Mark Twain, who experiences horrors ranging from the Civil War to the racial and religious riots known as the late 1800s; this somewhat horrendous period pushes Twain to write his satirical philosophical essay "The Lowest Animal" simultaneously using macabre imagery and humorously exaggerating throughout the essay. Twain's writings overturn the common belief of Darwinism to establish that the nature of human beings may be inferior to that of animals; consequently, prompting other philosophers and philanthropists to share Twain's ideal over laughter. Although Twain writes satirically about humanity's many social issues, the amount of gruesome and macabre imagery is found throughout much of his entire essay. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Twain declares, “He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself, and cuts his own throat if his theology is not right.” Stating that humanity holds its own beliefs above its neighbors and will even go to the extreme of killing him if his ideals are not shared between the two. Twain further states, “There is not an acre of land on the globe that is in the possession of its rightful owner, or that has been taken from owner after owner, cycle after cycle, by force and bloodshed ”. This means that humanity is "the only animal that steals" for its own satisfaction of possessing valuables that it does not rightfully own, and in savage ways will diabolically kill or harm its own species to possess everything it needs. Twain provokes a feeling of disgust with his use of macabre imagery to demonstrate how human beings engage in brutal actions that are driven by their ideals and desires; furthermore, humanity is the self-described “best” of all. Twain tackles serious social issues, all while having a good laugh throughout his writing. “He stands out in his own country, under his own flag, and mocks other nations, and keeps a multitude of uniformed assassins on hand, at great cost, to take slices of other countries and prevent them from taking slices of his". Twain curls his lip as he thinks of patriotism and those who blindly follow the ideal of patriotism. Twain states that no matter how right or wrong their country is, patriotic people will promote their country as if it were the best. “His record is the fantastic record of a maniac. I believe that the strongest evidence against his intelligence is the fact that with that record behind him, he blandly places himself as the leading animal of the lot: while by his standards he is the last”. After Twain points out humanity's problems, he laughs that they call themselves "the highest animal." It satirizes how man is the most brutal, selfish, and ignorant of all species; therefore, humans are the lowest animals. Twain drives a feeling of anger and self-awareness towards their actions and how patriotism affects them as human beings. Works Cited Twain, M. (1896). The lowest animal. Harper's Magazine, 93(559), 171-178. Fishkin, San Francisco (2010). Mark Twain's America. Oxford University Press. Railsback, B. (2008). Mark Twain: a brief introduction. John Wiley & Sons. Budd, L. J. (2017). Mark Twain: social philosopher. University of Missouri Press.Hill, H. B. (1997). Mark Twain and the jumping frog: the origins of a literary legend. University of Missouri Press.Coyne, J.C. (2012). Mark Twain: The Development of a Writer. University of Missouri Press. Rasmussen, R. K. (2004). Mark Twain from A to Z: the essential reference to his life and writings. Oxford University Press. Kesterson, D. B. (1994). A.