THOUGHTS ON HUMANITY

Question I: I believe that most people only want what is good for them. It is an unfortunate truth that plagues most people. In the story The Most Dangerous Game, from the get-go we see the kind of behavior that shows that most people are very selfish. In the beginning we meet Rainsford whose first discussion is about how he believes that the animals he hunts do not have feelings and that he has the right to hunt them. Throughout the story though, we see his opinion change, due to the out-landish actions of General Zaroff. General Zaroff is another great example of the selfishness of people. He believes that the strong were created to hunt and kill the weak and that that even applies to humans. Unfortunately for him, that is what leads to his demise. In a totally different story, The Cask of Amontillado, we also see another person who acts only for themselves. Fortunato is made mearly made fun of by another man and sees that as an excuse to kill him. These are some great examples as to why I believe that people tend to think of themselves, and not others, first.


Question II: As previously stated, I believe that most people put themselves first. I have given you some examples of that from two very excellent stories but there are some real life experiences that make me believe this also. For example, I went to the mall not long ago with some friends. As I was walking through, I happened to notice a $20 bill lying on the ground in front of me. I discretly picked it up and asked a group of teens in front of me if it belonged to them. A young girl in front of me said yes and I handed it over. She said thanks and I gave a quick smile befor going over to join my own party. Later in the day I saw the same group of girls in a store i was in, and the girl who had lost her $20 was purchasing a t-shirt. I heard her friends giggle and say, " I can't belive that you're spending $20 on that shirt!" The girl turned around and said, " Yeah? Well I can't believe that all of you could keep a straight face when I took 20 bucks from that chick, that didn't even belong to me!" Then they all cracked up laughing and left the store. That is the kind of behavior that makes me believe that most people only care about themselves.