Mark Twain's Use Of Satire In The Lowest Animal

“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own”- Jonathan Swift. According to the 19th century, satire was a major weapon purposely to influence the society and improve humanity. A prominent character who utilized satire to portray such messages was Mark Twain. Mark Twain, an American humorist, established the essay “The Lowest Animal” to accentuate the harsh reality of human behavior through analogies, and satirical elements. Based on his writing, Twain utilizes satirical elements such as : hyperbole, and situational irony to convey an effectiveness for entertainment purposes.

Principally, Twain depicts that humans incorporate morals throughout decision-making and elicits as an interference. To illustrate Twain declares, “He is the only animal that has a True Religion - several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself, and cuts his throat if his theology is not straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s

path to happiness and heaven”(lines 142-145). This shows hyperbole satire because not every individual is necessarily religious, however Twain emphasizes the opposite. He utilizes hyperbole to exaggerate man’s ethics. This can relate to biases caused based on stereotypes. For instance, “south central is poor” is an impactful statement. It defines the residence as a whole without empirical evidence. This connects with the claim because it demonstrates the usage of hyperbole to portray the hostility of human behavior.
Furthermore, Twain highlights the dependency of humans on others but animals do not.

For example Twain claims, “Man is the only Slave. And he is the only animal who enslaves. He has always been a slave in one form or another, and has always held other slaves in bondage under him in one way or another… The higher animals are the only ones who exclusively do their own work and provide their own living” (lines 126-132). This signifies situational irony because the outcome is opposite from what is intended. In reality, humans essentially do not depend on others until outgrown from infancy which signifies independence. Twain evokes the harsh reality of human behavior by explicitly approaching that humans enslave. A connection to this is with Nestle Company workers. Children are laboring to create chocolate, coffee, and furthermore yet they have not tasted the products. This reiterates the hostility Twain postulates for

entertainment.
Overall, Mark Twain emphasizes the harsh reality of the human behavior by involving satirical elements to entertain. Satire was effectively used throughout his essay because it can influence the readers to reflect upon what is being stated. Satire plays a prominent role because it is purposely utilized to enhance the world.