Thematic Development in "Young Goodman Brown"
and "The Most Dangerous Game"
While Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" and Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" both feature the same basic theme of good vs. evil, the additional themes that the author utilize in telling their stories serves to differentiate them in a significant way, so that Hawthorne's story suggests that evil can corrupt even a successful protagonist while Connell suggests that his protagonist is transformed into a more empathetic person after his encounter with evil.
Major themes
Young Goodman Brown
Good vs. evil
The nature of reality
The past
Social interactions
The Most Dangerous Game
Hunting- predator vs. prey
Violence
Fear
Skill
Man vs. nature- isolation
While the protagonists of both stories fight against something that can be seen as evil, it impacts them in different ways.
A. Sanger Rainsford becomes more empathetic to the animals he once hunted
B. Goodman Brown becomes embittered by his experience with evil
C. Brown flees the forest and becomes bitter and angry
D. Rainsford defeats General Zaroff
III. In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne conveys the themes by:
A. Establishing the importance of community
B. Revealing the internal flaws of Brown's companions
IV. In "The Most Dangerous Game," Connell conveys the themes by:
A. Isolating Rainsford and Zaroff
1. Similarities between Rainsford and Zaroff
2. Development of empathy through fear
B. Showcasing Rainsford's skills
C. Having Rainsford play the dual role of predator and prey
V. The authors' purpose:
A. Hawthorne's purpose is to question what it means to be pious and reveal that all people have sin.
B. Connell's purpose is to demonstrate that, in many ways, we are all both predator and prey.
VI. The unique techniques the writers use to communicate their themes:
A. Hawthorne
1. Use of the supernatural
2. Use of doubt
3. Memory
B. Connell
1. Atmosphere
2. Suspense
3. Constant battle
VII. Conclusion
Thematic Development in "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Most Dangerous Game"
The conflict between good and evil is one that appears throughout literature and it plays a significant role in two seemingly divergent short stories: "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Most Dangerous Game." In both stories, the protagonists come up against evil antagonists, one in the form of a man who hunts human beings, and the other in the form of the Devil. Furthermore, in both stories the encounters with evil change the protagonists. However, while Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" and Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" both feature the same basic theme of good vs. evil, the additional themes that the author utilize in telling their stories serves to differentiate them in a significant way, so that Hawthorne's story suggests that evil can corrupt even a successful protagonist while Connell suggests that his protagonist is transformed into a more empathetic person after his encounter with evil.
While the conflict between good and evil may be the overriding theme in both stories, they each have a number of lesser themes that the authors use to help demonstrate the protagonists' struggles with evil. In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne uses the idea of community and social interactions to frame the story. Not only is Brown aware of his role in the community, but also very cognizant of how his friends and neighbors impact the community. Hawthorne also uses the past and nostalgia as a theme, showing Goodman Brown remembering various community members in different capacities and reflecting on how he is the same or different from those who came before him. However, one of Hawthorne's most effective themes is the way he uses the nature of reality. Ultimately, the reader, like Goodman Brown, is left wondering whether or not Brown actually saw those things in the wood or whether they were in his imagination. Whether or not they were real, Brown allows those visions to shape and change how he views the people around him, which impacts how he views himself. In the battle between good and evil, the real evil that Brown confronts is the evil in his own soul, and he is unable to defeat it.
Given that Connell chooses not to allow the presence of evil to corrupt his protagonist, it should come as no surprise that he uses different themes to explore the conflict between good and evil in "The Most Dangerous Game." The overriding theme in the...
Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell Rainsford as the Hunter and Hunted: Reversal of roles and conflict in "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell In Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," the theme of reversal of roles was apparent and illustrated through its main character, the skilled hunter Rainsford. In it, readers witnessed Rainsford's plight as the hunter who became the 'hunted' after a supposedly minor accident at the sea led
Lottery" and "The Most Dangerous Game" At first glance, the slow tension built up in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" seems to mark the story as wholly distinct from the over-the-top adventure in Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," but closer examination reveals a number of points in which the two tales seem to engage in a shared discourse regarding the value of human life. "The Lottery" features an ostensibly civil
Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell and "The Destructors" by Graham Greene share a similar structure, where each story is organized around the completion of a "game" with artificial rules, which ultimately demonstrates darker truths about human motivation. Intro Paragraph: *Structural similarity between Connell story and Greene story Connell story *Connell story, title, pun on "Game" *"Game" as animal that is hunted, "Game" as activity with artificial rules *Zaroff's game is antisocial / destructive *Zaroff's world --
Dangerous Game The basic story of "The Most Dangerous Game," both the short story and the 1932 film are about a big game hunter who finds himself at the mercy of an even more dedicated hunter than himself, the mad Cossack General Zaroff who chases and kills human beings for sport. In transferring the story from print to film, the screenwriters, producers, directors, and actors make certain changes to the story
He jumps up on the rail of the yacht with no one around, running completely on instinct (Connell, 1924). Taking time to reason this out would have told him that he could fall and, since he was the only person on deck at that time of night, that no one would be around to see that he had fallen and rescue him. His instinct also took over when he
Both stories revolve around characters with power. Trevor strives to gain control in his own little world just as Zaroff does. Trevor wants to control those around him and he is quite successful at it. Greene writes that he "was giving his orders with decision: it was as though this plan had been with him all his life, pondered through the seasons, now in his fifteenth year crystallized with
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now