Competition In Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game

General Zaroff eventually sees Rainsford but decides not to kill him just yet and walks past the tree Rainsford was perched upon. Rainsford becomes an emotional wreck in the tree. He struggles to keep his nerve majorly at this point when he describes his current state when he says, "Rainsford held his breath. The general's eyes had left the ground and were travelling inch by inch up the tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed up for a spring. But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limb where Rainsford lay." (Connell 231). One can just imagine how much stress and pressure was placed on Rainsford. Rainsford tries to stay calm but later has to remind himself to stay calm in order to conceal his location. Rainsford manages to escape the grasp of General Zaroff but comes across the deaf and blind Ivan with his hounds. Rainsford builds a pit in the ground that has stakes at the bottom of it. He lures the dogs and they fall into the hole. The next tactic Rainsford uses is when he sees Ivan and General Zaroff walking near his direction. He attaches a knife to a vine and Ivan catches it and dies. Rainsford still has to repeat the phrase, "Nerve,nerve, nerve" to keep himself calm (Connell 235). General Zaroff's cruel ways of hunting and the success of killing Ivan mentally scar Rainsford for the rest of his time on

Even though clearly distraught Rainsford was able to make key decisions to save his life. “Nerve, nerve, nerve” he panted, as he dashed along …. Then he leaped far into the sea.”(18). This quote tells the reader even while battling nerves and running away from a pack of dogs Rainsford was able to make a imperative choice to save his life. Rainsford survives the three days to beat Zaroff and win the game but still feels uneasy will not rest until General Zaroff is dead. “I am still a beast at bay,” he said, in a low, hoarse voice.” Get ready, General Zaroff.”(18). This quote discloses to the reader that Rainsford felt like quarry and wanted Zaroff dead and was not satisfied with merely winning the game.This quote also shows what kind of man Rainsford is and how he is willing to die for what he feels is right. Rainsford battled many trials throughout the story but somehow managed to make the best out of each one.

Another conflict in the story The Most Dangerous game is man vs man. Rainsford doesn't want to fight General Zaroff because he isn't confident in winning the dangerous game. But after General Zaroff forces Rainsford to play the game rainsford said “your

When Rainsford arrives at the generals, he is introduced to a game where he must fight against Zaroff for his own life. After competing against himself, Rainsford is done with the generals games and ends the little war once and for all. Rainsford sneaks into the general's room at night, when he would least expect to see Rainsford. Rainsford catches Zaroff by surprise, and Zaroff knows it is over. “‘ I congratulate you, “ he said. “ You have won the game. “‘ (14). As vulnerable as he is, the general has to accept that Rainsford won. Rainsford takes advantage of this moment, and

This quote shows that Rainsford is insane because during this part, he is saying that he wants to hunt something that can reason with him, and only one animal can do that. That animal is a human. During the story, General Zaroff is also competitive. He shows that he is competitive when he fights to win the game over the humans. He always believes he will win. “If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. If I find him”... “he loses.” (Connell

While Rainsford tries to get comfortable with the place of Zaroff . He expresses about his feelings and hunting experiences. The General explains that “hunting was beginning to bore him,” and

     Rainsford is an intelligent man. Early in the story, “Rainsford remembered the shots. They had come from the right, and he doggedly swam in that direction” (34). Rainsford had just fallen in the water,

After the conversations between Rainsford and the General, Rainsford wants to leave, but can not due to the knowledge of Zaroff’s corrupt game; he ends up playing the amoral game for the preservation of his life, although he could lose it.

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.

In “The Most Dangerous Game”, author Richard Connell uses a variety of literary device to depict the theme. He uses the main character, Rainsford, to be the character which unfolds the theme as he goes through the experience of being treated like a wild animal and becoming the prey of another human for sport. Connell uses three literary devices frequently including foreshadowing, irony and symbolism in order to support the main theme, put yourself in the shoes of the animals you hunt.

Beyond his reactive and resourceful ways of thinking, Rainsford is visibly aggressive and energetic when he has to fight instead of fleeing. He refuses to allow himself to give up and be killed by Zaroff and decides to keep on running forward. As the hunter is escaping, he says, “Nerve, nerve, nerve!” and then “forced himself on toward that gap”, where he “leaped far out into the sea.” (14). Rainsford believed that he still had enough energy left to swim in the harsh waters. As a result, he experienced a rush of adrenaline due to how

All stories have at least one of three different kinds of conflict, man versus man, man versus nature, and man versus himself. Some stories, like Richard Connell's “"The Most Dangerous Game"”, use all three conflicts uniquely and clearly. When each conflict is put to a test of strength in the story, man vs man is the strongest. The weakest is man vs himself. And the final conflict is man vs nature. The three conflicts are used evenly so they end up being as significant as each other.

He says that quote because he knows how animals get hunted so he would be talking in fear. He says that because he won and he knows how animals really feel when they get hunt so he is talking in completely the challenge. The first quote is “ it sent a shudder of cold horror through his whole being,” (12). The second quote is “I am still a beast at bay,”(15). Rainsford is better person because he how a animals is when it is getting hunted and we won the competition against Zaroff he is a good person because he did not work together with Zaroff for killing people. Rainsford starts to care about animals after he is put in there foot steps for getting hunted the island is still scary nothing change about that and he is a good

Rainsford, from the beginning, reveals his arrogance to the readers. “This hot weather is making you soft, Whitney. Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are the hunters.” (Connell 63). The context is that Rainsford is speaking with Whitney and he believes that the animals have a sense of understanding and fear, but Rainsford does not. Rainsford is impudent towards his friend by criticizing his beliefs. He is moreover conceited when he places himself in the higher class of society. The protagonist is being insensitive to Whitney and to the living, fearful animals, commencing the separation from morality, shown throughout this short story. The antagonist, General Zaroff, numerously illustrates his hubristic personality.

Rainsford appears to be an extremely strong person, but surprisingly he struggles as he kicks and splashes through the surging water. The setting of this story is on a jungle island so for even the toughest of men it would be a struggle to get off the island without putting up a fight with more than just general Zaroff. For Rainsford, this obstacle is the roaring waves at sea. Towards the end of the story Rainsford can be caught at the edge of a cliff. With the general quickly approaching his only option is to throw himself into the ocean thus which “For a seemingly endless time, he fought the sea”(13). Rainsford is fighting the ocean as he struggles towards shore and safety as