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The most dangerous game analysis
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The most dangerous game analysis
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Richard Connell's short story “The Most Dangerous Game” features two excellent hunters, Rainsford and General Zaroff. Rainsford gets stranded on “Ship-Trap Island”, a feared place of many sailors and hunters. He meets a man named General Zaroff, and at first, he is seen as very hospitable and civilized, but ends up being a cold-blooded murderer. Rainsford has to elude Zaroff in order to survive his almost impossible game. Zaroff's egotistical and immoral behavior leads Rainsford to empathize with those being hunted. In the early stages of the hunt, Rainsford sees something coming through the bushes. Immediately when Rainsford sees General Zaroff, he "froze there, every muscle tensed" and asks himself "Why had the general smiled? Why had he …show more content…
In this moment, he feels exactly like Zaroff's former victims and even his own victims from past hunts. He now can empathize with their experiences as he is scared for his life when Zaroff walks by. Zaroff does see Rainsford, but makes no effort to hurt him because he has too much pride that he found him so soon. Rainsford is also able to empathize at the very end of the hunt when he is able to make it three days without being found by Zaroff. He sneaks into Zaroff's bedroom where he is told he won, but says “I am still a beast at bay” (Connell 112). Rainsford is the first person to ever win this gruesome game that was only made because of Zaroff's arrogance. Rainsford now has a newfound perspective on hunting as he experienced “being at bay”. He refers to himself as a beast at bay meaning just because the hunt is over, does not mean he will not forever feel vulnerable and instilled with constant fear. When Rainsford first arrived to the island, his partner Whitney mentioned about how the animal felt as they were being hunted. Rainsford, just like many hunters, did not care for their feelings but after being in their place, he had learned to empathize with
“You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?”. The story “The Most dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell introduces an adventurous type of thriller with two main characters named Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff. Both of which are hunters who in the story play a “game” invented by General Zaroff out of pure fear of becoming bored of the hunt. General Zaroff is a big fan of the hunt and everything he says about the hunt is to be taken serious. Rainsford and General Zaroff are described to be excellent hunters through the traps Rainsford makes, all the big game Zaroff has hunted, but Zaroff is better at hunting through the fact that the hunt has began to bore and he needs more of a challenge hunting humans.
In both film and story, Rainsford expresses his lack of sympathy for his prey. Similar to the story, Rainsford meets Ivan first and can’t get through to him and then, he’s greeted by Zaroff. In the film, Zaroff knows that Rainsford is a famous hunter and has read his books, just like in the story. Moreover, Zaroff reveals that a cape buffalo gave him the scar on his head. In the same manner, Zaroff tells Rainsford how he stocks his island with human prey. Just as the film showed Zaroff has a room filled with human heads, and that’s also mentioned in the story. Furthermore, Rainsford uses the same traps (Malay Mancatcher, Burmese Tiger Pit, and a native Uganda Trick) in the film as he did in the story. In addition, Rainsford kills Ivan with the same native Uganda trick. Both film and movie, unveils that Rainsford kills
Rainsford is known for his extravagant hunting skills, even General Zaroff speaks of Rainsford as is if he has inspired him to become a hunter. Rainsford talks about hunting with passion, while he is speaking to Whitney he tells her it’s “the best sport in the world” (19). Rainsford has no guilt when he kills animals, he even tells Whitney that it’s nonsense when she mention the jaguars have feeling. But Rainsford shows immediate disgust when Zaroff brings up his hunting of humans, “hunting, great heavens, what you speak of is murder” (26). This only the first of many times that he reacts with great displeasure.
A skilled hunter sprints desperately through the woods, realizing the futility of hiding from his greatest foe: his own kind. Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” is the story of a hunter that becomes the hunted. The story explores the sense of extreme terror the protagonist feels being pursued by a psychopath living on a mysterious island. This protagonist, Rainsford, has many traits that aid him in his battle with the general. By demonstrating his cunning, sly, and remorseful traits, Rainsford shows the story’s theme of “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes”.
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the protagonist, Rainsford, is a smart, clever, resilient man who keeps a cool head in stressful and dangerous situations. Rainsford is not allowed to leave the island he washes up on after he falls off the yacht he was traveling on, because the mentally disturbed general wants to hunt people with Rainsford. Rainsford makes a deal with the general to win his freedom. If Rainsford can evade Zaroff for three nights, then Rainsford is free to leave the island. During the hunt, Rainsford must think quickly and be resourceful in order to stay alive. Rainsford is an extremely experienced hunter who writes books about his hunting experiences. When Rainsford is running from the
Hunting big game animals for sport was a popular pastime with the wealthy classes following World War I. The morality of killing for sport was not questioned in reality, but in this short story the author does question it by taking it a step further and having the protagonist, Sangor Rainsford, hunted by the antagonist, General Zaroff.In a short story full of irony, one of the greatest ironies of Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” is that General Zaroff repeatedly tells Rainsford that he maintains a sense of civilization on his island.
Rainsford was forced to choose between life and death by Zaroff. Zaroff tells Rainsford that he hunts people as a type of wild game and takes them hunting first then gives them a few survival things and have to survive for three days in order to win.
He has successfully eluded General Zaroff. He stands in Zaroff 's bedroom where both men have no weapons except their bare fists. Rainsford has struggled with the relationship between the hunter and the huntee throughout the whole story. He has also floundered with what he believes to be right and wrong. The example of where he reaches a conclusion about right and wrong would be after the battle in the bedroom. "He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided" (236). This is when we know Rainsford has overpowered the evil madman. He has killed General Zaroff which he knows is wrong, but he also understands if he hadn 't killed the general, then he would not have lived. The general would have done everything in his power to make sure Rainsford would not have left the island and exploited his secret. Ultimately, Rainsford has to live with knowing he murdered another human being. Rainsford also learned the close bond shared between a hunter and a huntee. Anyone can debate whether or not this change was good or bad. I personally make an assumption about his persepctive being changed for the good. He experienced the ugly truth up close and personal and has now been on both sides of the brutal
Richard Connells “The Most Dangerous Game” is a short story which illustrates how calm analytical thinking can increase your odds of survival and controlling panic. We are introduced to the protagonist and main character, Sanger Rainsford, who is a big game hunter and a WW1 veteran. The story starts off with a conversation between Whitney and Rainsford discussing the island, so we can understand the reputation it holds. Whitney is a fellow hunter, a flat character and used mainly as a plot tool.
When Rainsford falls off of the boat, he has to try his best to stay afloat until he can find something to latch on to. He swims vigorously until he reaches Ship-Trap Island. "Jagged crags appeared to jut up into the opaqueness... dense jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs." It is midday and he is just searching for a place to rest when he runs into Ivan, the astonishingly large guard of the island. Zaroff, the owner of the island, joins in on their conversation about hunting. The conversation is interesting to say the least. Zaroff says, "You'll find this 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?" Zaroff is trying to point out that he finds interest in hunting humans, and he wants to know if Rainsford will rise to the challenge. Rainsford is left with a choice to make; will he fight Zaroff, or will he decline and get killed by Ivan. The choice in this situation is pretty self- evident.
It is not wise for a predator to underestimate its prey. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” written by Richard Connel, General Zaroff has become disinterested in hunting simple animals; he needs the challenge of hunting an animal that can reason. Mr. Rainsford is the next item on General Zaroff’s menu. The only way to get out is by beating Zaroff at his own game. A game of hunting that means life and death. Zaroff is the hunter and Rainsford is the hunted. In, “The Smuggler,” written by Victor Canning, Tasso, like Rainsford, is being contested by a predator. He is known as the Great Man. The Great Man is interrogating Tasso for smuggling. Tasso must be clever at how he responds and how he displays himself, for his life is in danger. The antagonists
“One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard Rainsford.”
Connell, Richard. "The Most Dangerous Game--Richard Connell (1893-1949)." Classic Short Stories. Classic Short Stories. Web. 25 Jan. 2010.
All around it was quiet. [ADM2]The birds were chirping and the leaves were blowing. Suddenly, a man fled from the brush, holding only a knife in his right hand. After the fleeing man had ran some distance, another man came out of the brush holding a revolver. This man walked calmly after the fleeing man not worried that the he would escape. The old, erect man stopped, and loaded his revolver. He then took aim, shot a round and hit the fleeing man just as he turned around. The man dropped as he died instantly. The old man then walked over to the game he had just killed, grabbed the body by the shirt, and dragged the body into the brush. Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game is a story based on a man who thrives for hunting humans[ADM3]. The way Connell wrote this short story reveals some characteristics about him. The Most Dangerous Game is a psychological story about the author facing and overcoming fear.
“The Most Dangerous Game” offers a clever play on words, with “game” carrying two different meanings. The first being the animals and humans hunted, and the second being the competition aspect between Zaroff and Rainsford. The title advocates hunting other people is the most dangerous game, and people themselves are the most dangerous prey to hunt.