Essay Comparing The Most Dangerous Game And The Cask Of Amontillado

Human Violence today is at its all time high and people today are becoming more ruthless towards human lives. Killing others without any regret at all and in stories the violence only escalates to the extreme. This Essay will be discussing two stories that have the most inhumane plots that have ever been introduced in a story. How exactly does “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell compare and contrast to “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe in terms of Characterization, Plot, and Theme?
The Author of The Cask of Amontillado did not have an easy life. Poe suffered from Chronic financial trouble- well as alcoholism- for majority of his life(The Owl Eyes.com). In Fact, his history is where he got the idea for Montresor Personality

and history. Montresor is partially based on Poe himself as he knew what it was to fall on hard times, an Example: Losing his father as well.

The idea of Poe’s Story of revenge may have been heavily inspired on a quarrel Poe had with two other authors. However, Fate was much more harsh on Edgar Allen Poe then it ever was on Richard Connell. Richard Connell lived a fairly normal life. He wrote various novels, plays, short stories, and screenplays in Hollywood movies and he was a prolific writer in the first several decades of the twentieth century(Encyclopedia.com). The Most Dangerous Game however, had remained one of his best stories he had written, remaining as popular as it had been since its initial publication in 1924.
General Zaroff from “The Most Dangerous Game” and Montresor from “The Cask of Amontillado” both have mysterious back stories and a very interesting view on life and the organisms living it. General Zaroff is a manipulator, a sadist, and an intelligent fellow, whose view on human life

is...less than loving. He believes that only the strongest and most ruthless of humans are to rule and those that aren't strong? Well he believes they have no place in this world. He says that humans are just another...more smart form of prey and that's what makes him want to hunt them down. He has told Rainsford that, “I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be, harbors romantic ideas about the value of human life.” implying that he gives none about humans and their lives. In Comparison to Montresor, we can see that he too has little value to human life though he doesn't express it as much as Zaroff does though it is obvious after some research and observation in the book. He will willingly hunt down and kill those he feel as forsaken him, he even had a torture chamber for those special people that is lined with the remains of humans and skulls. Zaroff, unlike Montresor has an obsession with hunting human beings and will kill anyone who lands on his island by playing a “game” with them,if they win they don't die, if they lose...their dead. Montresor however, has something that Zaroff never had, moral value. Montresor, while on the verge of killing Fortunato, hesitated, trembling(The Cask of Amontillado, page 78). He was afraid for an unknown reason and was feeling a little bit of regret from what he did to Fortunato and the quote above shows that he has feelings of regret and does value the human life a little bit more then Zaroff ever will.
Rainsford, when compared to Fortunato, Is not as naïve and trusting as Fortunato was to Montresor and was almost immediately untrusting of Zaroff when he met him.

Before Rainsford was trapped on Zaroff’s island, he held no sympathy for the animals he ruthlessly hunted and killed even telling his partner Whitney, “ You are a big game hunter, not a philosopher.Who cares how a jaguar feels.” However, during his time on the island while he was being hunted by General Zaroff, he knew then what it felt like to be a jaguar, running for its life(The Cask of Amontillado, page 78). Fortunato however was too trusting of Montresor and it costed him his life. Right off the bat, he got himself drunk and went with Montresor without question. He is a smart mouthed, cocky man who had done something to Montresor to get him after his blood and he had succeeded, dieing slowly in a very brutal way, in a way, he brought this onto himself for trusting Montresor too much and far too

quickly.
The Plots of the Stories a very similar in perspective detail and thought. In “The Most Dangerous Game” the plot of the story revolves around a young man trying desperately to survive three nights on a little island against a sadistic Man named General Zaroff. He crashed there after his pipe fell into the ocean and he jumped in trying to get it back. When he encountered Zaroff he was told that he either had to survive or die trying. General Zaroff hunted him down effortlessly trying his hardest to find him so he can kill him, even going as fast as for send his dogs after him Ivan as well. After the final day of survival Rainsford broken into Zaroff’s room and showed him that he was in fact alive and he had won the “game.” after Zaroff discovered him, he went through the other end of the deal, “sleeping” with the hungry dogs. The ending, while not as clear, after some observation, it becomes clear that “sleeping with the dogs” actually meant getting eaten by them, which is what happened to General Zaroff after he lost the “Game.” In Comparison “The Cask of Amontillado” Has a slightly similar Plot, there are not as many similarities between the Plots as there was for the characters, but some things are Similar. The plot behind “The Cask of Amontillado” is that a man, Montresor, after being belittled by another man, Fortunato, for far too long, finally decided that he is done with him and he must die. He finds Fortunato getting drunk at a city wide event, and after little persuasion (as Fortunato trust anyone), he manages to get Fortunato to follow him to his torture chamber, of which he has not told Fortunato they were going there. After some time they had made it to the catacombs where his chamber is located behind, and with little to no effort he strapped up Fortunato and closed the door on him. Fortunato was still as clueless as when they first arrived, had no idea about the situation he was in and struck up some conversation with Montresor that had him rethink his decision a little. After he had thought it out he had planned on letting Fortunato out. Unfortunately Fortunato passed away before he could do so leaving Montresor to feel the guilt of Taking his life for decades to have come. The stories, while having some similarities, like General Zaroff and Montresor’s personalities and slightly similar views, have tons more differences such as the endings which are widespread apart, and the construction of how the story is formed and brought about. Both stories have a similar thought put into it though one is more based on revenge then the other which is based on survival. Similar Ideas put out into different actions and plots.