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13 November 2017
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
Huffman, De la Morena 2
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
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
Huffman, De la Morena 3
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).
Huffman, De la Morena 4
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
Huffman, De la Morena 5
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
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-
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,