Famously, in the 1960s, Hal Holbrook, an actor, recreated Mark Twain's lectures. Watch the following youtube clip in which Hal Holbrook acts out one of Mark Twain's lectures. As in the quote above, note that Twain's humor often contains a serious message. In the quote above, for example, Twain is making a (very modern!) criticism of politicians.
In this video, Twain talks about the nature of man -- how we squabble, fight over religion, war with other nations, and other such things. Note his sarcasm: "Man is a reasoning animal..." From this lecture, what are Twain's feelings on mankind and the way we treat one another? What is his message? Quote at least one line from the video that shows his sense of humor while also demonstrating his more serious message. Explain. Pin-point a moment in his lecture when he gets very serious and you can tell he does really care about this topic -- quote a bit of it and explain it. What do you think of Twain's method of making his argument with humor? Is it more or less effective than a straight-forward, serious argument? Does the humor take away or add to the message?
Remember, you need to write at LEAST two paragraphs!
I think that Mark Twain feels we have too many wars, religious quarrels, and other things. When he talked about the reasoning animals, he used the various religions to convey his point. Mark Twain showed his humor through this serious quote when he was talking about the religious animal, “He’s the only one with the true religion… several of them.” He said this because he believes that we have too many arguments over religion. Mark Twain also believes that war is wrong. He believes that we destroy ourselves through that atrocious thing.
ReplyDeleteI think Mark Twain’s use of humor is a good way to make an argument. I think it is more effective than a straight-forward argument. It gives the reader an easier comprehension of your side of the argument. By using humor, the listener can get a clear understanding of where you stand. The humor adds to the message by engaging the listener.
I believe that Mark Twain wants us to know that people do not get along if their ideals are different. Our ideals are the reason people fight. Either it be religion or even just who is the leader of the group, people fight. They are the same kind yet they can't work together. We go to war with our own kind.The animals Mark Twain used could live peacefully on the idea of they needed to survive. Why can't we live in peace without having one person be leader?
ReplyDeleteMark Twain uses humor to get attention of the people. They listen if they're entertained.This helps the audience learn the meaning of the lecture. The point of the lecture is to tell you that humans resort to violence thinking it is the answer. This is understood by the audience when there is humor involved.
I feel like Mark Twain believes that we have pointless arguments and wars over stuff that don't even matter. He doesn't care if we have different religions or heritage, he says to leave our differences beside and work together. He says that it is pointless and dumb. The message he is trying to spread it to forget about the fact that everyone has a different something, and to unite peacefully. Comparing humans to animals; however, show how much we are. We call ourselves civilized but we probably the most dangerous.
ReplyDeleteMark Twain's humor was a great contrast to his serious message. If there was no humor, people would become depressed about the message. Humor also keeps people interested. If this was longer and had no humor, I would have fallen asleep. If you are entertained, which is what humor does, you will listen to his message more and actually get more for it. It may also symbolize the happiness that can come if we stop having wars, battles, and arguments over thing that make no difference. If you are a certain ethnicity, that only affects you and not anyone else. They have no reason to do so.
~Jamal N.
2015
I feel that Mar Twain was saying that mankind was a "reasonable animal". He meant that we as humans fight among ourselves and are "Bent to destroy our own kind" with our wars. I also think he means that we have too many fights about religion, and politics, and every other manner of things. For example he also talked about his experiment with putting all the animals in the cage, and that they grew to be friends. He meant this as a metaphor and how mankind, as animals have no real reason to be fighting among themselves. I think he felt that if we all put aside our differences, then the world would be a much better place.
ReplyDeleteA section in the video when we see that Twain truly cares of this topic, is when he says "Animals have no religion y'know". By this I feel this that he thinks that humans fight all the time because our religions, and that animals don't because they don't have religions. I also agree with Jamal that the humor is the glue that keeps the bad news together. Without the humor in the speech, people would have been booing of boredom. I also think this is a more direct way to get people to listen, and that it adds to the speech. He thinks (and I 100% agree with this), that people should just forget their differences and work together as people.
-Isaac E. =D
I think Mark Twain felt that we have too many wars and quarrels over nothing that is important. He says that we are a reasoning animal when we're really not seeing as we fight over religion and how we kill just because they don't have the same religion as we do. For example, " Man is the only animal, that deals with the atrocity of war". He then proceeds to explain more in depth with what he means like how men who fight in the war killed others even though they are human. Furthermore, Mark wishes that we just put our weapons down and be friendly to each other.
ReplyDeleteMark Twain's humor help very much in his lecture. For one, it helped grab the people's attention. Due to that, if he didn't and was super serious, then people would not be interested in the lecture or be a little depressed about it. Moreover, it allows them to listen more to understand the meaning of what he is saying. Second, it makes it happy and light so the people don't get sad and not pay attention.
I think that Mark Twain's message in this video is that we have too many wars and don't get along much, like Andrew said. What is main point was is that he doesn't care if we have different religions, beliefs, or politics. Mark wants us to put all of the differences behind us and work as a team. He also used a reference to the animal experiment a while back. Like Isaac said, For example he also talked about his experiment with putting all the animals in the cage, and that they grew to be friends. He meant this as a metaphor and how mankind, as animals have no real reason to be fighting among themselves.
ReplyDeleteTwain uses his humor to get the audience's attention. In my opinion this would get me to stay on his side more than someone else. If there wasn't humor the show would be quite boring. So because of Mark' use of humor the audience likes him and his reasoning.
In my opinion, I think Twain's lecture's message was that he thinks human kind has way to many fights and arguments that lead to wars and religious quarrels. Twain feels that we treat each other poorly and that we do not work together. He says that these arguments lead to nowhere and they are pointless. Twain wants us, no matter the race and religion, to set our diffrences behind and work together as a team. In the video he states,"I got an Irish Catholic and put him in a cage, and as soon as he seemed tame, I added a Presbyterian, and then a Turk from Constantinople, a messagist (sorry, unclear in the video) from Arkansas, a Bhuddist from China, and finally a Salvation Army Colonel. Why, when I came back there was't a specimen left alive." He gave the audience a humorous joke while still portraying how people of different faith treat each other. He got very serious when he reached the part of his lecture where he stated,"Man is the only animal that participates in the atrocity of war." He really cared about this topic and was very serious when he was speaking of it.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Twain's sense of humor is very affective in the lecture. It gets the audience's attention and gets them intrigued in the lecture. Without the humor, the message wouldn't really "click" with the audiences. The humor adds on to the argument because the audience will not only enjoy the lecture but remember and focus on the lecture. I love Mark Twain's sense of humor and I like the messages he puts out.
"Man is a reasoning animal." That's quite true! We are animals...mammals. We do reason because that's just who we are. We make our own choices. We take our actions. "They live together in peace." He says this after listing many animals that he "puts in a cage." There are so many different people with different races and religion. "I got an Irish Catholic and put him in a cage, and as soon as he seemed tame, I added a Presbyterian, and then a Turk from Constantinople, a messagist (sorry, unclear in the video) from Arkansas, a Bhuddist from China, and finally a Salvation Army Colonel. Why, when I came back there was't a specimen left alive."
ReplyDeleteMark Twain's sense of humor, like John C. said, is very affective. It helps people understand and get the message to their heads, because without it, it would have been a little too serious. I personally love when there's a serious topic in our hands and someone just adds something humorous but it still involves the topic. It just lifts the atmosphere, making it fun and comfortable while talking about something serious.
Mark Twain says that mankind is the reasoning animal. I agree that we are animals. We reason because that is just a normal part of us... of human nature. I find it quite funny when he says that he put the animals in a cage... and that they all got along. Whereas with the humans, he says that he left them and when he came back, they were all dead. Now he makes a good point when he says this. And that is that we may fight these crazy wars, whether we actually need to or not.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Mark Twain's humor, he tends to stay quite serious, giving him a dry sense of humor. He makes all of these funny remarks, yet never smiles once. Yes I know that this wasn't the real Mark Twain, but still, he was acting out one of his many lectures. Anyway, I agree with Sasha A. because it does help people to understand what he is talking about. I tried to just listen to him and I didn't get it at all!! But then I actually watched him speak, and watched his small gestures and then I understood! Just watching him pace back and forth made it easier for me to understand what he was saying and talking about. So overall, I think that Mark Twain's humor did help people to understand him better.
What I think Mark Twain is trying to say is us humans are often looking for a fight. For example, we are animals. When he put the animals in a cage... they were fine. When he put the Buddhists, the soldiers etc..., they didn't get along. Picking out fights is almost really our human nature, sadly. When he came back to the cage every one was dead. All of our wars and disagreements on religion and culture is brought up in this lecture.
ReplyDeleteI notice when "Mark Twain" said humans are reasoning animals, everybody started bursting out in laughter, he kept a straight face. During this lecture he made many remarks that made everyone laugh, he did not smile. This is why Mark Twain has his dry humor. When he is just speaking without the humor it is hard to understand it is hard to understand. When he adds his humor you pay attention and it is easier. His humor helps me to get what he is saving.
I think that Mark Twain thinks that humans are always arguing and fighting with each other. He says that we have a lot of fights about religion, power, politics, etc. For example, when he put the animals in the cage, they grew to be friends. Humans are animals too, and as animals, we have no reason to fight. If we put aside our differences, the world would be a kinder place.
ReplyDeleteIn the video, when he says,"Humans are reasoning animals" everybody laughs, showing his humor and his serious topic. When he says,"I've been studying this reasoning animal for years now and I find the results humiliating." Everybody laughs and at the same time Twain points out how this "reasoning animal" isn't reasoning at all. Humor would add to the serious message because if there were no humor, it would be harder to pay attention. It is more effective than a serious argument.
My phone and computer did not allow me to acces the video. So I'll answer the questions in general instead of referring to the video.
ReplyDeleteI think his method of inposing humor in his argument made his lectures better. If you just talk on and on lecturing peopl, they'll lose interest. If you throw in humor every once in a while it'll keep them enthusiastic about the subject. I also think using humor doesn't hurt the argument. You could use the, its so serious or bad its funny, approach which could help people keep paying attention and understand the
problem.
So overall i think humor could help people understand the argument, but maybe not help the argument its self.
From what i watched in the video, mark twain is "humiliated" by man kind because of the way we act (found in his quote, "Well I've been studying this reasonable animal for years now, and I find the results humiliating.") This shows that Mark Twain isn't proud of the way man kind "sneers at other nations" and how we do other violent things like war.
ReplyDeleteMark Twain's message is that humans might as well be animals, because we sure do act like it, but even if he were to put animals in a cage, they'd be friends, though if he did the same with "religious" humans then no one would survive due to our violent nature.
He gets serious on this topic at about, a little over half way through the video. You can tell he really cares about this topic of how humans should be more peaceful when he says, "Man is the only animal that dues in the atrocity of war." It's also obvious he doesn't like how we handle things with war and how humans "go for more then cold blood to exterminate his own kind". (im not sure if i heard the first part right because it started to get harder to hear but i know that the exterminating part was said.)
I think that his method of adding humor was a good way to emphasize his point because it makes it more enjoyable to listen to and that it gets a person's attention. I think it's more effective then a serious argument because it's like saying "would you rather read Beowulf or listen to a lecture of Beowulf in a classroom while you try not to fall asleep". Adding entertainment makes things more enjoyable to learn and keeps you attention. It also adds to the message because if something is memorable (like the happy times in life when you laugh) then you'll think about it or why it was funny. That helps you think more of the topic and realize the message behind it and how some things in like can be taken so lightly, like a joke, but are actually more serious then it seems.
-Nikamarie F.
I think that Mark Twain is trying to say that we don't get along because we always fight. In the video he talks about how we fight about power and religion. For example, when he put the animals together they befriended. When he talks about the people he says that didn't get along and no one lived.
ReplyDeleteThe message is that we should get along more. For example, "I've been studying this reasoning animal for years now and I find the results humiliating." (Mark Twain Tonight!). When he says it he doesn't laugh but everyone else does because to him this is serious. The quote means that we should actually start being reasonable instead of fighting over everything.
I think Mark Twain is trying to say that humans can't get along we think that we are better than others. His message is that we as people need to change. We fight over almost everything including religion, land, and political power. In this video he compares a bunch of humans to a bunch of animals, the humans killed one another while the animals lived together in peace. Animals do not fight because they have no religion they do not care about who is in power.
ReplyDelete"Man is the only animals that blush, or needs to," was one quote from the video that shows a lot of humor. When he starts talking about war he says, "who goes forth in cold blood to exterminate his own kind." Meaning we are the only type of being that kills one another. I think Twain's method of adding humor to his speeches is amazing because it makes people feel comfortable and not so tense. I think adding humor engages the audience and keeps them entertained.
I think that Mark Twain used humor to keep the audience listening and to keep the lecture interesting instead of talking the whole time about the subject. and example of this s when the man in the video says, "I got an Irish Catholic and put him in a cage, and as soon as he seemed tame, I added a Presbyterian, and then a Turk from Constantinople, a Methodist from Arkansas, a Buddhist from China, and finally a Salvation Army Colonel. Why, when I came back there was't a specimen left alive." This shows that he is proving is point and entertaining the audience at the same time. his point in this quote is that different people from different parts of the world and different religions do not get along. He shows that war is pointless, yet we keep fighting in order to keep our dignity.
ReplyDeleteHe talks about how different people from different countries raise their countries flag, and depict other countries while uplifting their own. he shows that this is not an act of patriotism, but that it is being a traitor. He shows that animals from different parts of the world get along much better than humans. he says, " Humans are reasoning animals. I've been studying this reasoning animal for years now and I find the results humiliating." I think that Mark Twain was smart to incorporate both seriousness and humor into his lectures. It makes them both entertaining and informational
“Man is a reasoning animal…” -Mark Twain. I think Mark Twain was trying to say that humans are nothing but animals that have communication skills. “Man is the only animal that deals in the atrocity of war.” This means that humans are the only animals that go to war. Animals don’t go to war with one another. He shows this when he says his joke about animals in a cage together and humans in a cage together.
ReplyDeleteMark Twain uses his humor to help people understand him, like when he said that he experimented with a cat and a dog, got them to be friends, then put them in a cage. He then introduced a rabbit, and then the three animals became friends. He put a fox, a goose, a squirrel, some doves, a kangaroo, and a monkey. (Of course he was kidding) They lived together in peace. Next, he got an Irish Catholic and put him in a cage. He then added a Presbyterian, then a Turk from Constantinople, a Methodist from the wilds of Arkansas, a Buddhist from China, and a Salvation Army colonel. When he came back, there wasn’t a specimen left alive. This shows he believes that animals are smarter than humans because they can learn to live in peace, even when they were different types of animals.
~Karina V卌
I believe that the quote from Mark Twain “Man is a reasoning animal," shows that Twain has strong feelings towards the subject and believes that humans have too many wars and fights to the point where its hurting ourselves. In Twain's point of view,arguments lead to wars. To describe this,he uses various religions as examples. He describes the negative comments against other religions as pointless and cruel. Twain believes that we should socially accept each others differences instead of spreading negativity.If we put aside each others differences,the world would be a better environment for everybody.
ReplyDeleteI think Mark Twain uses humor in his speech to ensure that the audience remembers his lecture. Unlike most people,Twain uses humour in lectures which is very unique which is something for the audience to remember. Also,it adds a little of happiness to a serious argument. If the whole argument were to be straightforward seriousness,it would be boring and the audience wouldn't be as engaged. As you can see,Twains small jokes make a huge difference in his speeches
-KA#1
Twain's discussion about humans tells us how humans treat each other. "Man is an animal" as he says multiple times in the video. Yes that is true. People fight, get violent, and hate each other based on their religion. Even though everyone is different, there is no need to go to war and be untrusting of others. Humans can hate, but if they can hate then they can love.
ReplyDeleteTwain sends out a message with how he put different animals in a cage, and how they got a long. However, when he put people with different backgrounds and religions, they were all gone afterwards. He shows how the world is like today, and so much hate and war going on. He's telling us to spread the love, and be loving humans who shouldn't care about the differences in people. With everything Twain observed, he is correct, people don't always get along, but they always can.
~Shreya S.
I feel that the human race intrigues Mark Twain. To him, it is a group that cannot live together in harmony. Most animals do not have the mental capacity for religion, war, or politics, and seem to get along well. Mark Twain may have hinted that because of their lack of religion and countries and other such subgroups, the animals do not worry about them. His message is that maybe one day, we can make an effort to put our differences aside and learn to get along (or at least stop fighting for a while). Through the joking, he meets a point: "In an hour I taught a cat and a dog to be friends. I put them in a cage. In another hour I taught them to be friends with a rabbit. In the course of two days I was able to add a fox, a goose, a squirrel and some doves. Finally a monkey. They lived together in peace.
ReplyDeleteNext, in another cage I confined an Irish Catholic from Tipperary, and as soon as he seemed tame I added a Scotch Presbyterian . Next a Turk from Constantinople; a Greek Christian from Crete; an Armenian; a Methodist from the wilds of Arkansas; a Buddhist from China; a Brahman from Benares. Finally, a Salvation Army Colonel from Wapping. When I came back to note results, not a specimen left alive. These Reasoning Animals had disagreed on a theological detail and carried the matter to a Higher Court". He is joking light heartedly, but also makes the audience think about why humans don't get along as well as other animals, because of religion, government, race, and other things.
You can tell that when Mark Twain reaches his statement,"Man is the only animal that deals in the atrocity of war", he lessens his joking and his expression gets sterner. He looks out to everyone, almost as if he were angry, and states how much war has destroyed and who we are hurting. At this point, you can clearly see he cares about this topic. Mark Twain's method of argumentative humor is fascinating. He draws you in with the humor; You find your self laughing, and getting more comfortable during the jokes, but soon it changes. He catches your attention by being funny, then slips in facts about reality that make you stop for a moment to contemplate the human race's choices. This is more effective than straightforward argument because it is more inviting. His humor does not exactly seek to convince with intimidating fact upon fact, but gets the point across in a more fun way. The humor may add a sense of lightness that makes the audience feel less tense and more open to ideas.
-KA2
What a fabulous analysis of Twain's speech. Very well detailed and beautifully said.
DeleteMark twains quote "man is an animal" refers that we fight too much. This is very true, because there have been many wars over different things. For example, the crusades were a series of battles of Christians against Muslims trying to regain the holy land.his message is that hopefully we can stop all the fighting and have harmony. He mentions how he puts animals in cages and they live in peace,meaning that since we aren't in cages and live freely doing whatever we want to, war and fighting happens.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mark twain says "man is an animal" I agree with Kayla that his expression got more stern. Almost as if he is completely serious an angry with human kind for bein Like animals. Mark twains humor is (as Kayla said as well)argumentative. He says something funny and you're laughing.Then he'll say something serious an you stop and think about this. This humor ha people thinking about what he said,whereas serious speeches arent quite like Mark twain.
~Juliana P.
Mark Twain, in his comedic talk, states that man often quarrels and disagrees on the most absurd of things. He claims that humans fight among themselves about religion and politics, that they do not know how to embrace the differences of others. In his speech he describes that he 'trapped' different humans from around the word with different beliefs. He says that, "When I came that there wasn't a specimen left alive. They had disagreed on a theological detail." He provides a stark contrast to the phrases he had said before. Unlike the caged humans, when Mark Twain kept animals and man together, there seemed to be no fighting or calamity, as the animals had no particular reason to fight. In this way, Mark portrays how animals are sometimes, in some ways, better than humans.
ReplyDeleteHis humor simply adds to the message. From my perspective, I believe that Mark thinks of our absurd quarrels as jokes; things that should be laughed at. He skillfully wields his tongue and applies humor to the places he thinks best. This engages the audience and further gets the point across. Mark’s humor is clever and does make the argument more serious, in a unique way. He has the ability to entertain as well as send a message, and he uses it in what he sees fit. In this argument, Mark’s humor does not degrade from the topic’s seriousness.
--Jun