Essay Comparing The Most Dangerous Game And The Cask Of Amontillado

A man who would never commit murder ends up murdering someone else, and another man bloodthirsty for revenge murders someone close to them. Rainsford from “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and Montresor from “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe are both characters who are felonious because they murdered someone. They are both main characters who were experiencing strange choices, having to kill someone, and to carefully planning through details to reach their goal. However, one man never thought he would kill someone, but the other man, bloodthirsty.
Both of the main characters are very similar in mental and physical aspects. Both of these stories are strange and unrealistic in most cases because many people wouldn’t be stuck on an island with an insane man, and many people wouldn’t bring someone down into catacombs to lock them to a chain and leave them there. They both killed someone before the story resolved, and in order to achieve what both characters wanted they had to meticulously plan how to reach it. Rainsford knew, “"I will not lose my nerve. I will not." He slid down from the tree, and struck off again into the woods. His face was

set and he forced the machinery of his mind to function” (p.). Similar to Montresor, Fortunato vowed, “The very definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser” (p.). Both Montresor and Rainsford are main characters, and they are smart and they know what has to be done to get the job done. Montresor and Rainsford have to do unreasonable things to get what they want, but they both don’t want the same thing.
Rainsford is very different from Montresor even though both of them committed murder. Rainsford’s main goal was to live. Even with the fear of being hunted, he had to calm his nerves and plan how to get rid of Zaroff, but he didn’t have time to dally either. Rainsford never thought he would kill someone, but by the end of the story realized if it came down to his life he would kill someone. Before his experience he doesn’t realize how much he values his life over his reputation. Rainsford thinks “awakened by a sound that made him know that he had new things to learn about fear” (p.). talking about how animals don’t have feelings like fear. During the story he realized that animals are scared, not only because he was scared but Zaroff’s pack of dogs were scared as well. Both Rainsford and Montresor had different goals in mind, but they are also very different at heart.
Montresor is very different than Rainsford in many mental and emotional ways.

Montresor seeks revenge, and is rather demented and berserk. He obtrudes Fortunato’s evening by taking him to test wine and along the way he lashes out at Fortunato a few times in the story which is rather scary. He says at the very beginning, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (p. 372). No matter what happened Montresor vowed that he would get revenge on Fortunato no matter how and when he got his revenge. Montresor had a long time to develop a strong plan that wouldn’t get him in trouble or caught because he didn’t want to go to jail for committing a murder. Both of these characters are different, and have strange reasons for their

crimes.
Both Rainsford and Montresor have to carefully plan how to kill someone, but Rainsford never thought he would kill someone. Montresor knew and planned to kill his enemy. Even though the two characters commit murder doesn’t mean they are similar. They both have committed a crime, but it was probably for two completely different reasons. This shows that there are always different reasonings for similar events in life.