Comparing The Most Dangerous Game And The Destructors By G. Wells
When reading and analyzing a short story there are many literary elements that stick out to the reader. One of those elements is the setting, meaning the time and place the story takes place. Other elements may be recognized in the setting such as weather and atmosphere, however they may not be apparent in every story. In the short stories The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell and The Destructors by Graham Greene elements of setting can be seen pretty clearly. Although the settings of these stories are very different, The Destructors taking place in London after WWII and The Most Dangerous Game taking place on a remote island in the Caribbean, these stories do draw some similarities as well. The setting of a story can mean many things,
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Both of these stories were written in the early to mid 1900’s but seem like they could have been written today, as they are still relevant. However, The Destructors does seem a little unrealistic for a story in the 1900’s. How possible is it that a “gang” of teenage boys would be able to gather all of the materials to destroy a house and do it without being caught. Greene writes that T, the leader of the group, asks them to gather tools. T says, “You, he said to Mike, “bring some big nails, the biggest you can find, and a hammer. Anyone else who can better bring a hammer and a screwdriver. We’ll need plenty of them. Chisels too. We can’t have too many chisels. Can anybody bring a saw?... We want a hacksaw…” (Greene 4) With tools like these, how would no one hear them and stop them? In The Most Dangerous Game the story also seems a little unrealistic for the 1900’s. It almost sounds like an old wise tale, that a man was on a boat to go hunting, feel off and found himself on a small island in the Caribbean, with one of the most skilled hunters ever, who decides to hunt him, only to be out hunted by the man that washed up on the shore of his island.
The time of day also plays a part in the setting of these stories. In The Most Dangerous Game night is a big advantage for the one who is being hunted. It gives him some cover, but the man that lives on the island find there is more challenge to hunting at night so most of the events of the story take place at night. In The Destructors much of the work also takes place at night, but the work continues through the, only a few members of the gang have to go for a while. There seems to be no need for cover because they are only doing damage to the inside of the house, so the outside light causes no
Both of these stories were written in the early to mid 1900’s but seem like they could have been written today, as they are still relevant. However, The Destructors does seem a little unrealistic for a story in the 1900’s. How possible is it that a “gang” of teenage boys would be able to gather all of the materials to destroy a house and do it without being caught. Greene writes that T, the leader of the group, asks them to gather tools. T says, “You, he said to Mike, “bring some big nails, the biggest you can find, and a hammer. Anyone else who can better bring a hammer and a screwdriver. We’ll need plenty of them. Chisels too. We can’t have too many chisels. Can anybody bring a saw?... We want a hacksaw…” (Greene 4) With tools like these, how would no one hear them and stop them? In The Most Dangerous Game the story also seems a little unrealistic for the 1900’s. It almost sounds like an old wise tale, that a man was on a boat to go hunting, feel off and found himself on a small island in the Caribbean, with one of the most skilled hunters ever, who decides to hunt him, only to be out hunted by the man that washed up on the shore of his island.
The time of day also plays a part in the setting of these stories. In The Most Dangerous Game night is a big advantage for the one who is being hunted. It gives him some cover, but the man that lives on the island find there is more challenge to hunting at night so most of the events of the story take place at night. In The Destructors much of the work also takes place at night, but the work continues through the, only a few members of the gang have to go for a while. There seems to be no need for cover because they are only doing damage to the inside of the house, so the outside light causes no