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Humans Vs. Animals In Robert Burns's 'To A Mouse'

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A vulnerable, little mouse struggles to find shelter as the harsh, winter storm approaches. As it scurries along the path, the mouse also attempts to find food to both satisfy its hunger and maintain its health. Are humans any different? Humans and animals are not that much different in terms of their desire to survive, experiences, and intelligence, conveying how they all should have an equal right to survive. In the poem, “To a Mouse”, by Robert Burns, the narrator explains, “I doubt not, sometimes, that you may steal; What then? Poor beast, you must live!” (13-14). By committing the act of theft, the mouse displays how it is desperate and willing to do almost anything to survive. Unlike the mouse, most people do not typically steal from …show more content…

However, the information that animals are not intelligent is completely false due to the fact that there are different classifications of intelligence. For example, pigeons may not able to calculate the value of coins, but they are able to differentiate nickels from pennies by categorizing these objects through abstract relationships. This ability was thought to be something only humans could do, but animals can as well, demonstrating how the minds of humans and animals are not that unlike. With all these aspects proving humans and animals to be mentally similar, it should be clear that no specific species should have more of a right to survive. No matter what species, remaining alive is the top priority. In addition to survival, one of the biggest differences between people and other species is that humans can cause absolute demolition to areas for the sake of comfort or success. An example would be deforestation, where people would destroy forests, which are the habitats and sources of food for various animals, to build more factories or buildings that already

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