englishessay
Human Life: Valuable v.s. Expendable Throughout english literature many topics have been discussed, from the typical “good v.s. evil” concept, to the more interesting and compelling ideas such as the thoughts of the insane. These are the stories that really grab the attention of the reader and leave them questioning what they may or amy not believe about certain ideas. Strong stories like these are the ones that make true impressions. Stories are often over dramatized with their characters and the abilities that they posses. Most books have the childish theme of “good guy beats bad guy” but some times a story can tackle much more adult, darker and thought-provoking, and contradictory of topics, such as the value of human life. Both “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and “The Child by Tiger” by Thomas Wolfe have similar but unique themes of darkness and death, as well as similar conflicts and although the characters are fictional the ideas couldn’t be more real. In the “The Most Dangerous Game”, the main character, also known as the short story's protagonist, faces more then one kind of danger. Rainsford becomes trapped on an island that is unknown to him, and although he is given shelter by a man by the name of “General Zaroff” the subtle atmosphere is dramatically broken by the general when he explains his favorite hobby. I wanted an ideal animal to hunt," explained the general. "So I said: 'What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?' And the answer was of course: 'It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason.” This gives the indication that the general prefers to hunt men. This is confirmed later when the general states "I have electricity. We try to be civilized here.' 'Civilized? And you shoot down men?" Now the Rainsford is forced into the jungle were he must fight both the elements and the man that hunts him in order to survive. After the Rainsford fools the general into thinking he commuted suicide, he hides