Child by Tiger by Thomas Essay

The conflict appears when Rainsford refuses to join the general in such a hunting experience and is therefore forced to survive in the jungle and kill the general and his help. By using various hunting tricks, he manages to kill Ivan and injure Zaroff, making him believe he has killed himself by jumping off a cliff. The story ends with Rainsford winning a fight to the death with Zaroff and getting to use his bed, as a prize for staying alive and winning the game.

Comparing the two stories, the most striking difference lies in the type of story: the first one is a series of memories of a younger boy that tells a story and slowly realizes some of the implications of what he has seen twenty five years before. The second one has a fluid narrative story line, with a clear beginning and end. Other differences can be found in the way characters are described, with a more contemplative approach for Wolfe and a more action oriented for the second one. From a literary point-of-view, one of the main differences is that Wolfe presents an interpretative story and Connell an escape literature piece.

Discussing similarities, the two stories deal in different ways with the same perennial question of good and evil and how one gets to be one or the other. In both stories, two men go from reason-based individuals to instinct based and brutal behaviors. Their reasons are different yet the fundamental question of how one gets to being pure evil is found in both texts. Societal pressures on the one, and lack of purpose in the other create two monsters.Both authors strike an important aspect of human behavior: evil is found in all of humans and it all depends on how well it is kept in balance with the "good." Evil in both stories is ambiguous and shows that it doesn't require the presence of many to create it and that it can develop both in the middle of large communities as on an empty island.

Although deeply religious and with a perceived high morality Dick faces terrible demons and has a very fragile border between was is good and what is evil, between reason and instinct. This is seen also in Connell's story where Rainsford is reduced from a human being to a prey, the level of an animal, that basis his survival on instincts and fear. Opposite from Dick, Rainsford remains true to his principles. Similar to Dick, General Zaroff becomes more of an animal than a man, as he equalizes men with animals to quench his thirst for blood.

III. Conclusion

Evil is seen differently through the eyes of the two authors and the characters they portray, but a common message can be found in these stories: evil is to be found in all mankind and it is in each person's power to control it and not let it explode like it happened in Dick's or the mob's case, or General Zaroff's.

IV. Bibliography

Connell, Richard. The Most Dangerous Game. Waking Lion Press, 2010

Kennedy, X.J. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, 4th ed. Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1987

Wolfe, Thomas. The Complete Short Stories Of Thomas Wolfe Scribner; 1st Collier Books ed edition,….....