Section 1: A description of the dark side of human nature. Human nature is the set of general psychological characteristics, feelings and behavioral traits of mankind, considered shared by all human beings." (Oxford Dictionaries). The dark side of human nature is the part of human beings that dwells in negative thoughts or actions such as revenge, hatred, violence, murder and all seemingly evil things. But what is the dark side of human nature and how does it motivate evil and how is it perceived differently? Evil is deeply immoral and/or malevolent and occurs when someone knows that what they are doing is wrong and continues to do it. Dark Romantic authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne use Gothic elements to portray the dark and brooding undertones of the stories' characters' psyches and, through the characters, essentially the nature of all human beings. Section 2: Hawthorne and Poe consistently revealing the dark side of human nature. The Dark Romantics focuses on the psychological effects of conflict between good and evil, guilt and sin, and psychotic behavior. It shows the dark side of human nature through stories of revenge, shame, obsession and madness. Both Poe and Hawthorne examine different aspects of the darker side of human nature. The Dark Romantics emphasize human untrustworthiness and propensity for sin and self-destruction, having a less optimistic view of humanity, human nature, and religion like Emerson's transcendental thinking. (http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=03296e7a-93dd-402a-8825-d2a1431ae5b9%40sessionmgr4001&vid=8&hid=4114).Poe is best known for his psychological thrillers in which he reveals his thoughts that all human nature is dark and malicious. Expresses dark and gloomy... middle of paper... symbol of the secret sin that all people carry within themselves. At the end of the story, on his deathbed, the minister says he sees "a black veil on every face" (End of the book). The minister is saying that all men hide behind their own sin and this causes people to examine their own lives and guilt over their own sins. Another symbol is the Puritan interest in the concept of “sin.” The Puritan view of sin is that every person is predestined to eternal life in Heaven or Hell. The black veil could be a method for Hooper to reveal to humanity that he was a sinful being. By wearing the headscarf, Hooper is criticized for doing so, which may be due to Hawthorne saying that Puritans are callous and hypocritical and far from moral beings. Conclusion: For both Poe and Hawthorne, humanity is an evil being infinitely plagued by sin, guilt, and mortality.