Crime and Punishment

Outline I. Introduction

A. “What if man is not really a scoundrel, man in general, I mean, the whole race of mankind -- then all the rest is prejudice, simply artificial terrors and there are no barriers and it's all as it should be." Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment. B. In the short stories, The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell and The Destructors by Graham Greene, we will look at the similarities and differences in the characterization element of fiction as they relate to the crimes committed in the stories.

II. Body

A. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell 1. Characters 2. Qualities and Motivations

B. The Destructors by Graham Greene 1. Characters 2. Qualities and Motivations

C. Comparisons of the Short Stories 1. The Most Dangerous Game crime 2. The Destructors crime

III. Conclusion

A. In the end of these two stories, “justice” was served.

B. As the protagonists of the short stories, Rainsford and Trevor succeeded in “punishing” General Zaroff and Mr. Thomas for the crimes they committed while they in turn committed crimes themselves.

Crime and Punishment
“What if man is not really a scoundrel, man in general, I mean, the whole race of mankind-then all the rest is prejudice, simply artificial terrors and there are no barriers and it's all as it should be." Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment. When a crime is committed usually punishment is to follow, whether it is a minor punishment or a severe one. As the quote above states, we make our own rules according to the boundaries we’ve set for ourselves to follow as it relates to what we consider is a crime. This should not be since we have laws to define what is or in not a crime and the punishment is based on the crime committed. In the short stories, The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell and The Destructors by Graham Greene, we will look at the similarities and differences in the characterization element of fiction as they relate to the crimes committed in the stories.
In The Most Dangerous Game, there were two main characters: Sanger Rainsford, a skilled big game hunter and author, and General Zaroff, who was previously a big game hunter. Rainsford was headed for a hunting vacation when he accidently fell off of the yacht and had to swim to the shore closest to him and found himself on an island known as Ship-Trap Island. Rainsford met General Zaroff who owned and the island. The two of them started off on good terms due to their interest in hunting. As the conversation developed, Zaroff revealed he no longer hunts game as it became very boring, “I was lying in my tent with a splitting headache one night when a terrible thought pushed its way into my mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me! And hunting, remember, has been my life” He explained to Rainsford he now hunts humans because they are more of a challenge. Rainsford became outraged and called Zaroff a murderer. He later challenged Rainsford to play his “game” of hunter vs. hunter. Since Rainsford didn’t have many options, he played. Murder was the crime in this story and Rainsford wanted General Zaroff to be punished for the crimes he committed.
In The Destructors, the main characters were Trevor also known as “T” who became the leader of a teenage gang called Wormsley Common Gang, Blackie, was the former leader of the gang and Mr. Thomas, also known as “Old Misery” is the homeowner of the only house left standing on a particular street from World War II. The Wormsley Gang usually meets daily in a parking lot known as the Wormsley Common Underground Station. Trevor used to be middle class but now wants to take revenge on the middle class, man vs. society. The way he decides to do this is for the gang to take down the remaining memory on the bombed out street, Mr. Thomas’ house. Blackie’s suggestion of going in and stealing was not ideal since it wouldn’t put their gang’s name on the map for being infamously known but Trevor’s idea of tearing it down from the inside out would make them famous. “We’d do it from inside. I’ve found a way in. We’d be like worms, don’t you see, in an apple. When we came out again there’d be nothing there, no staircase, no panels, nothing but just walls, and then we’d make the walls fall down-somehow.” Breaking and entering was the crime in The Destructors, but was the Wormsley Common Gang punished for their crime?
There were serious crimes committed in both stories. In The Most Dangerous Game, General Zaroff created an island where he trapped and hunted sailors to challenge him in his hobby of hunting. In The Destructors, Trevor and the Wormsley Common Gang were frustrated with society and their childhood from World War II and wanted revenge on the middle class due to Trevor’s family change in status who were once middle-class. Their idea to destroy a home which was the only home on the street represented their current miserable situation and they wanted it gone. Both General Zaroff and Trevor’s motivations for the crimes they committed were very selfish. Neither of their “victims” were deserving of having these crimes committed against them. “You’ll find the game worth playing. Your brain against mine. Your woodcraft against mine. Your strength and stamina against mine. Outdoor chess! And the stake is not without value, eh?” says Zaroff in The Most Dangerous Game. “Anybody could do this-” “This” was the shattered hollowed house with nothing left but the walls. Ye the walls could be preserved. Facades were valuable. They could build inside again more beautifully than before. This could be a home again (from The Destructors narrator).
In the end of these two stories, “justice” was served. Rainsford won the game against General Zaroff and he ended up like all of the sailors he once hunted. Trevor and the Wormsley Common Gang ended up bringing down Old Misery’s house after they tied it to a truck and the driver unknowingly took down the house. Although Mr. Thomas didn’t commit a crime that violated the law, Trevor felt the house represented the memories of World War II and to him it was a crime and had to come down. As the protagonists of the short stories, Rainsford and Trevor succeeded in “punishing” General Zaroff and Mr. Thomas for the crimes they committed while they in turn committed crimes themselves. Their punishment is unknown.