1 AP Composition 10 February 2011 Under Fire in In Memoriam: W.J.B.

Henry Louis Mencken brutally incinerates Williams Jennings Bryan and the townspeople of Dayton, Tennessee. Mencken not only berates them through direct attack, but also degrades them through metaphors and similes. Mencken considers all rural people to be irrational and foolish, with Bryan championing their juvenile cause. Mencken insults Bryans message and body. Mencken points out physical and intellectual evidence to manifest that evolution has abandoned Bryan and his followers. Finally, Mencken compares Bryan to a meager animal. In In Memoriam: W.J.B., H.L. Mencken uses analogy and metaphor to defile Williams Jennings Bryan and the inhabitants of Dayton, Tennessee. Mencken debases Williams Jennings Bryan through the use of metaphor. In In Memoriam: W.J.B., Mencken equates Bryan and the rest of creationists with an underdeveloped species of humankind. Mencken considers Bryans proclamations to be nothing more than simian gabble. However, Mencken does not constrict his visceral attacks to Bryans ideas, but rather continues on to humiliate Bryans physical appearance. Mencken begins his savage assault on Bryan by insulting his hygiene, saying, [Bryan] liked people who sweated freely, and were not debauched by the refinements of the toilet. Mencken attributes this lack of civility to his unevolved body and mind. Further equating Bryan to a pre-historic Neanderthal, Mencken discusses Bryans bare arms and harry chest. Mencken highlights Bryans characteristics that resemble an un-evolved human. However, for Mencken, that is not far enough. Mencken uses metaphor and analogy now to compare Bryan to a mere animal. Instead of being content with describing Bryan as a caveman of sorts, Mencken strips away the rest of

2 Bryans humanity. After first insulting Bryans apparel, Mencken describes Bryan with possessing unpleasant manginess, like the fur of a dog. Bryans animal magnetism discharges throughout the courtroom, as he sputters irrational simian gabble. Despite losing the intellectual battle to the learned Clarence Darrow, Bryan continues to beat his own dead horse, thirsting savagely for blood. As an uncontrollable animal, Bryan bit right and left, like a dog with rabies. As an irrational and wild beast, Bryan loses whatever dignity he had previously. According to Mencken though, Bryan is not the only animal in Dayton. Mencken demeans the residents of Dayton through metaphor. Bryan was the ringleader of the Tennessee creationists. Bryan come[s] home to the barnyard where the yokels of Tennessee reside. Bryan is surrounded not by respectable citizens, but gaping primates, according to Mencken. A dichotomy manifests in Menckens work, separating the sophisticated urbanites from superstitious country folks. The educated city goers laugh at Bryans alpaca pantaloons, yet the yokels elevate him in their hierarchy. Mencken mocks country residents that would respect such a fool. While rational people quickly ignore Bryans philosophy, hinds are those who listen to Bryan argue. However, for Mencken, this is unsurprising. He believes that [i]f the village barber saved any of his hair, then it is curing gall-stones down there today. The entire town of Dayton becomes just a barnyard of imbeciles. In In Memoriam: W.J.B., H.L. Mencken demonstrates his disgust for William Jennings Bryan and those who support his cause. Mencken uses multiple approaches to degrade his victims. Mencken originally describes Bryan as a foolish Neanderthal, forsaken by evolution. The people who receive and respect Bryans message are described to be just as irrational. Mencken juxtaposes the uneducated dwellers of the countryside with sophisticated city-goers. These brutal attacks try to incinerate Bryans cause. Despite all these attacks, Mencken is so

3 disgusted by Bryan, that Mencken feels spoiled just remaining in his presence. Mencken feels so disgusted by Bryan, that even though he places Bryan under attack, sitting near Bryan was like coming under fire.