Essay about Gary Paulsen: A Life of Adventure and Survival

In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, the protagonist character, Sander Rainsford is an adventurous and fearless big game hunter. Rainsford has no remorse for his prey. Over the course of the story Rainsford experiences a sudden change of heart when he finds himself where “The world is made up of two classes—the hunters and the huntees.”

You would think a man dying of cancer would not be so happy and willing to spend the last few months of his life giving a lecture. But, Randy Pausch, who has 10 tumors in his liver, does not want people to pity him for having cancer. Rather, he wants to teach people how to follow their childhood dreams. Looking at the seven elements of communication we see how he is so effective in his last lecture.

Before he shares his hunting experiences, he describes the forest with intense emotion. “And most precious of all, the flesh of the wild things that share with us these mountains and the plains to the east – the elk, the whitetail and mule deer; the ducks and geese, grouse and pheasant and Hungarian partridge and dove and chukar and wild turkey; the trout and whitefish.” (Bass, 255). He describes in such details the beauty of the nature that instantly makes us feel the connection. He helps readers understand how he feels as he hunts in a natural forest rich with a variety of prey. Likewise, Bass continues by drawing logos in his argument. He mentions that only 5 percent of the nation and 15 to 20 percent of Montanans are hunters but in the Valley almost everyone is a hunter. He states that is not due to peer pressure of the local culture or due to the economic boon of a few hundred pounds of meat rather due to the terrain itself. By reading this claim we can agree that the landscape can draw a person to hunt. There are small number of places that have valleys and forest which little number of hunter. Hence, Rick Bass’s love for the territory is one reason why he loves to hunt.

Have you ever been hunted in your lifetime before ? In “the most dangerous Game “ by Richard connell two men were hunting each other. Rainsford demonstrates that he is adventurous,smart, and sneaky.

If I could rename this book, I would probably call it Close Calls because Gary Paulsen, the main character, has survived countless dangerous situations that should have ended with his death. The main setting, where most of those incidents have occurred, is the woods of Minnesota and occasionally Alaska. To me, it feels that Paulsen is just as amazed at his multiple survivals as his readers will be. There’s also a sort of pride that he seems to take in his knowledge of the potential threats of the wilderness and also his creation of the character Brian in many

“Wolves had scattered the bones some,” Thompson had told me, “but it was obvious that the animal was a caribou. The kid didn’t know what the hell he was doing up here.” “It was definitely a caribou,” Samel had scornfully piped in. “When I read in the paper that he thought he’d shot a moose, that told me right there he wasn’t no Alaskan. There’s a big difference between a moose and a caribou. A real big difference. You’d have to be pretty stupid not to be able to tell them apart.””

“Brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” This was the mantra Randy Pausch lived by in his terminating life. In his book, which I learned the quote from, he talked about many challenges he overcame throughout his life. The largest obstacle I have had to overcome is the challenge of being a part of many extracurricular activities while maintaining above average grades in my rigorous schedule throughout the years.

“I'm hungry and i'd trade everything I have for a hamburger.”(47) Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is an exciting story about a character named Brian Robeson who is left in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a hatchet and must survive until help comes. Hatchet supports my belief that hard work helps overcome obstacles.

Where do you draw the line in hunting? Is it at the point where you feel pity for your prey? Is it the fact your prey feels pain? Or is it just that you’re stronger and they’re weaker so it doesn’t matter. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell is a story about learning and experience, how the hunter becomes the hunted and moralities tested and learning the hard way. The main protagonist Rainsford is a well established hunter who has slaughtered many animals with great joy. He views his prey as aggressive creatures that are lower that lack any reason to live other than hunting. Through the story Rainsford ends washed up on a mysterious island where his ideals about hunting are pit against those of an eccentric Cossack General. Through

When many people think of hunting, they often think of searching through forests, jungles, and fields to find certain animals that they will stalk and then kill. However, Rainsford, a character in “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, is forced to try a very different form of this sport invented by a mysterious man he meets on Ship Trap Island. General Zaroff, another character in this short story, traps people on his island and hunts with them by seeing if they can survive three nights and evade his attempts at killing them. Before arriving on this obscure island, Rainsford was already an experienced hunter, already heard of by quite a few people. After falling off his yacht and relying on his instincts to safely make it to

Imagine you, a well known hunter, are stranded on a humid, tropical island with no wildlife other than a psychotic man. This psychopath is a fellow hunter, but desires to poach even greater and smarter game with extremely high intelligence, and is the smartest animal of all -- humans. Throughout the story, the author creates a suspenseful mood through several conflicts the main character encounters, while struggling to survive the “most dangerous game.” In Richard Connell’s short adventure story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford, a hunter, travels to South America on a hunting expedition, when he carelessly falls off his yacht and into the Caribbean Sea. Struggling to find a place to rest, he swims to an island off in the distance. Upon reaching the island, he comes across a large building where he is warmly welcomed by the owner of the establishment, also a renowned hunter, named General Zaroff, only to find that he is a lunatic. After learning of General Zaroff’s sins, Rainsford is challenged by the general in a game of life and death, and their specialty, hunting. From beginning to end, the author of this short survival story creates a suspenseful mood through the three main conflicts the main character encounters.

Tobias Wolff is a writer known for his memoirs and realistic short stories. “Hunters in the Snow” is a story about three friends, Tub, Frank, and Kenny, who go hunting in the snow. Wolff writes about humanity through the friendship of the three friends and the events they go through.

Every great writer had their own influences, John Steinbeck was no exception. Steinbeck’s influences cam from family, friends, and his environment to write detailed descriptions to involve or influence the reader. Whenever someone reads one of John Steinbeck’s works they are in immersed in the scene he is describing, he makes you feel as if you are right there experiencing everything there first hand.

Capital Punishment is when a person is put to death for a crime they committed. While most americans continue to support execution, there is always the few who are against it. One of the main arguments against capital punishment is that someone can wrongfully be charged for a crime they did not commit and then wrongfully have their life taken away. In the film, The Life of David Gale, the director, Alan Parker, tells of the story of a man who is sentenced to capital punishment for a crime, which he makes the audience believe, did not commit. With its over-reliance on pathos, its weak use of logos, and its tricky use of symbolism, the film

Gary (Sherman) Snyder was born in San Francisco on May 8 in 1930 to the parents of Harold Alton and Lois (Wilkie) Snyder. When Gary Snyder was growing up, he lived in west part of the United States surrounded by nature. While he was living there, the destruction of the Pacific Northwestern forests began, even at such a young age it still caused him sorrow (“Gary Snyder”). While growing up in such a rural area, where Snyder had a farm with chickens and cows and even an outhouse as a bathroom; he thought that this was just another way of living. Gary Snyder is okay with living in the city as well, even though he prefers living in a highly rural area (Martin). He started to examine and appreciate the American Indian culture around him.