Morality Of Animals InThe Damned Human Race, By Mark Twain

A man has a quarrel with another man, and kills him; then the other man’s brother kills him; then the other brothers, on both sides, goes for one another; then the cousins chip in- and by-and-by everybody’s killed off, and there ain’t no more feud. But it’s kind of slow, and takes a long time” (81-82). After informing Huck of the feud, Buck goes on to tell he doesn’t really know who, or what, started it several decades before. Beyond this, Buck is shocked when he realizes that Huck hasn’t heard of a feud before, presumably because feuds were so ordinary and happened quite often. By pointing out these assumptions, Twain is targeting a part of culture that is so odd and irrelevant, therefore criticizing it. Also, an element like this easily symbolizes society’s blemishes, causing it to trace back to Mark Twain’s message: society can be extremely faulty.

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

The statement that can best be made about the purpose of The Lowest Animal by Mark Twain is that he believes that mankind is immoral, vulgar, wasteful, vengeful, discriminatory; cruel, greed, and obscene. This is because he has a moral sense and conscience despite this, doesn’t make our decisions right and properly. However, contrast with Mark Twain’s thesis; I think human beings are not that all bad and not the lowest animal, but perhaps not the highest animal either.

“‘Kill them, kill them!’ It made me so sick I most fell out of the tree,” Huck thinks as the Shepherdson men shout, firing and slaughtering the Grangerford boys. In the novel the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the quarrel among the families has gone on for over thirty years. The living family members no longer remember why they fought; they had become accustomed to the senseless violence. Death has become the norm for the families; Huck finds the feud disturbing and pointless. The rivalry between the families ties in with one of the main themes of the novel: society goes along with the crowd, or is easily peer pressured, and the conflict symbolizes Mark Twain’s thoughts on the Civil War.

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

In Chapter two of Moral, Believing Animals Christian Smith argues that human beings are moral animals because they are strong self-evaluators who inhabit morally based orders. In the next chapter, smith adds that humans are moral animals because they also believe. This ability to believe and act morally allows humans to stray away from our instinctive minds. In other words, it is apart of what makes us human. Smith finds that this way of viewing humans provides a better account of human religiousness. Religion is the manifestation of our capacity to be self-conscious. Smith uses Narrative morality writing to help explain his views on religion and human beings, which allow us to recognize our true moral capacity.

Within his essay of The Damned Human Race, author Mark Twain powerfully declares that the human race is both flawed and corrupt, and that people actually should be classified as 'lower animals' rather than the formerly known 'higher animals.' Twain does not hold claim to a Darwinian or creation standpoint, but rather draws conclusions from his own observations in performed experiments. He states that 'man is the cruel animal,' and that we can attribute this to his moral character. However, there appears to be another side which contradicts his findings. Perhaps man is indeed the 'highest animal,' but possesses something which other animals do not.

Throughout the novel, Twain shows his contempt for corrupt human nature. Although these instances are often satirized and exaggerated, the message is still the same. For instance, when the King and the Duke first start to lie about being the dead Peter Wilks’ brothers to obtain his money, Huck says, “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race,” (191). In this instance Twain is utilizing Huck to show his aversion to the way people lie and cheat, and how a couple of people can make a bad name for all of us. Another example is when Jim sells the King and Duke out to the townspeople and they are carried on a pole, tarred and feathered. Although Huck, has tried to escape the King and Dukes several occasions and has witnessed the cruelties put on others and lies they tell, he does not think that they deserve similar treatment. In fact, he says, “Human beings can be awful cruel to one another,” (269). Through Huck, Twain is voicing his opposition to how people treat one another, whether they deserve it or not. Thus Twain is using his novel to voice his enmity for the cruelty in human nature.

The conflict of war and its effects have been debated throughout history. Some argue that there are other peaceful alternatives besides war that would lead to a better outcome, but in reality this is not the case. War is a natural part of human interactions, and even though it brings death and destruction, war will not cease to exist. Wars are the human way of getting one group to look superior than the other. The idea of a passive approach is ideal, but it is almost nearly impossible and may not always lead to the same outcome as if a war had taken place.

Mark Twain once described his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as “a struggle between a sound mind and a deformed conscience”. Throughout the novel, Huck wrestles with the disparity between his own developing morality and the twisted conscience of his society. In doing so, he becomes further distanced from society, both physically and mentally, eventually abandoning it in order to journey to the western frontier. By presenting the disgust of Huck, an outsider, at the state of society, Mark Twain is effectively able to critique the intolerance and hypocrisy of the Southern South. In doing so, Twain asserts that in order to exist as a truly moral being, one must escape from the chains of a diseased society.

In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirizes and points out common human weaknesses. Within the content, readers are shown the flaws in most all characters including the unreliable narrator, Huckleberry Finn. Some of the most obvious human weaknesses satirized by Twain are ignorance, racism, and self conflict. Twain’s intention of satirizing is to point out common and ironic flaws within their society, considering the time period.

Notably, these lines best show his mockery, “He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself, and cuts his throat if his ideology isn’t straight.” (Twain, 142-143). Twain is indicating that humans are kind to love but are willing to kill if their ideology don’t complement each other. This is a true flaw and contradiction of human nature. Twain further emphasize his satire in these lines, “In an hour I taught a cat and dog to be friends” (Twain, 161). He satirizes how different animal species are capable enough to get along better than humans to convey human nature as being savage animals. In essence, human’s true nature is released through Twain’s

Throughout the classic novel of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain we see a lot of moral development with the main character Huckleberry Finn. Throughout the story Huck’s friendships greatly influence his moral identity. Throughout the series of events that unfold upon our main character, Huck Finn, we see huge moral leaps in the way he thinks that are influenced by that friendships he makes on his journey. He starts the book as a young minded individual with no sense morals other than what has been impressed onto him and ends up as a self empowering individual. Through the friendships he makes with Tom Sawyer, Jim, and the Duke and King we see big moral leaps with Huck.

Human beings belong to the Animal Kingdom, therefore human beings are animals. Human beings have rights; animals have rights, or at least they should. Unfortunately, however, human beings feel the need to take those unalienable rights away from animals who have no way of fighting back. Local law enforcement and animals’ rights advocates should do more to eliminate animal abuse because it is unethical, immoral, and inhumane.