Life-and-Death Decisions in Literature Essay Example

When trying to deal with life and death situations it mentally challenges people and causes them to react quickly in violence or flee in fear. In the short story “The Seventh Man” the protagonist lost his best friend to a large wave. In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” Rainsford uses violence and fear to help him through a sick game he’s forced to play. In the novel The Lord of The Flies by William Golding, a group of boys try to survive on their own and resort to a lot of violence to overcome being alone with slowly deteriorating rules. The Seventh man of Haruki Murakami’s “The Seventh Man”, Rainsford from “The Most Dangerous Game”, and the group of boys in the book “The Lord of The Flies” all have tried to save themselves with violence, fear, or both.

In the short story “The Seventh Man”, the protagonist is introduced to the opportunity to save himself and his friend from the danger of a huge wave, but he resulted in only saving himself by fleeing. Throughout the entire story, the narrator emphasizes how he left his friend “K.” to be crushed by a wave on a beach. The Seventh man felt as if he knew the wave was coming by pointing out that, “…something ominous about them—something like the touch of a reptile’s skin—had sent a chill down my spine.”, “I felt as if some huge, man-eating beast were lying somewhere on a grassy plain, dreaming of the moment it would pounce and tear me to pieces with its sharp teeth. I had to run away.” The narrator’s choice to run away without his friend comes from the fear inside him wanting to leave the beach as fast as possible. His description of the wave is what leads the reader to believe that he’s scared. Trying to overcome his fear, he feels that he should go and save K. but he was being drowned by fear, and he ran for the dyke of the beach. As Haruki Murakami states in paragraph 30, “I told myself to run over to K., grab hold of him, and get out of there. It was the only thing to do. I knew that the wave was coming, and K. didn’t know. As clearly as I knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way—running full speed towards the dyke, alone. What made me do this, I’m sure, was fear, a fear so overpowering it took my voice away and set my legs to running on their own. I ran stumbling along the soft sand beach to the breakwater, where I turned and shouted to K.” By the time he ran away it was too late, the seventh man resorted to fleeing away to deal with his fear, before trying to save K.’s life. After the narrator ran to the dyke, he tried to call out for K. one more time, this time K. heard him. When K. realized something was behind him, he tried to run away, still shocked the seventh man still stayed at the dyke not helping K., “Soundlessly (in my memory, at least, the image is soundless), it rose up behind K. to block out the sky. K. looked at me for a few seconds, uncomprehending. Then, as if sensing something, he turned towards the wave. He tried to run, but now there was no time to run. In the next instant, the wave had swallowed him.” (Murakami) Once more, the Seventh man decided to run away from danger, where his best friend is, to save himself. Leaving K. shows how much life-and-death decisions can impact ones thought process, the narrator picked what he felt was best for him at that moment, and it was to run and leave his friend.

In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, written by Richard Connell, the protagonist ends up in many positions where he must quickly think to keep himself alive. In one instance he is almost killed so he didn’t have time to think, so instead of fighting Zaroff, he runs up a tree. Paragraphs 179 and 180 state, “Something was coming through the bush, coming slowly, carefully, coming by the same winding way Rainsford had come. He flattened himself down on the limb, and through a screen of leaves almost as thick as tapestry, he watched. The thing that was approaching was a man. It was General Zaroff. He made his way along with his eyes fixed in utmost concentration on the ground before him. He paused, almost beneath the tree…” Rainsford being a skilled hunter seems to know that he made a poor decision climbing up the tree, but he was given a second chance to hopefully not be caught again. When given his second chance, Rainsford chooses to use violence to survive now that he knows that he isn’t getting another chance, this is suggested in paragraphs 187 and 188, “He slid down from the tree, and struck off again into the woods. His face was set, and he forced the machinery of his mind to function. Three hundred yards from his hiding place he stopped where a huge dead tree leaned precariously on a smaller, living one. Throwing off his sack of food, Rainsford took his knife from its sheath and began to work with all his energy. The job was finished at last, and he threw himself down behind a fallen log a hundred feet away. He did not have to wait long. The cat was coming again to play with the mouse.” Rainsford has resorted to trying to kill Zaroff, in his life-and-death situation he is choosing violence to get through his problem. Rainsford soon overcomes his obstacle by killing his antagonist, Connell suggests this by stating, “The general made one of his deepest bows. “I see,” he said. “Splendid! One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford. …”

He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.” Rainsford, unlike many, made the right decision to overcome his problem.

Dealing with life-and-death situations can mentally assess people, it’s up to their quick decision-making skills to get through the situation. Besides the stories, this also applies out in the real world. You may not be in the same position Rainsford was in, but the position the Seventh man was in is more likely. He panicked and saved himself, which can be something fear will do to people. Letting fear overcome one’s actions is common; how do you think you would react if you were given a life-and-death decision?