Humans have ruled planet Earth, as well as the animal kingdom for millions of years; in our wake we ravaged and have selfishly grasped the planet’s resources without remorse for the dwelling inhabitants. We have as well, turned on ourselves with our diversity and religious influences; this only led to more bloodshed and anguish among ourselves as well as anything and everyone in our path. The short stories “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, and “The Sniper” by Liam O'Flaherty have both shown empirical evidence pertaining my perspective connecting the universal theme; good and evil. Therefore, I strongly believe that humans are primarily evil and contain the most devastating greed on the face of the Earth.
Similar to my thesis, Richard
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It’s evident that he’s the anti-hero just by observing his aptitude towards the horrible slaughter he has committed. The text states, “ As soon as I recovered I started for the Amazon to hunt jaguars, for I had heard they were unusually cunning. They weren't." The Cossack sighed. "They were no match at all for a hunter with his wits about him, and a high-powered rifle. I was bitterly disappointed.” (Connell). To further prove his character, he emits a profound discouraged connotation due to the innocent animal’s incompetence. Our main character, Sanger Rainsford has been sought out to be the hero in this story; yet he’s a hunter himself. In a conversation with the two, Rainsford was befuddled when the Cossack state, “ "I wanted the 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.” (Connell). To brush up any confusion, the General is referring to a human as the animal of optimal quarry. Directly after the previous statement, Rainsford said, “ Thank you, I'm a hunter, not a murderer.”
Rainsford is known for his extravagant hunting skills, even General Zaroff speaks of Rainsford as is if he has inspired him to become a hunter. Rainsford talks about hunting with passion, while he is speaking to Whitney he tells her it’s “the best sport in the world” (19). Rainsford has no guilt when he kills animals, he even tells Whitney that it’s nonsense when she mention the jaguars have feeling. But Rainsford shows immediate disgust when Zaroff brings up his hunting of humans, “hunting, great heavens, what you speak of is murder” (26). This only the first of many times that he reacts with great displeasure.
Humans, by nature, are genuinely good people who show compassion and concern for others, right? Well true, if we all lived in a utopian land. Unfortunately, humans are, in fact, evil and easily corrupted by others. In William Golding’s 1954 published Lord of the Flies, the boy’s on the island learn that a peaceful civilization is easily destroyed without cooperation or agreement. The frustration manifested itself, making a transformation of the boys into meat hungry, hunters, who even try to hunt the other boys who don’t follow the pack. Golding analyzes the flaws of human society, directly related to human nature.
Every natural instinct of survival, for both animals and humans, is evil. According to the paradigm of our society, it is immoral to be selfish, to steal, to feel empathy only for your kin and apathy for everyone else, and to kill for personal gain. On the contrary, according to the natural instincts followed by all of the animal kingdom, you are to insure your own and your pack’s own survival, no matter the cost, disregarding all others; to steal, to feel apathy for other groups, and to kill for power and personal gain are all common practices that animals do in nature without the bat of an eye. These instincts do not only apply to lesser animals, but humans share them as well, for we are animals like all the others. There are no morals
In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Zaroff is a hunter that lives on an island in the middle of nowhere. Zaroff demonstrates that he is rich, smart, and confident.
The existence of mankind is a wicked blessing with the full capability to uphold good intentions, but human nature drives us to do otherwise, going beyond moral constraints into the depths of corrupt curiosity. The idea can be more crisply summarized in the words of Bill Bryson “It’s an unnerving thought that we may be the living universe’s supreme achievement and its worst nightmare simultaneously.” Bryson obviously sees the aptitude of the human race but still acknowledges the flaws that make people much less than perfect. One thing that sets humans apart from animals is their ability to think. The creation of nuclear weapons is a product of human intellect and is an example of its ability. But the accomplishment has lead to the fear of nuclear war, which would be the end of mankind and possibly Earth itself. Another example is communist dictator, Adolf Hitler. Hitler is a political figure that came into power after the fall of Germany. He promised Germans the complete reconstruction of the country to its prior reign. Hitler became too power hungry and it eventually led to his fall. Also, the development of various types of drugs (predominantly meant for good) has caused both relief and infliction in the world.
“The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the huntees [...] Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if need be, taken by the strong (Connell 16).”
Being able to overcome anything in life is a great feeling. There is a special feeling in the body and the mind when the body achieves a goal, and the mind gets a feeling of satisfaction. Since, the mind chooses to go against the body's will to quit, you have to be mentally strong. In Richard Connell's short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” large game hunter Sanger Rainsford is tested in the following ways: strong versus the weak, the value of life, and becoming what he fears. To begin with, Rainsford has to pose as the weak against the strong, General Zaroff.
High Noon and "The Most Dangerous Game" are both stories involving a main character who is being hunted. The main characters from each, Will Kane and Sanger Rainsford, both face similar challenges. The survival-based stories take place around the time of World War II but in different parts of the world. While High Noon and "The Most Dangerous Game" share similar characters, but they take place in different settings and contain different themes.
Humans may be characteristically neither good nor bad, but the lack of any definable structure is what leads to chaos; fear and self-preservation are what will typically lead to the state of war and competition for resources and scarce goods.
There are many different points of view about human behaviors. Through specific characters mentioned in Fahrenheit 451, “A Very Old Man Enormous Wings”, and “The Lottery”, individual attitudes are exaggerated to the point that their evil motivations behind their behaviors are obvious. Everyday humans attempt to attach the connotation of good to humanity, but it’s just because humans want to look past the fact that we are realistically not good. It is very difficult for us to reflect on our own behaviors. Even though people try to avoid admitting it, we always try to be the best in whatever we do. We naturally make our own survivals the best we can make it. Harming others knowingly and enjoying it is a hallmark of being evil. Good is not only
Through the progression of William Golding's Lord of the Flies and the article, “Are Humans Good or Evil” by Clancy Martin and Alan Strudler, a multitude of undeniable evidence is provided to prove that humans are in fact inherently wicked. In Lord of the Flies, a human being’s savage nature and primal instincts are effectively portrayed through the development of Jack, the lead hunter in a group that gets meat for the boys. Little Jack Merridew, who seems to be nothing but a naive and obnoxious chorister, becomes one of the most malicious and violent boys on the island. Jack's wilder side shows itself the most when he goes hunting. Making one his first kills brought such exhilaration, satisfaction, and pure bloodlust, that it drove him to insane limits,
”The focus of the book is on extraordinary human evil. The focus on human evil writ large is not about the isolated, tabloid cases of
When anyone thinks of the word “evil” they do not think it is within themselves. In reality, without a structured and well-followed society, people are apt to follow their own corrupt desires and neglect the thought of consequence. In the allegory, Lord of the Flies, William Golding reveals that man’s selfishness and sinful nature will be unmasked when the structure of a society deteriorates.
Do you enjoy finding ways to escape reality? Escaping reality could include daydreaming, playing video games, or reading etc. A wide range of people could plead guilty to not living in the moment. When things get rough, people often want to run away from realism and might use video games as the outlet. Video game creators have been exploring multiple ways for people at home to grasp the concept of not dwelling in the present, but exploring reality without consequences.
Myers, William Andrew. "The Banality of Evil in an Age of Terrorism." Considering Evil and Human Wickedness (2004): 33.