The Damned Human Race by Mark Twain

In Mark Twain’s essay The Damned Human Race, he states that “it obliges [him] to renounce

[his] allegiance to the Darwinian theory of the Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals; since it now

seems plain to [him] that the theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one, this new and

truer one to be named the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals” (Zengardner.com). However, this

new theory would not be truer, it would not be true at all. Man has not descended from animals, we are

not damned, and we are certainly not incorrigible. Instead, we are rightfully in our place above the other

animals and are entirely redeemable.

Twain first makes the point that human beings are wasteful. He demonstrates this through a

story about an English earl who wished to go hunting to provide food to store up. He and his hunters set

out and had a marvelous time of it. That day, the men killed seventy-two buffalos but only ate a portion

of one of them and left the other seventy-one untouched. Admittedly, this is a very good story to use in

support of his thesis. However, one could also point out the lifestyle of the Native Americans who would

find such behavior repulsive. Thomas E. Mails studied the Native Americans for many years. In his book

The Mystic Warrior, Mails states that “the buffalo’s habits and kinds were studied intensely, and in time

the Indians put virtually every part of the beast to some utilitarian use” (Mail 188). He goes on to show a

visual aide labeling each part of the buffalo and listing the numerous ways that each part was used. For

example, the buckskin alone was used for moccasin tops, cradles, clothing, tipi covers, quivers, gun

cases and many more items needed by the Indians for dai...

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