Unit Nine The Damned HumanRace
Period 3-4: Text comprehension
I. Background information
1. Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21,1910), better known by his penname Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted forhis novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel.” Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. Twain was born during a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age," and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature."
Twain had the other side that may have resulted from the bitter experiences of his life: financial failure and the death of his wife and daughters. His last writings are savage, satiric, and pessimistic. The present text is taken from Letters from the Earth, one of his later works.
Ø The author's personal tragedy:
The 1890s was a period dark and gloomy for Mark Twain. First of all, because of unwise investment, he was-bankrupt. And in order to pay off his creditors, he undertook a round-the-world speaking tour aiming at making some money. He had almost completed it when he learned that his favorite daughter, Susy, had died. This was a terrible blow for him. Before he could recover from this, his beloved wife, who had been his first reader and chief censor for the 34 years of their married life, died too. With her death,writing for him was essentially over. He became more and more bitter and his writings were savagely satirical.
Ø social background
The three decades after the Civil War of the United States were characterized by cut-throat competition, child labor and sweat shops, robber barons and labor riots, corruption and unethical business practices, the spread of jungle law and racial conflicts and imperialist wars. To Mark Twain, who had always been concerned with the problem of human conscience, these things revealed the terrible deficiencies of the human race. To remedy this deplorable situation, he began to use his pen as a sharp lance to pierce the boils of human pomposity.
2. Human Conscience
Through conscience and its related notion, synderesis, human beings discern what is right and wrong. While there are many medieval views about the nature of conscience, most views regard human beings as capable of knowing in general what ought to be done and applying this knowledge through conscience to particular decisions about action. The ability to act on the determinations of conscience is, moreover, tied to the development of the moral virtues, which in turn refines the functions of conscience.
Neither Plato nor Aristotle explicitly mention conscience, however. It is their discussions of the virtues, practical wisdom, and weakness of will that form the critical backdrop to medieval discussions of conscience. These discussions were heavily influenced by Augustine's modification of these classical authors. For example, Augustine championed Plato's notion of the unity of the virtues, but he argued that love of God provided the unity to them. Moreover, he claimed that what pagan authors regarded as virtues were in fact vices unless they were developed for the love of God.
Aristotle's conscience can be defined as possessing three distinct characteristics. Firstly, the conscience is intrinsic, although to varying degrees between individuals. Secondly, the conscience is imperfect. Lastly, the conscience is a source of good in the world. Stringing these elements together, a working definition of the conscience can be constructed as follows: The conscience is an innate sense of right and wrong that functions for social betterment.
As this definition takes into account only one perspective, it can hardly be considered adequate. Henry David Thoreau provides an excellent opportunity to expand it. In his essay entitled Civil Disobedience, Thoreau defines two primary characteristics of the conscience, although in a different light from Aristotle. While both examine conscience in terms of a functional government, Thoreau takes a more idealistic approach.
Given that the conscience is intrinsic, imperfect, beneficial, imperative, rare, punitive, and rigid, the conclusive definition might be constructed as follows:
The conscience is an innate sense of right and wrong that creates a strict sense of guilt when violated and that, in its truest form, performs a vital role in social and personal betterment.
It is a mechanism that evaluates the worthiness of our desires, urges, and actions. It is a moral compass that points to goodness and excellence.
Attitudes towards conscience:
Try to hear your conscience.
To bypass the chatter of negative thoughts, raging emotions, and tempestuous temptations, you will need to spend some quiet time with yourself. Your conscience is your best friend. Relax in a comfortable chair, without distraction, and give it the opportunity to speak to you. With patience and practice, your conscience will always be at your side, available for guidance.
Learn to think before you act.
Instead of acting in the heat of the moment, pause; think things over, and act rationally and morally rather than emotionally. Faced with a choice, choose to do the right thing, to be responsible. Develop sensitivity with constant awareness and practice. A highly refined conscience reacts to wrongdoing as quickly as an eyelid reacts to dust.
Remember that the voice of conscience is not a suggestion, but an obligation.
Also remember that to know what is right and not do it is as bad as doing wrong.
Judge your progress by your actions, not your good intentions.
Evaluate your motives.
Don't do good for acclaim orhappiness, but because it is the right thing to do.
Gain liberation by becoming the master of your life. Do this by becoming the slave of your conscience. The freedom you will gain is not the right to do what you want, but the power to do what you ought to.
3. the Middle Ages
It is the period in Europeanhistory that loosely covers the time from the fall of the Westem Roman Empireto the Italian renaissance in the 14th century or to the discovery ofthe New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Historians call the early MiddleAges the "Dark Ages" because it was a period marked by confusion,disorder, religious persecution and the breakdown of civilization in WesternEurope. The truth of course was much more complex. It was also a period ofgreat achievements.
4. the Hessians黑森雇佣军
5. Columbus's time哥伦布时代
II. Structure analysis
Theme:The author Mark Twain powerfully declaresthat the human race is both flawed and corrupt, and that people actually shouldbe classified as "lower animals" rather than the formerly known"higher animals.”
Structure:
I. Introduction: Topic/ thesis statement and credibility of the author’s research(para. 1-2)
A. Topic: Thedescent of man from the higher animals (para. 1)
B. Credibility: The use of scientific method andauthentic institution where the experiments were conducted (para. 2)
II. Findings about man as against higher animals(para. 3-17)
Á. Man's greed(para. 3-4)
B. Man's immorality(para. 5- 8)
C. Man's cruelty(para. 9)
D. Man'sinclination for wars (para. 10- 11)
E. Man's positionof enslaving and being enslaved (para. 12)
F. Man's hypocrisy(para. 13-15)
G. Man's inabilityto learn to Iive together peacefully (para. 16- 17)
III.Condusion: Restatement of the thesis (para. 18)
Style
tongue-in-cheek tone
Imitating scientific experiment
Formal language (big words, long sentences, academicstyle)
Humor and satire
This essay is organized like a scholarly paper to report the results of a scientificexperiment. It has a thesis statement and a brief summing-up at the end. Themain body is arranged according to the various traits and dispositions of humanbeings as contrasted to the "higher animals." However, in the second half, the author begins to adopt a polemic tone. He seems to be arguing with peoplewho believe in man's superiority.
Mark Twain's humor: He talks tongue in cheek throughout the essay, using highly exaggerated and formal words andexpressions as appropriate for the academic writing he pretends the essay tobe. He adopts a pompous style very different from the usual colloquial vernacular he is famous for, to ridicule those critics who say Mark Twain lacks propereducation.
IV. Comprehensionquestions:
Part I (para.1-2)
1. Why does the author mimicking a scientificexperiment?
2. What is the author's research topic/purpose?
3. What is the hypothesis?
4. What theory does he check?
5. What is his research method?
6. Where does the research take place?
7. What is the Darwinian theory?
8. What was the new theory developed by the author? Whywas the discovery humiliating and unpleasant?
Part II (para. 3-4)
9. In this part, the author compares _______(man) with ______(animals).
10. What gives him the idea to make such acomparison?
11. How does he make the comparison?
12. What conclusion does he come to?
Part II (para. 5-8)
13. In this part, the author compares human racewith ______(animals).
14. What're thesimilarity and difference between roosters/cats and man?
15. Why roosters/catscan be excused but man cannot?
16. What conclusiondoes he come to?
17. According tothe author, what's wrong for man being the only animal that blushes?
Part II (para. 9)
18. In this part, the author compares human racewith ______(animals).
19. What conclusion does he come to?
Part II (para. 10-12)
20. What problems areunique to human race mentioned in these paragraphs?
21. Whatdistinguishes human beings from other animals in terms of fighting?
22. What is the author's attitude towards wars?
Part II (para. 13-15)
23. What is theauthor's attitude towards the so called “patriotism”and religion?
Part II (para. 16-17)
24. In this part,the author compares _______(man) with ______(animal).
25. How does heconduct the experiment? What conclusion does he come to?
