Brief Summary: The Most Dangerous Game

In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and the poem “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning, the authors use characterization and imagery to convey that the desire for power can drive man to psychotic actions.

It had been a week since Rainsford managed to kill the nefarious General Zaroff. The challenging part was almost over or so it seemed. There was not a clear way for Rainsford to escape. As days passed, Rainsford tried to escape. He tried making a boat from driftwood that he found, he tried swimming, he even tried sending a signal by using a flashlight. Rainsford had become so desperate that he even tried some ridiculous plans like trying to pole vault across the ocean. As a result, Rainsford ended up having huge gashes in his left leg ,which got infected, and he had to amputate it. As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, Rainsford had lost hope and became bitter.

Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" is a very exciting story of a manhunt. This story made me think about the morality of hunting: Humans are the cleverest creatures on earth, but does it give them a license to kill the other animals and even human beings weaker than themselves? I give below a short summary of the story to set the scene and then I will explore the ethics involved in hunting as a sport. "The Most Dangerous Game" presents the story of a hunter, General Zaroff, who finds hunting human beings as the most dangerous and fascinating sport.

What is human nature? The Bible says in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We are all fallen, sinful and depraved, all of us are. Humans are evil. Genesis 1-3 shows us that God made us whole and good, but we have ruined his perfect plan. The greatest of men were all sinners. Moses, the leader of Israel was a murder (Exodus 2:11-15), David slept with Bathsheba and then killed her husband (2 Samuel 11-12), Paul murdered christians (Acts 9), and the list goes on and on.

Imagine turning up on an island with a psychotic man, a man who hunts humans. This is what General Zaroff does, on Ship-Trap-Island. General Zaroff is a rich hunter who hunts most animals, even the most dangerous. This is the story written by Richard Connell, called The Most Dangerous Game, It is about a psychotic man with a hunting obsession. Once Zaroff gets bored with the hunting animals he turns to something new, humans. The author thinks that hunting is normal, that people have a killer instinct. That it is our human nature to hunt, and kill. The author also thinks that it is human nature to look for new challenges and to live strong. Much like Zaroff, the author believes life, is for the willing.

Resourcefulness is being able to overcome difficulties quickly and in a clever way. Resourcefulness can also be using one’s surroundings for his/her benefit with prior knowledge and experience. In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” the main character Rainsford shows these skills of resourcefulness as he tries to survive the hunt. Rainsford is an experienced big game hunter that is trapped on a tropical jungle covered island with another big game hunter, General Zaroff. Zaroff has gained so much experience in hunting, due to this he has lost interest in hunting animals and now enjoys the hunt of humans. Rainsford is put in the position to be torched or participate in a game of hunting. When Rainsford is challenged to this game of hunting he is forced to try and survive. Rainsford is able to survive the hunt because he uses his resources and prior knowledge to weaken Zaroff helping him win the hunt.

One of the darker actions examined in this unit takes place in "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. In this short story, General Zaroff begins hunting a man lost on his island named Rainsford. Bored of the usual game, General Zaroff decides he wants something more exciting and chooses to prey on humans. This ill-judged decision has a domino effect on the plot, ultimately ending in the demise of Zaroff. Nonetheless, an alternate ending besides death could have very well been a possibility. Perhaps, instead of hunting humans, Zaroff decides to open a hunting camp to share his passion for the sport with others. Obviously, his boredom is caused by the island's isolation from society. So, Zaroff could have built homes and started a community or decide to leave the island altogether. Then, the course of this story would have taken a completely different path. Maybe, Zaroff finds a wife, they have children and live happily ever after. If only he was able to overcome his dark side instead of letting it consume him.

Underestimation and cruel actions lead to many things. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” author Richard Connell reveals a conflict between main characters, General Zaroff and Rainsford. Rainsford was to play the most dangerous game, created by Zaroff, because the only way to survive, is to win it, otherwise death is the only other option. As demonstrated through the use of personification, symbolism, and repetition in the story, it conveys that one should understand to never underestimate another person and remember that there will always be a consequence for the wicked things that one has done.

For your final follow-up assignment for the “Most Dangerous Game” you will choose ONE of the following activities.

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell is about a talented hunter named Sanger Rainsford who gets stranded on an island. On the island he meets General Zaroff who is also an extremely talented hunter who has hunted over hundreds of animals, but now has a new hunting interest. Rainsford finds out that General Zaroff’s new hunting interest is hunting men who get stranded on this island. General Zaroff gives the man a head start on hiding and when midnight comes he starts to find them. If the man last 3 days on the island without being seen by General Zaroff he wins, but if he finds him he gets hunted.

Going on a hunt is an exhilarating experience especially if one becomes the hunted. Mr. Rainsford is a celebrated hunter who finds himself in this exact situation. General Zaroff is an exceptional hunter and Rainsford is stranded on his island. Mr. Rainsford must struggle with his personal feelings, his fear and General Zaroff’s island if he is to avoid being a trophy. In The Most Dangerous Game, author Richard Connell takes his readers on an emotional journey through a desolate island jungle. To further draw the audience into the terror that follows the author uses words like darkness and blood. Murder is an evil business that is not far from the hunter. The Most Dangerous Game, written by Richard Connell, uses the character Rainsford, the

Most people wouldn't assume that smoking a cigarette could leave someone stranded on an island but unfortunately it was just that that lead to Rainsford's life being in a severe amount of danger on his own with no one to blame but himself. This all takes place in a story written by Richard Connell called, The Most Dangerous Game in which the main character Rainsford wounds up stranded on an island where he is forced to fight over the course of three days in the most dangerous game. In the film High Noon written by Carl Foreman the main character and towns marshall Will Kane is put to the test when his long time rival Frank Miller returns back to town in hopes of getting long lasting revenge on him. Unfortunately all that small town Hadleyvilles

Some people go about their lives sipping coffee and watching the weather channel whilst others live a more thrilling one--skydiving and mountain climbing to get a glimpse of that sweet adrenaline rush. Well, in the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the protagonist who goes by the name Sanger Rainsford, lives the more adventurous type life; hunting wild animals. Now, this is usually the typical day for Rainsford, but what happens when he falls overboard from his yacht on a trip to go hunting is just the beginning of one of his most unfortunate adventures. Spinning back the hands on the clock, Rainsford is sailing on his ship whilst having a conversation with one of his crew members, Whitney. She explains to Rainsford that the island is eerie and mysterious and gives her this weird feeling that she isn't quite able to put her hands on but the all too stubborn Rainsford ignores these warning signs seeing it as simply just imagination until he falls overboard and lands on the island. From here on throughout the story, Rainsford is best known to be courageous, very skilled, and quite feather-headed.

"The Most Dangerous Game" is a short story written by Richard Connell. It is the story of a successful big game hunter looking at a hunting trip t the Amazon. While in route on a ship, Rainsford, the hunter, falls overboard and must swim to safety. He swims to an island that is controlled by General Zaroff. Zaroff is also a big game hunter and has set his island up for private hunting. Zaroff, However fells unchallenged by traditional big game. Instead of wild animals, Zaroff likes to hunt humans. Rainsford objects to participating, and Zaroff begins to hunt him anyway, Rainsford outsmarts Zaroff, and survives.

On a yacht bound for Rio de Janeiro, a passenger named Whitney points out Ship-Trap Island in the distance, a place that sailors dread and avoid. He and his friend Rainsford are big-game hunters bound for a hunting trip in the Amazon River basin. As the yacht sails through the darkness, the two men discuss whether their prey actually feels fear. Rainsford believes that the world consists only of predators and prey, although Whitney is not as certain. Noticing the jitteriness of the crew, Whitney wants to sail past the mysterious island as soon as possible. He theorizes that sailors can sense danger and that evil emanates in waves like light and sound.