Comparison of “The Most Dangerous Game” and the “Young Goodman Brown”
This essay will compare two short stories: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown and Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game. Works do not have similarities at the first sight. Stories are about a century apart (were published in 1835 and 1924 respectively), have different plots, types of characters and conclusions. However, it is possible to make a comparison and find both similarities and differences in these stories.
Events in the Young Goodman Brown took place in 17th century. The young, pious husband from Salem went through the forest to a mysterious meeting. He was temporally accompanied by a mysterious man who appeared to be the Devil or a powerful demon. The …show more content…
First of all, both works show a conflict between two men, who are familiar with each other in some way. “I helped your grandfather, the constable… And it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot… to set fire to an Indian village” (Hawthorne) the demon told Young Goodman Brown. General Zaroff did not know Rainsford in person, but he read his books and it created a link between two characters. Both stories showed that the villain was older and more experienced than the protagonist. Negative characters in the Young Goodman Brown and The Most Dangerous Game both were charismatic individuals, tried to eulogize people’s sins and prove they are normal for the society. Zaroff’s decision to prey on people was a violation of moral, ethical and law bans, regardless of his explanations: “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure” (Connell).The Devil in the Hawthorne’s story did the similar with his usual behavior – an explanation that service of the darkness is a common event. Protagonists in both stories also have a lack of free choice – there can be a conclusion like “join or be an outcast” in both stories. Hawthorne’s and Connell’s works bring up the “hunt” issue. The demon preys on innocent souls in the Young Goodman Brown. General Zaroff was a real hunter who also chased people, but by more prosaic reasons. Main characters in both works also think they are experienced in chosen spheres. Young Goodman Brown believed he is a good religionist and is able to resist evil powers; and Rainsford treated himself as a high trained hunter. Stories demonstrated they were both right in some ways – Brown was able to fight off his soul and Rainsford’s hunting skills appeared to be better than Zaroff’s. Both works also showed a type of happy ending because protagonists stayed
This essay will compare two short stories: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown and Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game. Works do not have similarities at the first sight. Stories are about a century apart (were published in 1835 and 1924 respectively), have different plots, types of characters and conclusions. However, it is possible to make a comparison and find both similarities and differences in these stories.
Events in the Young Goodman Brown took place in 17th century. The young, pious husband from Salem went through the forest to a mysterious meeting. He was temporally accompanied by a mysterious man who appeared to be the Devil or a powerful demon. The …show more content…
First of all, both works show a conflict between two men, who are familiar with each other in some way. “I helped your grandfather, the constable… And it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot… to set fire to an Indian village” (Hawthorne) the demon told Young Goodman Brown. General Zaroff did not know Rainsford in person, but he read his books and it created a link between two characters. Both stories showed that the villain was older and more experienced than the protagonist. Negative characters in the Young Goodman Brown and The Most Dangerous Game both were charismatic individuals, tried to eulogize people’s sins and prove they are normal for the society. Zaroff’s decision to prey on people was a violation of moral, ethical and law bans, regardless of his explanations: “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure” (Connell).The Devil in the Hawthorne’s story did the similar with his usual behavior – an explanation that service of the darkness is a common event. Protagonists in both stories also have a lack of free choice – there can be a conclusion like “join or be an outcast” in both stories. Hawthorne’s and Connell’s works bring up the “hunt” issue. The demon preys on innocent souls in the Young Goodman Brown. General Zaroff was a real hunter who also chased people, but by more prosaic reasons. Main characters in both works also think they are experienced in chosen spheres. Young Goodman Brown believed he is a good religionist and is able to resist evil powers; and Rainsford treated himself as a high trained hunter. Stories demonstrated they were both right in some ways – Brown was able to fight off his soul and Rainsford’s hunting skills appeared to be better than Zaroff’s. Both works also showed a type of happy ending because protagonists stayed