Mark Twain's The Damned Human Race Essay examples

“All human beings are commingled out of good & evil” was a quote once said by notable Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. This quotation discusses and supports William Golding’s, the author of Lord of the Flies, belief that all humans have a distinct character flaw that, when left unchecked by morals and laws of society, will eventually corrupt the individual. In Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, it’s shown how due to their environment and lack of supervision, the young boys slowly progress and evolve into barbaric, bloodthirsty individuals.

What makes a being more evolved? Who are we to say that humans are the most evolved or even the least? It is believed by some that we are descended from the "higher animals", whereas others believe that we have ascended from the "lower animals". In Mark Twain's essay, "The Lowest Animal" (1896), he portrays the idea that the human race has no hope, as we have too many flaws. It is undeniable that we have our flaws, but what creature on this planet does not? The human race may not be perfect, or reaching perfection anytime soon, but it does progress and develop as time goes on. As humans, we are neither substantially higher nor lower than animals. Although foolish actions are performed towards each other and our planet, we have also

Mark Twain’s essay, The Lowest Animal, details about our human beings’ bad and disgusting aspects. He talks about human beings’ greed, cruelty, vulgarity, wastefulness, and other lots of evil aspects. By introducing these things, he

In “The Lowest Animal”, Mark Twain uses satire to demonstrate that mankind is cruel. In his writing, Twain states, “Man is the only animal that robs his helpless fellow of his country—takes possession of it and drives him out of it or destroys him” (Twain 6). This is a key example of Twain using satire to demonstrate that mankind is cruel. Twain is stating that man is the only animal that takes land and possessions from its own kind, as well as that man is the only animal that destroys his own kind. This is an obvious cruel action and Twain is poking fun at it because humans take part in this action and animals do not. Twain is ridiculing humans as he is stating that mankind is the only animal that acts in this manner, which is a key representation

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.

In his essay, “The Lowest Animal”, Mark Twain attempts to prove a pessimistic opinion of his. He compares humans to animals, and explains how contrary to widespread belief, humans are a lower animal to other species. While he makes some valid points about greed, selfishness, and violence, he misses the overall picture of human nature. I firmly believe that the human race is made of not only civilized, but caring human beings. If humans were as abominable as Twain attempts to make us out to be, we would not have countries, communities, or any other caring and loving, individual connections. We would also have countless amounts of prisons, prisoners, high mortality rates due to violence, and lower life-spans. Twain writes from a subjective point of view, allowing his opinions of

In Mark Twain 's satirical essay, “The Damned Human Race,” Twain critiques human beings by declaring that “The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner.” The motif of cowardice and the cruelty of humanity is also present in another one of Twain’s most famous works: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Throughout this novel, Twain passionately decries the immorality and corruption of society through the employment of rhetoric and themes. He utilizes irony to draw attention to the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of many Christians and the detrimental effects this hypocrisy can have on society. He implements pathos to highlight the greed and

The purpose of the reading for Mark Twain was to show: “That the human race is of one distinct species. That other animals also more or less distinct and that they are in the procession. They are links in the chain which stretches down from the higher animals to man at the bottom” (Twain). He eases his readers into his claims strategically by presenting his facts and findings. He frantically unravels as he depicts his findings to show the believed evidence as he attempts to stake his claim.

All throughout history, and even today, people will have their own positions on certain subjects, in the early half of the 19th century a raving topic was that of slavery. Along with the bringing of the first Africans into America came the controversy of whether it was right to use and abuse fellow humans just because of the color of their skin. The period of opposition towards slavery can be broken down into two periods, a period of antislavery movements prior to 1830 and a period of abolitionist movements from the 1830s until the end of the civil war. Despite the efforts of many in the period of antislavery, the movement just didn’t generate an impact as grand as that of the abolitionist’s movement. The antislavery movement in the long

The final sentence of Twain’s essay is a powerful and effective way to end The War Prayer. At the end of the essay, the stranger is described as “a lunatic, because

     There is a major argument among literary critics whether the adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is or is not a racist novel. The question focus on the depiction of Jim, the black slave, and the way he is treat by Huck and other characters. The use of the word “nigger” is also a point raised by some critic, who feel that Twain uses the word too often and too loosely. Mark Twain never presents Jim in a negative light. He does not show Jim as a drunkard, as a mean person or as a cheat.

Twain uses satire through Sherburn's speech to criticize human nature and the society as a whole. Sherburn describes the mobs and the town people as cowards since they wouldn't be able to lynch him and go against him if they were not in a group. Through this satire from Sherburn's speech, the readers can understand Twain's view on human nature. Twain pokes fun of the fact that in society, people often times follow with whatever the crowd believes in rather than what an individual believes

There are good examples of natural behavior in the book. Huck used instinct a lot. He almost turned Jim in because society told him runaway slaves are criminals, but his natural instinct saw Jim as a friend who needed help. Jim then did the same when he had a difficult choice to make. He could either book it to Cairo, or take Huck to a doctor. He too saw a friend in need and helped Huck out. Again, Twain uses satire to prove a point. In the beginning of the book, Huck Finn appears to be nothing more than a simple, uneducated boy who goes on crazy adventures. At the end of the book, however, you can see that he uses his natural instinct to help him out. Although society has told him that slaves are nothing more than objects, he comes to know and treat Jim as a friend and person. He had numerous opportunities to turn him in, but didn't. In contrast, the seemingly "civilized" people turn out to be the ones who let society tell them what's right and what's wrong, instead of going with their heart like Huck did.

Mark Twain is important to American literature because of his novels and how they portray the American experience. Some of his best selling novels were Innocents Abroad, Life on the Mississippi, Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In these books, Mark Twain recalls his own adventures of steamboating on the Mississippi River.

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure" (Twain). This quote is from Mark Twain. He is a very famous author who has written such classics as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain’s real name is Samuel Clemens, and was known to have experienced different many things in his lifetime. He has worked as a miner, printer, river pilot, and more (www.cmgww.com). This tells us that he must have known many things, and possibly how he came up with this quote.