MDG/ COA Questions

In the two selected stories, I believe that the characters portrayed care only for themselves. For example, in The Most Dangerous Game, General Zacroff, the antagonist kills humans so he won’t become bored with the thing he loves most, hunting. In addition, Rainsford, the protagonist, in the beginning of the story does not feel that the animals he hunts have feelings. For instance, he says to his friend Whitney, “Who cares how a jaguar feels?” This is clearly an example of selfishness and thinking of oneself. Furthermore, in The Cask of Amontillado, Montressor, the narrator, seeks the revenge of murder on Fortunato when he “ventured upon insult.” In carrying his mastermind plan of murder, he upholds his family motto “Nemo me impune lacessit” or “No one attacks me with impunity”. Montressor’s lunacy drives him to kill his old friend in a most grotesque way. This is obviously showing that Montressor is only thinking of himself.


Even though these two stories represent vile, self-centered characters, I really do believe that people naturally want to be good. In my life, I often find people doing acts of kindness. For example, one of my neighbors recently had surgery. My family brought food for her family while she was in the hospital. Another example of kindness in my life happened all throughout last year when some of my classmates including me volunteered our time to visit nursing homes and their residents. This made me feel wonderful, and it also made the people that we visited feel remembered and special. Additionally, I often see people giving to charity or feeding people who are hungry. I feel people really do try to do good in their daily lives, and the horrible things that happened in these two fictional stories usually do not happen in our real lives.