Horror Comparative Essay In many of the stories discussed, selfishness is the root of evil.Within the story, The Dangerous Game this is seen in General Zaroff where he hunts humans for personal satisfaction. Likewise, we see this in the movie I, Robot where VIKI is so focused on completing her own goal of protecting as many humans as possible she disregards the thoughts of those who she is trying to protect in the first place. In contrast, in the story, we see the main character; Dave becomes the protagonist when he is selfless, putting a child’s innocence above his own emotions when he decides against grabbing the child in order to escape from the sewer. These are some of the many times where being self-centered causes immoral actions. In The Dangerous Game, General Zaroff decides to do what many would consider immoral and wrong when he begins hunting humans because he no longer feels the same thrill that he once did while hunting regular animals. Zaroff himself states."the hunt no longer fascinated him"(Connell, 7) when he attempts clarifying why he hunts humans. While most would consider murdering someone else or even looking at them rudely wrong, General Zaroff does not. Instead, he is more focused on doing what will satisfy his needs and if it does he will do it. This is just one example where acts of greed correlate with evil. …show more content…
Another example where selfishness leads to unethical decisions is in I, Robot where the main antagonist VIKI due to her programming, believes the logical solution is inevitably the correct one proven by when she states "My logic is undeniable."(Proyas) This idea eventually leads VIKI to the conclusion that logically to retain the least amount of casualties all freedoms and rights must be sacrificed when in reality, it is seen as unlawful to take away any human being's fundamental freedoms.Once again an individual's personal goals being made more important than the morally correct decision is linked to the root of evil. In contrast, the idea of selflessness is linked to the root of good through stories such Hello, Monster. The most prominent example of this can be seen when Dave faces deciding between grabbing the child's hand which would allow him to be rescued quicker but also making him the antagonist or he could do the morally correct thing and not grab the child's hand and try to convince him to let him out however it would take longer as it is stated that at one point "Dave had lost his sense of time"(McLean, 8). In the long run, Dave does decide to do the traditionally right option and not grab the child ultimately designating him the "good guy" in the story. Here we see the selflessness lead to good and unlike selfishness, not evil. In conclusion, selfishness and more or less greed can be considered a fundamental aspect of sin. This is seen in The Dangerous Game through General Zaroff who sets up a human hunting grounds for his own pleasure. Again this is seen in, Robot where VIKI’s desire to achieve her goals through sheer logic ends up causing her to hurt those she was designed to help. Finally, on the opposite side of the spectrum is Dave from Hello, Monster who through his selfless actions becomes the protagonist of the story. Undeniably, there is a connection between being selfish or selfless and the notions of being good and bad.
Offensive Play It’s time for kickoff. The kicker tee’s up the ball and is waiting for the call from the referee so he can kick the ball. The tension is building up with the opposing team as they await the kick. The whistle blows and the referee gives him the clear to kick the ball.
After reading “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. I have decided that the character that holds the most power was “General Zaroff”. I came to this conclusion based on the fact that he knew what was going to happen from the start. “General Zaroff” also held intimate knowledge of the island, a home base to receive medical treatment, backup from a bodyguard, a canine unit, and superior firepower.
Another character trait identified in the antagonist’s character would be narcissism. When analyzed, Zaroff is clearly narcissistic, along with other, in my opinion, negative qualities. An example can be recognized when Zaroff expresses his physical attributes: “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and if need be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not?” (Connell 19). As it was stated before, this way of thinking causes the plot to, of course, revolve around
Ender’s Game is both entertaining and thought-provoking; but while the author cleverly questions the ethics of war, education, and humanity, this book’s greatest lessons are about what it means to be a good leader, which ties into the Marine Corps perfectly because that is what we strive to do. Ender Wiggin is the third in a family of child geniuses. He is selected by international military forces to save the world from destruction. Before being chosen Ender wears a unique monitor that allows the heads of the military to see things as he does. Ender's brother Peter and his sister Valentine also wore this monitor, although neither were selected, and Peter will never forgive Ender for this. Peter hates Ender, and even when the monitor is taken out it does nothing to make the hate towards his brother any less
In “ The Most Dangerous Game,” Connell portrays several instances in the text indicating that Zaroff is indeed evil. Close to the beginning of the story Connell writes, "I want to show you my new collection of heads. Will you come with me to the library?"” (76). In this quote Zaroff is boasting about his collection of human Heads, this instance in the story shows that Zaroff collecting ...
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
Throughout the book, Enders Game it is arduous to establish what it authentically denotes to have human rights. The regime relies on children to preserve the world from the buggers. They are treated like they are adults and are purloined of their youth. Ender realizes that the adults are manipulating the children and his cognizance of what is right and what is not is what preserves the world from the manipulation from the adults. Because of Ender kenning what is right and was is not and withal is authentic this is what he does that culminates up preserving the Earth from extirpation. In Orson Scott Card’s novel, the Ender’s Game shows how in authentic life that children can be utilized in Warfare, which they are called “child soldiers”, and
Some people you meet can have a major impact on your life and change it for better or for worse. Rainsfords (a man who likes to hunt dangerous animals) life was greatly changed in both a good way and a bad way by a man who lives on a tiny island in a big house named General Zaroff. Rainsford ended up on this island after he fell of a yacht he was on to go hunt an animal somewhere else but ended up swimming his way up to the shore of an island. But after about a day of being on the island Rainsford was being hunted down. While Rainsford was trying his hardest to survive on the island he was on he found a way to escape to the mainland where General Zaroff was to try and get a way off the island back to civilization. The points in this story will be somehow related to my thesis statement in ¨The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Zaroff teaches Rainsford how it feels to be like the hunted and not the hunter.
Selfishness is a common trait in the world, it’s not a hidden factor, but very well-known as being one’s self-interest. The story “Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wolff, discusses how each character in the story deals with different kinds of selfish ways. One character, Tub, deals with eating problems and lies about it. Frank deals with a secret life that he is hiding from his wife. Kenny is always comparing something to his liking and if he does not like it then he will complain. Self-absorption is when someone is focused on their self and only themselves. It is known to be a regular’s human’s condition, it’s something majority of human beings have. Selfishness may also kick in during survival incidents. For example, a boy and his friends
Whether it leads to getting people killed, falling in love, or buying alcohol, selfishness always leads to destruction. Selfish people are only concerned with their wants and with their own happiness. They do not feel obligated in any way to help others with what they need. Because they do not value other people, this can lead to a lonely life full of unhappiness. Jay Gatsby is a prime example of this.
G. Zaroff is a cruel person because instead of hunting animals, he hunts humans and does not care for the value of life. He displays this quality when he tells Rainsford “I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harbors romantic ideas about value of human life. In this quote he shows his cruelness because he doesn’t care about humans but himself. He also doesn’t care for the value of human life.
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.
Ethical egoism is diametrically opposite to ethical altruism, which obliges a moral agent to assist the other first, even if he sacrifices his own interest. Further, researchers justify and rationalize the mental position of egoism versus altruism through an explanation that altruism is destructive for a society, suppressing and denying an individual value. Although the ‘modern’ age unsubtly supports swaggering egoistic behavior in the competitive arena such as international politics, commerce, and sport, in other ‘traditional’ areas of the prideful selfishness showing off, to considerable extent discourages visible disobedience from the prevalent moral codes. In some cases, the open pro-egoist position, as was, per example, the ‘contextual’ interpretation of selfishness by famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, can be described as a ‘grotesque anomaly’.
Most people are connected to society. Most people talk to others on a regular basis, but some do not. Some people are completely isolated from society, just like Rainsford and General Zaroff in “The Most Dangerous Game”. Or maybe like Will Kane in an isolated city in High Noon. Although High Noon and “The Most Dangerous Game” are similar, both are different in plots, types of characters, and setting.
Selfishness is a term fairly notorious for its meaning. A lot of people accept that being selfish is wrong, but no one knows how this came about and why it matters. Who has the right to decide whether someone gets to be selfish or not? In his article “The unselfishness Trap”, Harry Browne says that the best way for people to be happy is when if everyone sacrifices but me. Thomas Nagel, on the other hand, argues in his article “The Objective Basis of Morality” that being concerned about others is more important. Being selfish, for many people, is evil. By definition, selfishness is to be more concerned about yourself than others, but that would essentially make every living human being a “selfish” being.