"The Lowest Animal" Response

 Throughout Twain's essay "The Lowest Animal", Twain argues that the human race is worse than any other species. I would agree with Twain's belief that man is the "lowest animal", because as human beings we understand what is right and wrong, and know when we are intentionally hurting one another. However, despite our senses on what is acceptable in life, we still deliberately hurt one another. We commit atrocious acts in that generally do not contribute to the survival of the human race, and our only done in order to satisfy selfish desires. According to Twain, "Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and with calm pulse to exterminate his kind." Twain stresses the point that war decreases our value as a species, because we our only hurting our own kind. We are purposefully threatening our own species, and we are well aware of this. However, animals are not aware of the atrocities that they may commit. For instance, Twain states: "The cat plays with the frightened mouse; but she has this excuse, that she does not know that the mouse is suffering." Animals do not have the ability to realize that they are harming others, and their innocence places them above humans. Humans are the "lowest animal" because they deliberately hurt others, with the understanding that they are inflicting pain and bringing suffering to others.