Mark Twain Satire

“Man is the Cruel Animal. He is alone in that distinction.” (Twain) Mark Twain discusses his ideas and feelings regarding humanity in this satirical essay. He points out that although humans possess a sense of morals, they use it as a compass to perform evil. He goes on to compare the human race with other, “lower animals” and points out that man is actually less evolved than any of them. Although clearly satire, his piece could be more successful if he did not apply sweeping generalizations and clearly exaggerated examples. His points on the flaws of humankind do have some validity, but the presentation of the argument takes away from its credibility. As the piece begins, Twain claims to be a scientist, clearly to appeal to the ethos

His “experiments” are described in a vivid and captivating nature that grab the reader’s attention. When discussing man’s wasteful habits, he describes a buffalo hunt. “They killed seventy-two of those great animals; and ate part of one of them and left the seventy-one to rot.” (Twain) He uses vivid descriptions like these to have the reader feel the outrage and shame that he felt himself. He uses satire as the tone for this essay, enabling him to point out the problems he sees with humankind without singling out or offending anyone in particular. He cites man’s values regarding war, slavery, and women’s rights as corrupted. He goes on to belittle these corrupt values and uses pathos to have his readers share in his disgust. By not directly insulting anyone, but calling out the ridiculousness of some of these values, he uses satire to convey his point. His use of satire and pessimistic tone is designed to motivate the reader to examine their own values and moral sense. He generalized humans as immoral and valueless, which compels the reader to prove him wrong in a sense. The reader would then act in a manner contrary to his examples, thus being accepting, generous, and kind. This motivation of the reader to examine oneself is a successful step towards