The short stories “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson are both very alike yet very different. Throughout the short stories “The Most Dangerous Game” and “The Lottery”, Connell and Jackson use a tone of casualness to develop the theme of senseless killings in an established society.
The tone of casualness is prevalent in both of the short stories. The character General Zaroff from “The Most Dangerous Game” was a particularly evil person. He was an avid hunter of special game but quickly became bored with the easiness of hunting animals. Zaroff believed, “hunting had ceased to be what you call ‘a sporting proposition’. It had become to easy” (Connell, 1990). General Zaroff decided that he would take it upon himself to create a new sort of hunting, one that entailed hunting human beings. Rainsford, an unfortunate character that unintentionally ended up on the Zaroff’s island, strongly disputed Zaroff’s idea of
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In “The Most Dangerous Game” General Zaroff decided that hunting animals was no longer entertaining enough, so he chose to create a new form of hunting, hunting humans. General Zaroff believed that, “hunting had ceased to be what you call a ‘sporting proposition’. It had become too easy” (Connell, 1990). For Zaroff, committing murder was a simple solution to an inconvenient problem. In “The Lottery” the people of the town were so oblivious to why they were participating in the stoning every year, that they had no reason to think there could be a problem with what they were doing. When asked why there was a lottery, the answer was because, “there’s always been a lottery” (Jackson, 1948). The people had forgotten all the surrounding traditions, but the one thing they remembered was that whoever selected the slip of paper with the black dot was to be stoned by all of the
In two of the most well-known short stories, “The Most Dangerous Game” and “Young Goodman Brown”, there are ironic similarities portraying evil between their settings, characterization, and plot.
The Theme of the game rely around the justification of murder. Killing just because. Even thou man is superior over best and he has been given power since the beginning of time it does not give him the authority to take one’s life.
Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" both attempt to provide their readers with the cruel truth regarding how it is typically human to express interest in cold-blooded acts. These two short stories discuss about people who see nothing wrong with promoting criminal behavior, but who eventually come to acknowledge the horrible position that the victim is in by experiencing it from a first-person perspective. Sanger Rainsford, and, respectively, Tessie Hutchinson are the central characters in these two stories and they are unable to complexly understand the situation that a victim is in until they actually realize that they are the victims.
As the plot of the stories unfolds, the greater influence of violent tensions become evident. In The Lottery, people follow the tradition despite its cruelty and absurdity. Although the ritual of the lottery is brutal, the dwellers of the village do not seem to see how barbaric it is because “there’s always been a lottery” (Jackson, 1982, p. 118). Nevertheless, the tensions grow when the lottery begin and every citizen is awaiting for its end. The climatic moment of the story grows when the reader discovers that Tess
“I congratulate you, you have won the game.” (36). Richard Connell does a great job in “The Most Dangerous Game”, showing how he can make a story so much more exciting with description and some literary devices. This frightful, yet thrilling story has three very important literary devices such as suspense, imagery, and conflict in it. By utilizing those three literary terms Richard makes a very nail bighting narrative. Winning the game was a direct correlation with sustaining life – his life.
The Most Dangerous Game" has many characters that create relationships and emotion in the short story. The protagonist is Rainsford, a world renowned hunter that has written and published books on the subject. He believes that there are only two kinds of people in the world, 'the hunters and the huntees' and that nothing can stand in his way. The role of antagonist is played by General Zaroff, a cossack or warrior in a special Russian military unit. He had retired with a deaf friend and moved to an abandoned island to relax and hunt. He had been trained to hunter since the young age of five when he was given his first gun and killed his father's prize turkey. At the age of ten he killed his first bear and this hobby of his carried throughout his life. However, many years later it began to bore him. He created new ways to appeal to his craving for the hunt and begins to do things never expected.
“The Lottery by Shirley” Jackson and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell shed light upon the human nature and its indifference to suffering until they become the suffer. The stories tell realistically what happens when a society decides to become the jury and judge on the value of human life. Both stories have haunting comparisons that deal with immorality. They give similarities for what is considered acceptable and everyday life in the characters society. The authors use vivid and detailed points of view to give the stories reality roots. These two stories are more unique with the differences being about man versus man in the survival for human life and the other a woman against her whole village’s belief. The Most Dangerous Game has the character Rainsford speaking about the animals he hunts. The dreary feel of the crew and the murk of the night add suspense to what is held beyond the fog. The conversation between Rainsford and The General Zaroff is a precursor for an intriguing climax. “The Lottery” begins its story with a simple town setting and villagers coming together for a lottery. It picks up momentum once you realize what is actually at stake in this lottery. The lottery consists of a ritualistic killing to preserve fruitfulness of the village. Every year there is the ritual of the choosing and the stoning
Fiction stories are created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation. This kind of literature is for some people aspires to write down their thought to escape from their daily life. As what presents on “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the main characters of those stories are Tessie Hutchinson and Sanger Rainsford. Each of characters have their own outstanding qualities. The common point in these two stories is that the main characters are both in dangers which can end up their lives either it can be a happy ending or a sad ending. Also, they have the same reaction towards their enemies and their hard situations.
"The Lottery" (Jackson, pg 163-170) and "The Hunger Games" (Collins, 2008) are both popular pieces of seemingly like, popular literature. Rituals and rules come into play strongly in both stories. In comparing "The Lottery" (Jackson, pg 163-170) and "The Hunger Games" (Collins, 2008) I find that both stories focus strongly on their annual rituals of sacrifice with a scapegoat. "The Lottery" (Jackson, pg 163-170) and "The Hunger Games" (Collins, 2008) have a ceremony, a formal event that brings the town or district together while having no real significance. Both stories also include similar rules, such as the rule that all people living in the town or district must attend the day that the person is chosen.
Readers want a story that captivates them, transporting them to another world with intriguing characters and conflict. The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell, is a story about a man fighting for his life in extreme and unusual circumstances. The short story delivers an overall feeling of suspense and excitement for the reader. Compared to other short stories like: The Gift of the Magi, and The House on Mango Street, this story is more of an action/thriller genre. Richard Connell created a successful piece of literature because of his riveting plot, character development, and his unique moral.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a story littered with warnings and subtext about the dangers a submissive society can pose. While the opening is deceptively cheery and light Jackson uses an array of symbols and ominous syntax to help create the apprehensive and grim tone the story ends with. Her portrayal of the town folk as blindly following tradition represents the world during World War II when people’s failure to not mindlessly accept and heed authority lead to disastrous consequences. . Shirley Jackson uses a large array of techniques to help convey the idea that recklessly following and accepting traditions and orders can lead to disastrous consequences.
Many people do things without questioning them. They do not know why they do it, or why they should not do it. All they know is tradition. The short story, “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson demonstrates such habitual, ritualistic behavioral traditions followed by a village. This custom is known as the Lottery. The villagers do not challenge this praxis because it is the social norm. The townspeople adhere to the general guidelines of this savagely cruel ritual by brutally murdering another person to repent for their sins. However barbaric this tradition may be, the townspeople do not oppose this group homicide because it is a practice that they have accepted for many years. Unthinkingly doing something with the only reason being
In Patrick J. Shield’s article, Arbitrary Condemnation and Sanctioned Violence in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” he discusses issues surrounding capital punishment in the era of “The Lottery.” Shield’s examines the humankind’s civilized surface that leads the reader to analyze such ideas as scapegoating, ritual execution, class structure, gender, and sanctioned violence. “The
My two books for this comparison essay are “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. “The Lottery” is about the towns people drawing out slips of paper and seeing who gets the slip of paper with the black pencil dot; whereas The Hunger Games is about Katniss taking her sister's place when she she's called into the Hunger Games and trying to survive in the arena with Peeta in the Hunger Games. This book ends with Katniss and Peeta winning the Hunger Games and the two of them returning to District 12 with mixed feelings for each other, and an unforgettable experience. There are many similarities between these two books.
Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a short story about the annual gathering of the villagers to conduct an ancient ritual. The ritual ends in the stoning of one of the residents of this small village. This murder functions under the guise of a sacrament that, at one time, served the purpose of ensuring a bountiful harvest. This original meaning, however, is lost over the years and generations of villagers. The loss of meaning has changed the nature and overall purpose of the lottery. This ritual is no longer a humble sacrifice that serves the purpose of securing the harvest but instead is a ceremony of violence and murder only existing for the pleasure found in this violence.