Examples Of Social Darwinism

“Survival of the fittest”, is a popular saying that has a lot to do with Social Darwinism. The theory of Social Darwinism is that humans and animals compete with each other in a struggle to survive. An example is when a cat and a mouse are together, it’s obvious the cat will kill the mouse as the term ”fittest” refers to the cat. Although a lot of people believe that Charles Darwin came up with the phrase “Survival of the fittest”, a sociologist, Herbert Spencer actually was the creator of the phrase. Charles Darwin came up with Social Darwinism, hence the name. However, Spencer was a big part of the idea of Social Darwinism. The idea was developed in the late 19th century. Throughout the “Most Dangerous Game”, the characters actions are a lot like the theory of Social Darwinism.

Near the story’s beginning, Rainsford says to Whitney, his big game hunting partner, “Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the huntees.”(Connell) What Rainsford is talking

I suggest you wear moccasins; they leave a poorer trail. I suggest, too, that you avoid the big swamp in the southeast corner of the island. We call it Death Swamp. There’s quicksand there…” (Connell) Zaroff is giving Rainsford all these amenities because even if Zaroff gives him all those items, he will still catch and kill Rainsford. Zaroff likes this game because he knows that Rainsford is a very good and skilled hunter and it gives Zaroff more of a challenge and proves once more that he is the strong person and everyone else is weak.

So, throughout this essay, the idea was to understand that Social Darwinism is placed throughout “The Most Dangerous Game” because of the way the characters react. Zaroff wants to prove that he can compete against anyone; weak or strong. Zaroff is the character who really believes in Social Darwinism, and he demonstrated that humans and animals do compete with each other in a struggle to