American Literature

Thesis and Outline

Richard Connells The Most Dangerous Game and Thomas Wolfes The Child by Tiger are two stories which represent the fact that human beings are susceptible to evil even though individuals strive to achieve goodness, evil lurks everywhere in various forms. However, even though both books carry the miserable truth that man cannot avoid evil, both books still give hope that man can avoid the evil which follows him.

The Most Dangerous Game is a story about what it is like to hunt and what it is like to be hunted. The main plot of the story is that a world-famous hunter, Sanger Rainsford, is on a yacht to the Carribean. He tells his friend that the world is made up of those who hunt and those who are hunted he also states that the hunted animals do not feel fear, for they are merely animals. However, what he does not know is that he is the one who is about to be hunted (Connell, 2006).

As the yacht Rainsford is on neared Ship-Trap Island, he hears a gunshot and was startled that he falls into  the water and ends up swimming toward sound of the gunshot. After a while, he reaches the island and comes face-to-face with General Zaroff, the man who owns the island. He then tells Rainsford of his hobby hunting people (Connell, 2006).

Zaroff has apparently tired of hunting the usual game and has decided that it would be more interesting if he would hunt prey which can reason. However, Rainsford expressed disbelief and outrage at Zaroffs hobby, which then anger Zaroff, prompting him to make Rainsford as his new prey (Connell, 2006).

This story depicts that man has the capacity to turn against his kind for sheer pleasure. It has nothing to do with any form of just cause man can simply become bored with doing the ordinary things and would find amusement in the pain of others. Man, apparently, has a darker side which can come out any time, and may manifest in the worst ways possible.

On the other hand, Thomas Wolfes The Child by Tiger also shows that man has a darker side. The book focuses on the effects of inhumane actions, as well as the effects of racism. The storys narrator goes by the name of Spangler, and he tells the reader about events that have occurred in his past. The story goes on to discuss a particular event in his life which has an effect on how he perceives good and evil (Wolfe, 1937).

When Spangler was a young boy, he idolized a Negro servant named Dick Prosser, for he possessed great skills in military efficiency and precision. Apart from this, he would teach Spangler and his friends various sports such as boxing, football and basketball. However, the seemingly nice man had an evil lurking beneath him (Wolfe, 1937).
Prosser was a very religious man and he would read the Bible all the time, apart from this, he would never defend himself against people who would treat him violently, which is why it came as a shock when he suddenly committed violence and killed other people. This act of his, of course, was met with equal violence from the townspeople the town mayor tried to suppress the mob, but he was not able to do so and the mob brought upon Prosser the judgment of death they shot him to death and eventually hanged his lifeless body at the mortuary (Wolfe, 1937).

Wolfes story shows that  man has two sides the good side and the evil side. According to the narrator, the event regarding Prosser made him realize that man is a combination of a child and a tiger. Humans may be as loving and wonderful as children, but they also have their dark sides like tigers (Wolfe, 1937).

As seen in the previous discussion, both books have different plots and different means to represent its message. However, both of the authors books send the message that man cannot avoid evil. In Connells book, he shows that the evil that man faces is the fact that he can get absorbed by power and may manipulate other people to do his bidding because he has threatened them. Another important message in this book is that man has treated animals as lower life forms and yet, as Rainsford found out, sometimes, the tables can be turned. As seen in Connells book, evil can entice a man into doing inhumane things to other people simply because it brought him pleasure and Rainsford realized how it felt to be the one who is being hunted.

In the same way, Wolfes book has the same pattern, for it shows how racism can eventually turn against those who apply it in their lives. Since (presumably) Prosser has experienced racism, he has then resorted to killing individuals. In a nutshell, both stories show that things can turn against individuals because of evil.

Summary
While Connells The Most Dangerous Game and Wolfes The Child by Tiger are two different stories with their own plot and themes however, both books have the same message. Man is capable of being evil, and he is not immune to the temptation of being evil. In a sense, there is a monster inside every person, waiting to be unleashed given the chance. It is not impossible, for people, after all, are merely human beings and not gods. However, hope still remains, for man has the ability to think and the ability to reason out, thus, it is important that he is able to rationalize and ensure that he lives with his fellow human beings in the most moral and sanest means possible.