Animals

For instance, in his sketch “The Bird with the Best Grammar” Twain ridicules human habits and traits of character. His sarcasm is obvious in an exaggeration like “a vocabularized geyser” in reference to a bird, in the writer's comparison of a blue-jay to an ex-congressman who “will steal, deceive and betray four times of five” and “don't betray to any church”

(Fishkin 109). Twain's humorous tone is preserved in the conclusion that “A blue-jay is human; he has got all a man's facilities and a man's weakness. He likes especially scandal; he knows when he is an ass as well as you do” (109). This short story presents Twain's ability to treat human's imperfections in a rather playful yet sarcastic way. Here the writer does not attack a man because of his shortcomings. He suggests that his readers confess to human disadvantages common to all of us.

A similar playful but still sarcastic tone of Mark Twain can be determined in another later short writing entitled “Ants and the True Religion“. In this sketch, Twain describes an experiment with ants when they need to choose their religion with the help of sugar. The narration in this piece of work can be interpreted as the evidence of Twain's curious, but still boyish spirit. His humorous tone can be observed through all the text. Especially, sarcasm appears when Twain concludes about human's need for having his church - “in religious matters the ant is the opposite of man, for man cares for but one thing, to find the only church;

whereas the ant hunts for the one with the sugar in it” (Fishkin 110). Twain again presents his critical attitude towards religion; in this very case this critical observation is not displaying his sorrow or pain, on the contrary, Twain is rather teasing his readers. During his later years in the writings describing animals' behavior like “Ants and the True Religion” or “The Bird of Birds” and “The Pious Chameleon” another voice of Mark Twain can be determined – Twain in the role of a curious biologist with a childish spirit, rather than the one of a disillusioned philosopher. In fact, the short stories featuring animals prove the writer's habit of observing the animals, underlining their peculiarities and comparing them to humans. This activity amused Twain and captivated his mind as an amateur scientist. Twain's constant attempt to compare animals and their habits to man entertained the writer and offers an obvious humorous hint in many of these later sketches and essays.

Twain's humor varies from ironic up to more sarcastic by means of numerous cases of hyperbole, similarities, repetitions and epithets. For instance, in the later essay of “The Bird of Birds” Twain describes an Indian crow with an evident amusement and definite humorous implication. First of all, Twain notices ironically about the bird that “he is the hardest lot that wears feathers” and “the cheerfulest and the best satisfied with himself” (Fishkin 131). These cases of hyperbole are followed by a more intense and yet humorous description full of

epithets like “immemorial ages” and “deep calculation” (131). In a few sentences the tone turns to be even more sarcastic when Twain goes on with an enumeration of all the bird's incarnations or “evolutionary promotions” - from “a gambler”, “a dissolute priest”, “a patriot for cash” to “an intruder” and “a busy-body” (131).

Mark Twain was amused not only by comparing animals' habits to man. The writer was truly charmed by the animal's independence and man's naive belief that he/she can tame it.

For example, in a later sketch “The Independent-Minded Magpie” there are ironic

observations in the narration about a tamed but still independent magpie that “The lady had tamed him, and in return he had tamed the lady” (Fishkin 130). Further on, in another

sentence the writer concludes ironically and with an evident sympathy for the bird that “if he was asked to sing he would go out and take a walk” (130). Self-irony and ironic attitude towards human's traits and imperfections (man's cruelty, stupidity and his overstatement of one's role and importance) is a commonly used form that can be detected in the humorous tone of the narration in the later writings featuring animals. This ironic or at times self-ironic voice is usually created by means of exaggeration, nonsense or ridicule in the context of the narration. For instance, in the story entitled “Hunting the Deceitful Turkey” an exaggerated, though still nonsensical and self-ironic narration can be determined: “I followed an ostensibly lame turkey over a considerable part of the United States one morning, because I believed in her and could not think she would deceive a mere boy, and one who was trusting her and considering her honest. I had the single-barreled shot-gun, but my ideas was to catch her alive” (137). Or in another short story of “Rosa and the Crows” Twain refers to an animal's high intellect. The whole story sounds more like an anecdote when an obvious ridicule appears. However, Twain's irony is not addressed personally to the character of Rosa. In fact, the writer sympathizes with her. Moreover, Twain just wants people to be aware of the animal's intellect – and an underestimation of this fact can lead to the situation when a person can find himself in a ridiculous, comic position or role. Due to this reason, the narration moves to the description when the character of Rosa is in comic situation - “She had spread out and stuck up an old umbrella to do service as a scarecrow, and was sitting on the porch waiting to see what the marauders would think of it. She had not long to wait; soon rain began to fall, and the crows pulled up corn and carried it under the umbrella and ate it -with thanks to the provider of the shelter!” (154).

Intermittently, depending upon the topic and emotional involvement, Twain's ironic tone referring to the human race alters to a more sarcastic voice. When the narration is engaged into a more philosophic or deterministic dispute in the text, the writer's involvement becomes

more emotional. For instance, in Twain's later sketch entitled “The Jungle Discusses Man”

several sarcastic observations and references regarding the human race can be found. Ridicule and sarcasm can be detected in the context when the narration refers to the topic that a human being is God's favorite pet and best creature. Animals wonder about men:

“Are they good?”

“Better than any other God's creatures, my lord. It is their constant boast; it is a cold day when they forget to give themselves that praise.” (Fishkin 157)

The same sarcastic tone is found when the narration goes on with the topic of human habit of being ashamed to be naked:

“Don't they know that God sees them naked?”

“Certainly.”

“Land! and they don't mind Him? It must be a dirty-minded animal that will be nasty in God's presence and ashamed to be nasty in the presence of his own kind.” (Fishkin 158)

The first-person narration from the side of the animal characters assists in Twain's intention to ridicule human ignorance, pride and prejudice. More than that, this kind of narration assists in Twain being presented as an advocate of the idea that animals possess high intellect and feelings. Putting the animal in the role of a smart observer and honest judge of the human race, Twain deliberately wants his readers to see how people can sometimes act in such a ridiculous and absurd way.

Being a social and political critic, Twain introduced satire and ridicule in his later short piece of work entitled “The President Hunts a Cow”; in this piece of work Twain's criticism and ridicule was addressed to Roosevelt, the president of the USA, in particular. Referring to the description in the narration of the story, Twain's causticity was introduced to satirize the politician's habit to show off and extol the events and actions of no particular importance. Due to this point of view, cases of deliberate exaggeration and obvious ridicule can be found in the text. For instance, Twain uses such epithets referring the personality of Roosevelt - “the great hunter”, “his Excellency”; or when the narrator concludes sarcastically about the president that “he got so much moonshine glory” (Fishkin 232). In the text several cases of hyperbole can be identified when the narrator introduces the description of an ordinary event, the hunt, yet extolled by the press - “Two colossal historical incidents took place yesterday; incidents which must go echoing down the corridors of time for ages; incidents which can never be forgotten while histories shall continue to be written” (231). In fact, Twain was rather and thoroughgoing in his criticism of some politicians, political systems or regimes. In such cases, the writer's humorous tone always transformed into rigorous satire and sarcasm. More than

that, referring to the topics of politics or religion, Twain preferred to ridicule, denounce and expose the goals of his criticism.

It can be also suggested that the degree of attack and criticism varies a form of the comic in Twain's later writings – from irony to sarcasm or a sardonic statement; it depends considerably on the topic and subject of each piece of work in particular. When being sentimental or sympathetic, the voice of Twain is mostly ironic in the story. For instance, in his later sketch entitled “The Victims” the writer introduces an ironic narration about Little Johnny Microbe who wants to go to a picnic with others germs and microbes – a case of Twain's ridicule in a frame of a fantasy. In this story Twain's ironic narration can be explained due to the writer's evident sympathy towards Little Johnny Microbe who personifies a little naive child who searches for new discoveries and experiences in the adult's world, rather than a kind of an odious microbe. Nevertheless, a more sarcastic tone of Twain appears when he refers to the topics of social injustice, human's cruelty and greed, a tradition of hunting or slavery in this sketch:

[...] and traded them to an Arab land-pirate for a cargo of captive black women and children and sold them to a good Christian planter who promised to give them religious instruction and considerable to do, and blest the planter and shook hands good-bye, and said “By cracky this is the way to extend our noble civilization”, and loaded up again and Went for More. (Fishkin 143-144)

In this paragraph Twain's critique and sarcasm can be addressed to a human's habit of having a kind of sports motivation when hunting. According to the writer's point of view, this motivation revealed a man's true cruelty and greed. On the contrary, the intelligence of animals and sincere devotion to humans promoted Twain's voice of adoration, sympathy, nostalgia and sentimentality in the later writings. For instance, in his later manuscript “A Dog's Tale” (1903) Twain might have presented his personal position of an animal's advocate and as an opponent of any kind of vivisection. The voice of Twain's sympathy and a touching description of the animal's devotion were so manifest that soon after the story’s appearance in 1903 in Harper’s Magazine; “there is such a charming, blending of humor and pathos,

coupled with appeal to our sensibilities” (qtd. in Budd, The Contemporary Reviews 541). This later piece of work can be hardly defined as a humorous one. Nevertheless, a few cases of irony can be defined in the narration when Twain's critique towards human race appears.

Especially when describing the dog's mother, an ironic tone is obvious – about her habit to tell long words, the meaning of which she even did not know: “she liked to say them, and see other dogs look surprised, and envious, as wondering how she got so much education”

(Fishkin 165). This ironic observation can be interpreted as a witty reference to human habit

to boast and put himself/herself in a higher position than others. Another case of irony appears on her frequent use of some words, unfamiliar and complicated for both her and others - “she had one word which she always kept on hand, and ready, like a life-preserver, a kind of emergency word to strap on when she was likely to get washed overboard in a sudden way – that was the word Synonymous” (166). The ridicule in the context is focused on the absurdity of the situation when ignorance is redoubled while the dog's mother pretends to be well-educated in the eyes of the illiterate audience. In the first part of the story, the narration idealizes the dog's mother and presents her as kind, gentle and well-educated; however, while a further description when a narrator grows up, the character of the mother develops and refers more and indirectly to satirize human's race, its hypocrisy, ignorance and cruelty.

In the conclusion of this sub-chapter it is important to mention that, in his final years, Mark Twain's focus on animals and animal characters can be explained not only because of his disappointment with human race. Many of his late writings suggest that Twain sincerely enjoyed the company of animals – he entertained and frequently observed the animals' habits with evident scientific and philosophic interests. These activities obviously promoted the writer's positive feelings and emotions. In its turn, a humorous tone in the description of these activities was usually ironic and witty. Moreover, these activities let him compare animals to human beings; this comparison led to a definite humanization of animal characters – so that first-person narration was usually presented from the side of an animal character in these later writings. This technique increased a comic effect and presented Twain's personal critique from a more emotionally involved perspective. At times, the critique included a deeper description of human cruelty, greed or ignorance. At this point, the writer's anger was fueled and promoted a reversal of his ironic tone into a more radical sarcastic, satirical or even sardonic voice. However, at times, Mark Twain treated human imperfections with a more sentimental attitude. Together with animal characters, the story of Adam and Eve promoted Twain's “comic treatment of the thematic issues of creation and the working out of God's law”

(Sloane, Student Companion 169). Both comic and sentimental treatments of a love story between Adam and Eve suggest the idea that Mark Twain was not frustrated totally – he left his hope and humor to believe in the power of their love. Further considerations concerning the story of Adam and Eve will be presented in the following part of the research.