Both essays begin with assuring the reader that scientific evidence has been used to bolster the author's argument. Thurber explains that he has used the encyclopedia to glean information about the courtship habits of animals ranging from spiders to peacocks. He explains, "I have been reading the

Thurber's account is both historical and current and gives examples of the foibles of males of many species in their attempts to attract the females. He explains that some of the complicated courtship rituals have evolved and suffered refinement because of earlier failures. Man has even tried tricks he has learned from the animals. "The Brittanica tells us that the peacock actually had to learn a certain little trick" of vibrating the quills to awaken interest in a female. "In ancient times man himself, observing the ways of the peacock, probably tried vibrating his whiskers to make a rustling sound; if so, it didn't get him anywhere"(10). He gives an example of the evolution of the courting habits of the spider as well. He asserts "male web-spinning spiders have a tougher life than any other males in the animal kingdom" because females mistake them for other insects on account of the poor eyesight of the female. When the male performed his little dance on the web of the female, "she would lash out at him with a flatiron or a pair of garden shears" (14). This humorous comparison between the insect and human world is part of Thurber's attempt to satirize both. The reader can also sympathize with the spider more if he or she pictures the insect in relation to his or her own failed attempts at courtship. Of course, the spider wisely acclimated to the dangers of courtship as he learned to stay "outside the web and began monkeying with one of its strands. He twitched it up and down and in and out with such a lilting rhythm that the female was charmed"(14). This generally worked for the intrepid male spider, but "once in a while, even now, a female will fire three bullets into a suitor or run him through with a kitchen knife"(14).

sad and absorbing story in Volume 6 (Cole to Dama) of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In this volume you can learn all about cricket, cotton, costume designing, crocodiles, crown jewels, and Coleridge, but none of these subjects is so interesting as the Courtship of Animals, which recounts the sorrowful lengths to which all males must go to arouse the interest of a lady" (9). Thurber's tongue-in-cheek assessment of this information as a "sad and absorbing story" and his claim that it is more interesting than stories even of crown jewels is part of his trademark style of understatement and humor.

Whereas Thurber uses satire and humor to compare man to animals, his tone is light and he does not seriously address cruelty of either gender or species. Twain, however, puts his satire to a much darker purpose. His title indicating that the human race is "damned" might be taken as jest until one reads the essay. Twain also asserts that his observations are b

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1825
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)