Human Race

A response to Mark Twain’s “The Lowest Animal” (1896)
By: Thanusha Sritharan

Is the human race cruel or just selfish? The human race is one of many distinct species in the world. Human beings share most of their traits and behaviors with other animals. The act of cruelty and violence to one another is one of the behaviors that humans differ from animals. In the essay “The Lowest Animal” (1896), Mark Twain claims that man can be cruel and wasteful in his lifetime. Although his statement does not imply to all humans, the moral sense enables us to do wrong. With the proof of news reports and media it is evident that man is cruel to animals, the society and to their household.
When compared to people, dogs are known as a man’s best friend. Even though they are four-legged canines, dogs have a heart like gold. Dogs are also known for their ability to help people with visual impairments. They are very loyal and lovable to their owners and others. A study conducted by Mark Franz states that dogs happen to have a higher level of decency when compared to humans. In Toronto, a 32-year old woman, Alice Marcial, strangled her pet dog Jacob to death. This news article is very relevant to Mark Twain’s quote “Of all animals man is the one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it” (pg.238). Not only do humans find pleasure by inflicting pain on animals but they also engage in public killings as a source of entertainment.
Many people in the world live their life according to their sets of beliefs and values. In the world we live in today people feel the need to judge and have a say in others life choices. In Papua New Guinea, a mob tortured a group of woman who was accused of witchcraft. This mob tortured this group alive in front of hundreds of horrified witnesses including their family. To support this news article a quote my Mark Twain can be used, “Man is a religious animal” (pg.237). This quote proves the fact that a man loves his religion and he only plays by his religion. Although witchcraft is not a religion it is something that group believed in. The act of shunning someone based on their religious choices is morally wrong and should not lead to any form abuse or death.
In third world countries people abuse children in my different ways just to teach them a lesson. This happens every single day to millions of children around the world. Child abuse is something not to be taken easily. It is seen as a major social problem and it is one of many causes of the children’s death. For example, in Saudi Arabia a five-year-old Saudi girl was beaten to death by her father when in front of her entire family. There was no specific reason for this abuse but it cost the life of a five-year old girl. This news article can be supported by a Mark Twain quote, “Man is a cruel animal” (pg.237). This quote proves the fact that man could do anything to accomplish something regardless of who the victim is.

With the proof of news reports and a study it is evident that man is descended from animals. Some people choose to do evil things even though they have conscious of what they are doing. A reason why people do this is because the moral sense enables men to do wrong. In the world we live today everyone makes mistakes. In fact this is not an excuse to make a cruel, unforgiving fault that could change yours or that person’s life.