to assimilate

into the American culture that they were eventually rejected, and denied rights, from. In 1827, a

pivotal decision was made when the Cherokee Nation, living within the boundaries of Georgia,

created their own government and declared themselves a sovereign nation, inmune to forceful

removal. This notion was upheld by John Marshall and the Supreme Court, who declared that

because the United States had recognized the Cherokee tribe as a sovereign nation in previous

treaties, that it should remain sovereign with a title to its territory (Garrison and Dobbs).
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However, this decision was not maintained by President Andrew Jackson, who declared that

natives should either relocate, or be subject to the discretion of the state of Georgia (Garrison and

Dobbs). When both means of reasoning failed, the Natives were pushed out of their own territory

and forcibly relocated to western lands unbeknown to them. Settler colonialism is inherently

irrational, because it dictates that whites who had only lived on the North American continent for

an extremely limited amount of time had a more substantial claim to land than the Natives who

had occupied the land for thousands. The encroachment of Native American land seemed

rational for the whites who wished to expand and build a nation, but was irrational to the natives

who saw this expansion as a violation of their rights as human beings. The eventual expulsion of

the Native Americans from their homelands in 1838, an event that would later be called “The

Trail of Tears”, solidified the role that Natives would henceforth occupy in America; one of a

peoples who be constantly neglected, ridiculed, and endangered at the expense of white

expansionism (“Trail of Tears”). This response by the United States government to the natives

simply occupying the territory that they had inhabited for thousands of years was intrinsically

irrational, because the white colonists prioritized their expansionist tendencies and greed for land

over the livelihood of the natives, fellow people who deserved liberty.

In our artifact, the motif of rationality vs. irrationality is merged with the historical

context of the theme. The eyes of the Natives were painted bright blue to symbolize their

connection to the old man in “The Tell-Tale Heart”. The man in the back represents both

Andrew Jackson and the caretaker, who were equally disturbed, and who both allowed their

irrationality to take over, and harm others. If one looks closely, one of the eyes of the natives has

white paper over them, representing the “pale blue eye” of the old man, who like the natives was

harmed by the dark side of humanity (Poe 3). The sinister appearance of Jackson was used to
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communicate the idea of irrationality, and how Jackson was acting in a manner that represented

his overall attitude that the Natives were disposable, not equal as him. Jackson is also depicted as

holding a heart, which represents the heart in the story “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and helps to

communicate the overall idea that Jackson directly caused the death of thousands of Natives.

Colonists next to Jackson represent the settlers who were eager to develop the land as soon as the

natives were expelled from it, and the irrationality of their lack of emotion and remorse for

forcibly evicting the natives. The trail beginning at the foot of the colonial home and ends with

the Natives represents the Trail of Tears, as it depicts the natives being forced out of their

traditional land to have it occupied by the white settlers. Finally, the transition of colors from

blue to black in the background represents the change from rationality to irrationality.

The emergence of this motif and Gothic Literature from the time impacted ages to come,

because they established and revealed a duality in the character of humankind. By introducing

the truth of sin and evil, and breaking away from Transcendentalism, literary and film genres

emerged which could explore said “dark side”, and all of its roots. Additionally, President

Andrew Jackson’s irrationality continues to permeate through American society, because his

policies and actions as sitting president like the Indian Removal Act can be drawn as parallel to

modern legislative acts such as the new harsh immigration policies, which showcase that

America has a history of irrationally discriminating against groups of people viewed as “other”.

Works Cited

Garrison, Tim Alan and Dobbs, Chris. “Worcester v. Georgia (1832).” New Georgia

Encyclopedia, 19 August 2017,


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http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-

politics/worcester-v-georgia-1832. Accessed 10 Nov. 2017.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Birth-Mark.” The Pioneer, March 1843. Feedbooks, 2017,

www.lem.seed.pr.gov.br/arquivos/File/livrosliteraturaingles/birthmark.pdf. Accessed 11

Nov. 2017.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The Pioneer, Edited by James Russell Lowell,

January 1843. IBiblio.org, 2017, http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Poe/Tell-Tale_Heart.pdf.

Accessed 10 Nov. 2017.

“Trail of Tears.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/native-

american-history/trail-of-tears. Accessed 10 Nov. 2017.

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