Compare and Contrast Essay: The Scarlet Ibis vs. The Most Dangerous Game

In, ¨The Scarlet Ibis and The Most Dangerous Game¨, the characters rebel and have consequences. In, “The Most Dangerous Game”, General Zaroff catches ships on his island and kills men on the ship for his amusement since tigers or bears just weren’t enough for him. In, "The Scarlet Ibis" is a short story of two brothers, one normal and the other different. One of the brothers, Doodle has a condition or disability where is not like the other children his age. Brother, Doodle’s brother, is constantly wishing that Doodle was a typical kid like him, and has decided that he is going to try to make Doodle seem normal before he has to go to school. In, ¨The Scarlet Ibis and The Most Dangerous Game¨ the characters rebel and have consequences.

Game hunters are extremely committed to their game and will do anything to hunt the game that they desire. In, “The Most Dangerous Game”, General Zaroff states, “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. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of earth: sailors from tramp ships--lassars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels--a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them¨ (Connell 8). General Zaroff is reasoning that the world is not for the fragile and if you are weak, you’re not going to make it. The gift that General Zaroff was given was being able to be an outstanding game hunter so he is using his gift, and if the weak cannot compete with him then they will not survive. Zaroff is ingenious in hunting the people who were not capable enough to be the tough ones to defend themselves or make it in the world. In, “The Most Dangerous Game”, Zaroff suggests,¨It's a game, you see,¨ pursued the general blandly. ¨I suggest to one of them that we go hunting. I give him a supply of food and an excellent hunting knife. I give him three hours´ start. I am to follow, armed only with a pistol of the smallest caliber and range. If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. If I find him ¨--the general smiled--¨ he loses¨ (Connell 9). Zaroff is trying to explain to Rainsford that his idea of hunting isn't as dramatic as it seems. The game or person that Zaroff is hunting has almost equal competition, besides the fact that Zaroff is an exceptional game hunter. He does try to give them some type of advantage giving them a three-hour start, but many of these men have never hunted in their entire lives or are not even comparable to how amazing General Zaroff is at hunting. 

If you push someone to do something or push them into doing it, you’re not helping them you're making them feel worse about themselves and forcing them to do something they don’t want to do. In, ¨The Scarlet Ibis¨ big brother states, ¨When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn't walk, so I set out to teach him. We were down in Old Woman Swamp and it was spring and the sick sweet smell of bay flowers hung everywhere like a mournful song¨ (Hurst 2). Doodle´s brother wants Doodle to be just like a normal brother that he sets out to make sure that is possible. Doodle couldn't walk so wanted to teach him so that he wouldn't embarrass his brother. Although, trying to teach Doodle new things is superb, trying to push him could lead to worse things. Setting such high goals for Doodle is important for Doodle to grow up and be just like his brother but also can be bad. In, “The Scarlet Ibis”, “Once I had succeeded in teaching Doodle to walk, I began to believe in my own infallibility, and I prepared a terrific development program for him, unknown to Mama and Daddy, of course. I would teach him to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight. He, too, now believed in my infallibility, so we set the deadline for these accomplishments less that a year away, when, it had been decided, Doodle could start to school” (Hurst 3). Big brother is pushing Doodle to his absolute maximum. Brother is very ashamed of Doodle especially since he cannot walk, but has progressed so that he will be able to attend school. Brother can never face that doodle is never going to be like the other kids, and this does create a stiff relationship between the brothers. 

Darkness and the idea of murder is a constant reoccurring subject in both of these short stories. In, “The Scarlet Ibis”, it states, “When Doodle came into the dining room, he found us seriously eating our cobbler. He was pale, and lingered just inside the screen door. "Did you get the scarlet ibis buried?" asked Daddy. Doodle didn't speak but nodded his head. "Go wash your hands, and then you can have some peach cobbler," said Mama. "I'm not hungry," he said. "Dead birds are bad luck," said Aunt Nicey, poking her head from the kitchen door. "Specialty red dead birds!" (Hurst 6). Red is the symbol of death. In this short story, there is a bird who plays an exponential part in the setting of the story and symbolizes characters being fragile or forgotten. The Scarlet Ibis is also representing how something fragile and beautiful can be lost so easily. In, “The Most Dangerous Game”, “Rainsford sprang up and moved quickly to the rail, mystified. He strained his eyes in the direction from which the reports had come, but it was like trying to see through a blanket. He leaped upon the rail and balanced himself there, to get greater elevation; his pipe, striking a rope, was knocked from his mouth. He lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too far and had lost his balance. “The cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea dosed over his head” (Connell 2). The color red in this story is implifying the blood, death, and violence on Ship Trap Island. When Rainsford fell off his yacht and went into, “the blood-warm waters” it symbolizes that in the future there could be even more violence in the short story. By General Zaroff hunting humans, it can link blood since when hunting humans there is blood and bot prey and preditor bleed red. Later in the story when Rainsford reaches the shore he notices weeds that are, “stained crimson”, also red. The color red becomes more and more critical as the story continues. 

In,¨The Scarlet Ibis and The Most Dangerous Game, the characters rebel and have consequences. In both stories, there is a constantly recurring theme of death, and both characters facing extreme conflicts. As in, “The Scarlet Ibis”, the other short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, both are symbolizing the color red, death, and murder. The color red holds a significant type of symbolism with meanings, including life, war, anger, love, and most importantly death. Not only does the color red symbolize death along with blood, but blood also represents life within itself. The blood which comes from death is a reoccurring theme in both of the short stories. Characters in both of the short stories have very unusual thoughts leading to a very confusing ending. When people become angry their faces become flushed with color.