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Sebe Shearer and Adrian Mosser

Ms. Cooper and Ms. Whipple

English III and AP US History

27 October 2018

Irrationality vs Rationality in the Industrial Revolution and Antebellum Era

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

highlighted in the imbalance of the elite and the working class.

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

becomes more and more irrational and erratic.

The Birthmark​ by Nathaniel Hawthorne also addresses the motif of rationality vs

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

eternity, to find the perfect future in the present.”

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​.

History.com Editors. “Industrial Revolution.” ​History.com,​ A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct.

2009, ​www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution/industrial-revolution

Poddar, Ankur. “Working and Living Conditions.” ​The Industrial Revolution,​ Weebly,
firstindustrialrevolution.weebly.com/working-and-living-conditions.html

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” ​Literature Network​,

www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/125/​.