The Damned Human Race by Mark Twain - 665 Words

Mark Twain is arguably one of the greatest authors of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, writing unforgettable titles such as â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† and â€Å"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer† which are still read by many today. However, it may be shocking for some to know he also endeavored in argumentative writing as well. â€Å"The Damned Human Race† is one such article. As with any Mark Twain writing, it is filled with emotion and thought. Although this article is extremely persuasive, due to Mark Twain’s dramatic word choices playing on the emotions of the reader, closer examination reveals his article illogical due to relevance as a scientist and fallacious reasoning found within the article. In this article, Mark Twain tugs at the heartstrings of his readers by writing, in detail, stories of how humans differ from what he refers to as â€Å"lower animals† (Twain 1). One such example places his readers in a mental scene by de tailing an organized group buffalo hunt that was intended to impress an English earl (Twain 2). Twains described how â€Å"seventy-two of those great animals† were taken and how only a portion of one animal was consumed while the remaining was left to â€Å"rot† (Twain 2). Through his description of the hunt, Mark Twain was able to capture an emotion of sorrow and anger from his readers before explaining his experiment that was conducted to evaluate the difference between man and animal. In this experiment, Twain recalls placing seven calves into a penShow MoreRelatedThe Damned Human Race By Mark Twain869 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"And so I find that we have descended and degenerated, from some far ancestor, insect by insect, animal by animal...below us, nothing† (Twain, 4). In Mark Twain’s, The Damned Human Race the purpose is to change the readers mind from the Darwinian theory that man is ascended from lower animals to his own theory that man is in f act a descended from higher animals. Although his argument is successful on some levels, it is weak on others. The diction of which he uses is informal, he uses stereotypesRead MoreThe Damned Human Race By Mark Twain860 Words   |  4 PagesMark Twain, in one of his later works, describes human beings as the lowest of creatures in â€Å"The Damned Human Race.† As expected, somebody reading this article may be skeptical at first. However, Twain uses emotion to capture the reader’s attention and uses harsh words to influence the audience. He also appeals to his Human beings have always sought out to be the best, whether worldly or just personally. audience with personal experiences through his studies comparing animals to human beings. HeRead MoreThe Damned Human Race By Mark Twain856 Words   |  4 PagesThe Damned Human Race The assertion that can be made about the intention of The Lowest Animal by Mark Twain is that he sets store on the thought that mankind is wasteful, vengeful, immoral, discriminatory, vulgar, cruel, greedy, and obscene. Twain tries to highlight the savage side of humans in the essay. The writer is right till a certain extent. The content is impactful but has some shortcomings of its own. Many a times, Twain supports his ideas with proper examples, but mostly this article failsRead MoreThe Damned Human Race By Mark Twain849 Words   |  4 PagesIn Mark Twain’s essay â€Å"The Damned Human Race†, he assumes the role as a scientist, analyzing the differences between various species of animals and the human race. It is an essay, loaded with vicious irony that attempts to shine the light upon what Twain identifies as numerous faults within our species. Twain rejects the Theory of Evolution and human supremacy posed by Darwin, and argues that man is actually devolved from th e animals as proven by man’s numerous vices. Despite the essay s dark satireRead MoreThe Damned Human Race By Mark Twain846 Words   |  4 Pagesare strictly confined to man); he invented them† (Twain). Mark Twain observes and explains the dramatic differences between human and animal behaviors, in his essay, â€Å"The Damned Human Race.† He believes that humans descended from higher animals, and are at the bottom of the evolution chart. Through his research, examples, and descriptions, he aims to prove his theory and bring to light some of human’s most unattractive traits. Although Mark Twain used illogical arguments and broad generalizationsRead MoreAnalysis of Mark Twain ´s The Damned Human Race520 Words   |  2 PagesMark twains essay The damned human race brings up the concept of human superiority on Earth and thoroughly questions it. ...now seems plain to me that the [Darwinian] theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one, this ne w and truer one to be named the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals, states the thesis of the paper, shaping up several main concerns that inspired Mark Twain to create the essay.As reported by Twain, his experiments in the London Zoo Garden outlined majorRead MoreCritical Evaluation: Mark Twains The Damned Human Race Essay630 Words   |  3 PagesCritical Evaluation: Mark Twains The Damned Human Race At the turn of the 20th century, Mark Twain took on a mission to disprove Darwins theory that, through evolution; man has ascended from the lower animals. Mr. Twain believed that man actually de-evolved and are the lesser species - descending from the higher animals and spent many grueling months studying the subject. Whether this is a valid argument, seems to be one of opinion, as it is rumored that the author was struggling withRead MoreAnalyzing Twain ´s The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg and The Mysterious Stranger1137 Words   |  5 Pagesvillagers to the truth whether good or bad. Mark Twain uses such a scenario in many of his works such as The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg, and The Mysterious Stranger. In both stories are set in small towns whos residents are oblivious to their own moral hypocrisy. The sudden appearance of a stranger spreading a sort of knowledge, initiates a chain of events the leads to certain residents to self-evaluate their own character and that of the whole human race. Its is through these Mysterious StrangersRead More Mark Twains The Damned Human Race Essay examples699 Words   |  3 PagesMark Twains The Damned Human Race 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 thisRead More Animal Rights, Human Wrongs vs. The Damned Human Race Essay544 Words   |  3 PagesAnimal Rights, Human Wrongs vs. The Damned Human Race â€Å"Animal Rights, Human Wrongs† by Tom Regan and â€Å"The Damned Human Race† by Mark Twain are more similar than different. Both of the authors are informing the readers about the mentality of some human beings in regard to animals. One of the authors, Tom Regan provides several examples of the tactics man uses to harm animals. Mark Twain’s method compares so called lower animal to the human being. In both stories, the way that man treats animals is