Fears in The Most Dangerous Game

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Fears in The Most Dangerous Game [ADM1]

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.

[ADM4]

The general's eyes had left the ground and were traveling inch by inch up the tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring. But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limb where Rainsford lay; a smile spread over his brown face. This story is filled with the same type of fear Connell experienced in his life. Perhaps he felt 'hunted' at one point in his life and decided he had to run away from all the pain and anger. For instance, his father may have been abusive to him, so he decided to run away from the fear of being emotionally as well as physically hurt[ADM5]. Rainsford slid down the tree and struck off again into the woods... Following the trail with the sureness of a bloodhound came General Zaroff. Connell ran and ran and ran, but no matter how far he ran, his fears were always behind him. Connell would soon figure out what to do.

[ADM6]

Connell also showed the ability to overcome his fears. At the end of the story, Rainsford confronts Zaroff in Zaroff's own bedroom. Zaroff offers a truce, but Rainsford does not accept and they fight until the death. Rainsford had successfully faced Zaroff, his fear.[ADM7] Connell is showing that he overcame the fears he had in his life by facing them with confidence.

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