THE DAMNED HIMAN RACE (MarkTwain)

                         (1) THE DAMNED HUMAN RACE
                                             (Mark Twain)

GENERAL INTRODUCTION: -               

                                            “The Damned Human Race” is a very contemplative and satirical essay written by Mark Twain. He is one of the greatest essayists and short story writers of the American Literature. His writings are usually savage satire and pessimistic. The present essay has been extracted from his famous book “letters from the Earth”, one of his famous works. His pen name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens but he wrote under the pseudonym ‘Mark twain’ which is the call of pilots when taking soundings, meaning ‘two fathoms’.

MAIN IDEA OF THE STORY: - (Theme)

                                         “The Damned Human Race” is a scathing irony and satire on man’s combative, cruel and callous nature. Who is apparently considered to be “the crown of the universe”. Mark Twain, rejecting “Darwins’s Theory of Evolution”, proves that man is “the lowest animals” due to his cruel, violent and warlike nature. Even the most cruel quadrupeds, birds, fish, reptiles, and insects are for better then man. Though he compares two incompatibles, i.e. human beings with animals: but his only purpose in doing so is to expose the vices and weaknesses of the so-called human beings. 

SUMMARY: -

                 According to the write, man is generally considered as the “Crown of the Universe”, but his conduct, behavior and action have revealed that he is too much lower than all the other animals. However, he proves his point of view through different experiments conducted in the London Zoological Gardens and arrived at the following conclusions.

(1)MAN IS CRUEL: -   (Comparison of Man with Anaconda)

                  Mark Twain, comparing man with an anaconda, proves that man is crueler than animals. He kills others for sport and pleasure while animals kill others for necessity. The proof is that English Earl killed 72 buffaloes to eat only one of them, leaving the remaining 71 to rot. By way of experiment, the writer put 7 calves into an anaconda’s cage the hungry anaconda ate only one and did not even touch the others, because those were of no use for it. Similarly, a cat catches and eats up a mouse only when it is hungry, but even then is does not torment to it. Whereas, man takes out hid enemy’s eyes, takes off his skin, and burns him to ashes. This shows that man is worse than any cruel animal on earth.

(b)Man is greedy and miserly: -   (Comparison of man with Bees, Squirrels and Ants)

                                  Comparing man with bees, squirrels, ants and some birds, the writer proves that man is more greedy and miserly than animals. Man’s lust to accumulate wealth is unlimited. He stores food items sell them in high prices while his fellow beings are in a dire need of them. Whereas, some squirrels bees and ants were provided big stores of food, who stopped gathering the food items when they had stored for their winter’s supply.

(c) Man is sexually perverted:-      (Comparison of Man With Roosters and Cats)

                                    Comparing man with roosters and cats, the writer claims that man is involved in abnormal sexual activities. The roosters keep harems with the consent of their wives, but man keeps harems in the shape of concubines by brute force. The cat is loose in character but she is only unconsciously so. On the other hand, man deliberately indulges himself in excessive sexual malpractices. So, man is more vulgar, indecent and obscene than animals and birds.

(d) Man is revengeful by nature: -

                                  Mark Twain has proved and justified his contention that man is by nature revengeful. No other animal broods over revengeful thoughts, but it is man who takes revengeful whenever he gets a chance. He kills his fellow beings, wages war against them, enslaves them, and deprives them of their prosperity. In addition, man is guilty conspiracies while the animals are innocent in this respect.

(c ) Man is maniac in his aspirations:-

                              According to the writer, man proves himself mad and intolerant in religious and political spheres. He shows the extreme degree of fanaticism and intolerance when he faces some other people whose religious and political thoughts are opposite to him. In this respect, the writer quotes many examples from history. For example, the Red Indians of North America brutally plucked out their prisoners eyes. In this middle ages, the religious fanatics skinned their captives and scattered salt on their backs. In Richard-I’s time, a number of Jew families were shut up in a tower and burnt alive. King John inserted red-hot iron in his nephew’s eyes to make him harmless. Moreover, the religious atrocities in the days of Caesar in Rome, in the reign of Queen Mary in England, and in the days of French Revolution are apt examples of man’s cruel and mean nature .on the other hand, many birds and animals of different species live in one forest peacefully.

           Keeping in view the above traits of man, the writer has claimed that man is not ‘higher animals’ but is the ‘lower animal’ to lowest degree.

Conclusion:-

                  In the end we can conclude that Mark Twain’s observations, experiments and evidence are shocking, though, convincing and acceptable, he has sincerely tried to hold the mirror to man to show him ugly face, but this is only one aspect of human nature. However, his main object in satirizing and exposing man’s weaknesses is correction, reformation and edification of his character and personality. Unlike animals, man has been blessed with reason, intelligence and religion. To the writer, man must justify by his behavior, conduct, and character that he is the best of all the creations.

                                                                    TEXTUAL QUESTION

Q- 1. Man is usually called the highest animal on the basis of intelligence. What are the specific traits that make him the lowest animal for Twain?

ANS:-    (Theme + Summary + conclusion)

Q-2. How does Twain try to shock the readers? What might be his purpose in using this technique?

ANS:- (Gen. Int.) + The writer shocks the reader by painting a horrible picture of man. He gives the examples of his evils from history, politics and religion. He comes to the result that man is worthless being whose entire life is hateful. His experiments are shocking though convincing. He has shown by his experiments that animals, inspite of having opposite and hostile nature, can live together peacefully; but man cannot show such behaviour. He justifies man’s act of killing the other people merely saying that they have not the same thoughts as he has.

He uses his shocking technique just to attack man mercilessly in order to awaken him from his falling condition of life. Although the writer has given very unpleasant surprising and shocking remarks; but his main object in doing this is correction, reformation and edification of man’s character and personality. Unlike animal, man has been blessed with reason, intelligence and religion. In short, to the writer, man must justify by his behavior, conduct, and character that he is the best of all the creations.

Q-3. point out some of the examples of political and religious atrocities referred to in the essay by the author. Has Twain gone overboard? Or does man deserve this attack?

ANS: - (Gen. Int.) + SUMMARY (e) +

To conclude, we can say that to call Mark Twain has gone overboard is unfair. In short, he has drawn a true and faithful picture of the evil side of man’s character and nature. Though it is only one side of the picture, but the whole history of mankind testifies this unpleasant fact that man rightly deserves this attack by Mark Twain.

Q-4. This essay was written in the early 1900’s. is it true today? Have people improved in a century’s time?

ANS   (Theme) + If we look back at the history of the last 100 years, we are compelled to conclude that the contents of this essay are true even today. Man has not improved in a century’s time. Man has made a great progress in the field of physical comforts, but there is no peace and happiness in the world. Man has failed to change his evil nature. During the last 100 years, we have two Word Wars. There have been famines in China, India and Somalia. In Kashmir, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine, and Iraq there are political disturbances. Each day newspapers are full of news of bloodshed, molestation, robberies and other cruelties. The acts of terrorism and bomb blasts are on the rise there days in our own countries in which hundreds of innocent people are massacred for nothing. In some parts of the World, battles are being fought. Afghanistan and Iraq are the most recent examples of American’s ruthless and callous behavior. There are killings on the basis of religion, colour, language, race and fanaticism. Every country in the world is trying to make horrible atomic weapons just for power exposure. Moreover, man’s greed for money had given birth to inflations and unemployment. Man has miserably failed to promote love and sympathy for other.

                    In short, the differences in the world-politics and lack of tolerance are main causes of cruelty. Brutality and bloodshed in the modern world: “where there is a will, there is a way.” If man adopts tolerance and temperament of peace, people can improve and remove this label of the “lowest animal” in the century. At present, the situation is not bad; rather it is worst.