The Damned Human Race

This essay was written by Mark Twain, it is about a study that was done to contrast the descent of man to be of the Lower Animals or of the Higher Animals. The combative and cruel nature of human beings makes them the lowest of creatures, not the highest (Twain 1).

The study of the traits and dispositions of man in contrast of the traits and disposition of animals. This study was done at the London zoo and it took many months to complete. Mark Twain renounce the Darwin theory of the Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals. This new and truer one to be named the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals (Twain 1). The experiment was done on the human race, the quadrupeds and the other families like, birds, fish, insects and reptiles. The experiment of man and an anaconda found that man was cruel and the anaconda was not. Man destroyed what he had no use for, the anaconda did not. Thus, he believed that man was descended from the anaconda. The experiment also found man to be avaricious and miserly. After the experiment using hundreds of wild and tame animals, man was the only one who will continue to build his wealth with more than he can use, but the squirrels and bees were the only animals to collect enough food to store for the winter. The experiment found man to be the only one to seek revenge. In higher animals, there is no trace of indecency, vulgarity, obscenity, but they are found in man. This is a well-structured and organized essay. The organization helped to form an opinion because the experiments were done at different times, seasons and with insects as well as four legged animals. This helped to get the true answer between man and animal. The essay was written in first person, and it does help the writer prove his point, considering the writer is the one who did the experiments. The introduction was strong because the writer’s first couple of sentences explains what he was doing, why he was doing it and who he was against. The conclusion was well written and summed up the essay well, but I did not see how the thesis was restated.