Mason Labash
English 48
February 24, 2011
Journal: Mark Twain

“It was cunning of them, it was neat; for they got all that was worth having out of the apple without tasting it and afflicting themselves with the disastrous Moral Sense, the parent of all the immoralities.”

"Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." –Mark Twain

Satan is pointing out the obvious flaws with Adam learning how to eat and have sex by eating an apple. You don’t have to read Satan’s reflection on it to realize how ridiculous that sounds. It is impossible to gain that kind of knowledge by eating some plant material. I haven’t read that part of the Bible but I think it does say that Adam got this knowledge by eating the apple. Apparently it also says that animals learned the same things as Adam did by watching him eat the apple which is absolutely absurd. We all know that you can’t observe someone learning something. You especially couldn’t learn to “multiply and replenish” by watching someone eat an apple.

It is entertaining that Satan speaks as if he observes this whole event. I’m pretty sure the Bible doesn’t infer that this is actually what happened. I have always assumed that the Bible tells you these stories to help you understand some sort of moral message and doesn’t suggest that the event actually took place. I think Twain is poking fun at the fact that many people do indeed interpret these fables as an actual historical account of reality. If I’m wrong and the Bible actually does suggest these events took place I have no idea why so many people believe in it so deeply and faithfully.

The animals in this passage seem to be a whole lot smarter than Adam which I find funny as well. Satan calls the animals “cunning” because they know that eating the apple has negative consequences. They somehow know that the apple contains knowledge but don’t want to take on the risky task of eating it. So they wait for some dupe who happens to be Adam to come around and complete the deed for them while they just sit back and reap all the benefits. In a way the Bible is placing all the moral responsibility on the shoulders of the human. Of course an innocent little furry animal can do no wrong, but they needed to learn the evil ways of having sex somehow. What better scapegoat than a human who can handle all the blame one wishes to place upon him.

"Mark    Twain Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html>.