Professional Documents
Culture Documents
27 October 2018
Throughout the Antebellum Era, the American psyche was heavily affected by historical
events and the interpretations of mid-19th century authors. The Antebellum Era, which began in
the late 18th century and continued up until the civil war, was a major shift in thoughts and ideas
that contributed to the varying beliefs of the American people. Works of literature and the gothic
genre affected how Americans viewed their national and political values by causing them to
question the rationality and/or irrationality of the status quo. Rationality versus irrationality is the
struggle between logic & reason and insanity. Through analyzing pieces like The Birthmark by
Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, it is easy to identify the
common cultural theme of irrational vs rational. Authors exaggerate this motif in their writings
to call attention to and cause people to question the status quo of their time. Authors also use this
motif to reflect on past events. For example, in the Industrial Revolution, this motif is
The literary pieces written during the Antebellum Era by Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel
Hawthorne affected this time period by emphasizing the prevalent motif of rational vs irrational.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart, the main character kills his neighbor simply because
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he is bothered by his eye. This is irrational. After he kills the man, a police officer comes to his
house to investigate. The man has a perfect alibi and even becomes friends with the policeman,
but throughout the whole encounter, the man hears the heartbeat of the old man he had
dismembered and hidden in the floorboards. Consumed by guilt, the main character is driven to
insanity, confesses to the officer, and is taken away. The Tell Tale Heart addresses the social and
political trends of 1843 by mentioning the irrationality of man during this time period. When Poe
mentioned that the reasoning behind killing the old man had nothing to do with the man's riches,
just his eye, it leads the reader to recall that during this period of time, it was considered
somewhat justified to kill a man for his riches. However, killing someone just for their eye is
irrational. When the Police were investigating the old man's death they searched the speaker's
house. During the search, the first thing they looked at was the dead man's riches. “I bade them
search --search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure,
undisturbed.” Due to the fact that his riches were present and undisturbed, they let their guard
down and immediately believed the murderer. Poe also uses an numerous amount of punctuation
to help stimulate an erratic and confused mindset. During the poem the main character slowly
irrationality. Renowned scientist, Alymer, is the main character of this short story. He marries a
beautiful young girl named Georgiana who is flawless in every way except for a small birthmark
on her cheek. Alymer becomes obsessed with it, calling it disgusting and ugly, vowing to find a
way to remove it. He convinces Georgiana to let him operate on it and successfully performs the
procedure, however, he ends up killing her in the process. Her birthmark is gone, but at the cost
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of her life. The main character expresses irrationality in his obsession with Georgiana’s only
flaw, driving him to the brink of insanity and causing him to lose the thing he loves most in the
world- Georgiana. This is exemplified in the following excerpt; “...had Alymer reached a
profounder wisdom, he need not thus have flung away the happiness which would have woven
his mortal life of the selfsame texture with the celestial. The momentary circumstance was too
strong for him; he failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all in
This literary movement expressed the cultural fears and anxieties of a society where
murder can be justified and the drive to attain the unattainable. It was not unheard of for people
to be killed for their wealth, out of hate, honor, or simply irrational irritation. Additionally,
many people from this time would work laborers to death in attempts to achieve perfection. The
Tell Tale Heart and The Birthmark, both address social and political trends by mentioning issues
from that era such as the need for perfection and unprovoked violence. These genres helped
shape American Culture by encouraging Americans to question what the current American
culture viewed as right and wrong. This helped to create a society in which citizens were free to
determine their own moral values and challenge the status quo.
The start of the Industrial Revolution launched a shift in American society that created a
gap between the working class and the elite. As the Industrial Revolution grew and consumed
America, the gap also increased. The divide between the working class and the elite was very
much apparent, clearly showing the differences in lifestyles and values. Jobs quickly became
scarce in the new country, so people would take whatever work was available, typically at
extremely low wages. Members of the working class began to move from more rural areas to big
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cities in order to search for work. The majority of people living in cities dedicated their time to
working in the factories. Working long, harsh hours in a dangerous environment for very little
pay took its toll on the working class. In order to increase their already low income, people
would send their children to the factories as workers instead of sending them to school. Even
with the additional compensation, many families still struggled to survive. The primary source
we chose was a photograph taken inside a factory during the Industrial Revolution. In the
photograph, dirty workers with worn clothes are depicted working at assembly lines. From the
photo, both children and adults can be seen. There was a drastic gap between the social and
cultural lifestyles of the elite and the working class. The elite would profit from the growth of the
Industrial Revolution by creating their own businesses and profiting from the mass trade with
Europe. Most of the members of the upper class would benefit specifically due to the
exploitation of the workers in their factories. It was apparent to the elite that the harsh conditions,
long hours, and low wages was very unfair and inhumane, but they didn't care because they were
making large sums of money. The secondary source that we chose to incorporate was an article
by a historian, from history.com. In this article they talk about how the Industrial Revolution
began in britain, and has influenced societies everywhere. They mention the quality of life of the
middle class versus the elite, and how transformation shaped America, as it is today.
For our creative piece, we decided to make a parody of the song “Oops… I did it again”
by Britney Spears to focus on the gap between the working class and the elite. In the song, we
modified the lyrics to point out the injustices suffered by the laborers as well as how the
upper-class citizens valued profit over the basic needs of their workers. By mentioning specifics,
such as the poor working conditions endured by the laborers as well as referencing The Tell Tale
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Heart through referring to the increasing loudness of the heartbeat of America’s factory workers
just like the heartbeat of the old man from the short story.
In conclusion the Antebellum Era was a period of great change in America. Through
works like The Tell Tale Heart, and The Birthmark, people began to form their own opinions on
society. These literary works also affected the thoughts and the differing the beliefs of the
American people. Additionally, the gothic genre introduced people to the question of irrational
versus rational. This affected the political and cultural values of this time. By highlighting this
motif of irrational versus rational, or right versus wrong, these genres helped encourage
American citizens to compare their moral values to the status quo. Specifically during the
Industrial Revolution, people were separated by class, and treated harshly as a result. Irrationality
and rationality was ignored, and people lived to earn riches, and gain power.
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WORK CITED
“The Tell-Tale Heart.” The Tell-Tale Heart - Poe's Works | Edgar Allan Poe Museum,
www.poemuseum.org/the-tell-tale-heart.
Poddar, Ankur. “Working and Living Conditions.” The Industrial Revolution, Weebly,
firstindustrialrevolution.weebly.com/working-and-living-conditions.html