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Marjie Williams
Mrs. Pritchard
English II
2 November 2015
Exposing the Human Mind
In Dark Romanticism, authors focus on the struggles of human nature and their effects on
an individuals mind through symbolism, imagery, and tone. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar
Allen Poe are exemplary authors in Dark Romanticism for their pieces exploring the inner
workings of the human mind and the horrors the mind contains. The Sleeper and The Black
Cat by Edgar Allen Poe and Feathertop by Nathaniel Hawthorne use these elements to create
their overall theme that categorizes them into Dark Romantic pieces. Edgar Allen Poe and
Nathaniel Hawthornes use of descriptive imagery, dark symbolism, and convincing tones in
their stories, The Sleeper, The Black Cat, and Feathertop, communicate their ideas of the
human minds true identity.
Symbolizing objects, animals, and people throughout "The Sleeper", Feathertop, and
The Black Cat show the various themes that consolidate these literary works into perfect
examples of Dark Romanticism. In the Black Cat, the narrator is described as a loving man
who always had a way with animals until his cat, Pluto, begins to irritate the narrator and causes
him to lose his mind. Plutos negative effects on the narrators life show its representation of bad
luck. Pluto's company eventually leads to the narrator hanging the cat from a tree. The family
adopts another cat that slowly annoys the narrator and leads to the killing of his wife. The second

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cat is a symbol displaying the guilt he feels for killing Pluto. The narrators true personality is
shown when he loses his mind and kills Pluto and his wife. In the short story, Feathertop,
Mother Rigby transforms her treasured scarecrow into a human named Feathertop. Feathertop
describes his true self, "For perchance the only time since this so often empty and deceptive life
of mortals began its course, an illusion had seen and fully recognized itself" (Hawthorne 12). By
the end of the story, Feathertop comes to the realization that he is nothing more than wooden
sticks and straw. He symbolizes the part of human nature that is deceptive and hides your true
identity to be accepted. While The Black Cat and Feathertop symbolize objects, The
Sleeper is a symbol in itself. The poem's word choice and rhyme creates a mysterious and
dreamy tone. The poem symbolizes Poe's idea of death consisting of eternal sleep that is free of
your past. Crimes committed in your previous life are forgotten, and there is peace from the guilt
felt. Poe and Hawthorne's use of symbolism captures their various ideas on humanity's true
identity, and their ideas go even deeper with their use of imagery.
Poe and Hawthornes descriptions in their literary works relate to the human minds
complex structure, and it relates to a person's overall personality. Poe describes life during death,
"My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep / As it is lasting, so be deep! / Soft may the worms
about her creep! / Far in the forest, dim and old" (45-48). The narrator wishes the lady eternal
sleep that is not disturbed by anyone. He hopes she is buried far in the forest and for the worms
around her body to leave her in peace. The seclusion and peace associated with his idea of death
add to the overall tone of this poem. In The Black Cat, the final sentences shows the narrator's
hatred for the cat, "Upon its head, with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the
hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and whose informing voice and
consigned me to the hangman. I had walled the monster up within the tomb!" (Poe 5). The
narrator's mental sanity reduces to nothing and shows the drastic changes in his mood due to the

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cat. His personality degrades over time and reveals his real character. The narrator of the story
describes Feathertops outfit in extreme detail from the gold star, orange pumpkin head, suit, and
cane. Everything about Feathertop proved his status and wealth to the townspeople. Although
this elaborate outer appearance stated his worth, on the inside, he was nothing more than sticks
and straw. This major contrast between Feathertop on the inside and outside contributes to the
idea that people aren't whom they are made out to be. Poe and Hawthornes use of figurative
language interprets the corruption of the human mind and world.
The different uses of figurative language are used to emphasize the Dark Romantic
themes found in these literary works. Alliteration used in "The Sleeper" gives the poem a
mysterious and lulling tone, "At midnight, in the month of June / I stand beneath the mystic
moon" (Poe 1-2). Also, Poe alludes a spirit and river from Greek mythology that represents
forgetfulness and oblivion. In the poem, Poe hopes that death is like this river where there is an
eternal sleep with the lack of awareness of the outside world. With the eternal sleep, ones past
and sins are forgotten. Both Feathertop and The Black Cat use similes comparing characters
and objects to back up the themes of the stories. In Feathertop, Mother Rigby's true personality
is revealed when she gets frustrated over Feathertop's limited capabilities. She is compared to a
snake popping its head out and hissing. While in The Black Cat, the narrator compares his rage
over Pluto to alcoholism, "But my disease grew upon me -- for what disease is like alcohol!"
(Poe 1). This comparison proves to the reader the intense fury that the narrator feels towards the
cats. The symbolism, imagery, and figurative language develop their overall themes and dark
tones.

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The tones in The Black Cat, The Sleeper, and Feathertop contribute to their overall
theme and categorize these literary works into Dark Romanticism. In The Sleeper, Poe uses
words like mystic, drowsily, wizard, and ghost that contributes to the tone of the poem. The word
choice and the rhyme scheme used in The Sleeper shows the mysterious and calming tone
throughout. At the end of the poem, Poe mentions the women and how she bothered the dead as a
child, causing to groan for being disturbed. Now that she is dead, "the poor child of sin" can no
longer aggravate the dead anymore (Poe 59). This woman's actions are related to the common
elements in Dark Romanticism of guilt and sin and continue the eerie tone. The narrator in The
Black Cat is known to be a loving and kind man towards everyone until Pluto changes him. The
theme of horrors that lurk inside everyone is shown in this story. Before Pluto, no one would
have suspected the narrator to be one capable of murder and abuse. The murder and abuse create
the dark and haunting tone that also relates to the narrator's mind deteriorating over time. Lastly,
Feathertop is linked to the struggles of human nature through Mother Rigbys creation of
human with a scarecrow, and flung the energy of her purpose so forcibly at this poor
combination of rotten wood and musty straw and ragged garments that it was compelled to show
itself a man, in spite of the reality of things (Hawthorne 4). Feathertop represents the part of
everyone that is deceptive and makes others believe they are something other than who they truly
are. The mysterious and frightening elements of death, sin, and guilt make these Dark Romantic
pieces.
The Sleeper, The Black Cat, and Feathertop display their Dark Romantic ideas of
the human mind through several literary devices. The symbolism of cats, Feathertop, and the
poem express the ideas of guilt, human nature, and death. Imagery in these pieces sheds light on
the natural corruption of the human mind. Hawthorne and Poe use figurative language to draw a
connection between the negative aspects of society and the actions of humans, revealing our true

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impulses. All literary works share a common shadowy tone that demonstrates the overall feel of
Dark Romanticism. Through the symbolism, imagery, figurative language, and tone, the evils in
the world and mind are exposed.

Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Feathertop: A Moralized Legend." The Literature Network. N.p., n.d.
Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/135/>.
Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Black Cat." PoeStories.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
<http://poestories.com/read/blackcat>.
- - -. "The Sleeper." PoeStories.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
<http://poestories.com/read/sleeper>.
*All works were put in a word document*