Irony In The Most Dangerous Game By Richard Connell

He is another example that the quote, "You are most yourself when you're alone." does not apply to him. Throughout all of the story, he is shown as honorable, and cunning. All throughout the story, even when he could have died or killed another, Zaroff keeps his hunter prowess and honor. "Rainsford," called the general, "if you are within sound of my voice, as I suppose you are, let me congratulate you. Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher. Luckily for me I, too, have hunted in Malacca. You are proving interesting, Mr. Rainsford. I am going now to have my wound dressed; it's only a slight one. But I shall be back. I shall be back." this shows us that Zaroff, even in the face of death, will still honor the person trying to kill

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.

“Hunting? Good God, General Zaroff what you speak of is murder” said Rainsford - Connell 27. Rainsford is a big game hunter who fell off this boat and ended up on an island, while he was there he met General Zaroff who used to be a general for the Russians. Rainsford will likely not hunt again after being shocked from the events on the island.

As stated, there are many uses of irony in "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. These are but a few of the examples: the author shows an example of verbal irony, when General Zaroff states that: "They can crush a ship as easily as I crush this nut. " Connell, 8) This is ironic because it was a sarcastic statement, yet has some truth to it because the rocks near the bay seem to actually be able to crush a ship.

Throughout this journal, Zaroff can be characterized as mysterious and evil. First off, Zaroff is mysterious. One way he is mysterious is that he knows Rainsford’s name and he read Rainsford’s hunting book. In the book it says, “I’ve read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet…” (Connell 3). This quote shows that Zaroff is interested in hunting dangerous animals and knows that Rainsford is good at hunting

Rainsford experienced how it was to be hunted. The general was going to kill Rainsford another day. “The general was saving him for another day’s sport”(Connell 34). He knows how it feels to be played with and tricked. Rainsford was being hunted as if he was an animal. Rainsford was trying to confuse Zarroff of following his trail. “He executed a series of intricate loops; he doubled on his trail again and again recalling all the lore of the fox hunt and all the dodges of the fox.”(Connell 34). He knows that he has to think to outsmart the general. Rainsford was being hunted so he was trying to confuse the general by acting like an animal. Zarroff was the cat and the mouse was rainsford. “The

In The Most Dangerous Game there are many accounts of irony and many different ways of thnking from each character. General Zaroff feels that it is okay to hunt people as long as they have a way to just possibly win while Reinsford believes it is an awful idea and morally incprect. Through the entire story General Zaroff talks about how he is the best hunter there is and how he is bored with his normal game, so he started hunting people. The general made Reinsford play this deadly game and against all odds Reinsford wins and kills the general.

“The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees.” In the short story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ which was written by Richard Connell there are two main characters, Rainsford and General Zaroff. Rainsford thought that General Zaroff wanted to hunt with him when in all reality General Zaroff wanted to hunt him(Rainsford) himself. Richard Connell uses irony, theme and characterization to develop the plot and characters. The use of these literary devices suggests that Connell wanted to make the story more interesting and suspenseful so the reader can enjoy reading it.

Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous explains multiple theories, such as nature versus nurture, and survival of the fittest. This short story also seems to have an underlying theme of Social Darwinism (Of Two Classes). Throughout the entirety of the short story, Connell shows a character change of a main character, Rainsford, who is at a constant battle with General Zaroff, the antagonist. This character change shows the importance of the mindset of characters, and how it can be applied to everyday life.

Zaroff is purely unconscious, and has no compassion or remorse for his actions. His demented mind forces him to believe that it is moral to hunt all living creatures, when in reality he is actually murdering a human soul. The general is sadistic as well as arrogant. He is mentally unstable, insane, and he denies the fact that he is committing something as bad as what he is doing. According to General Zaroff, hunting for him has been consumed by boredom and he no longer sees hunting as a challenge. Consequently, he chooses to hunt a certain “creature” with a higher mental stability of the creatures he has hunted before.(Connell 21) As Zaroff became comfortable with Rainsford, he

Have you ever been hunted down by a psychopath war general, rabid pack of dogs, and a giant mute knouter named Ivan, and escaped? “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell, is about a man named Rainsford who gets stranded on an island with an insane head honcho on a small, isolated island in the Caribbean sea. Behind every work of literature, are literary elements that make it successful. “The Most Dangerous Game” is successful due to descriptive imagery, suspenseful plot, and ability to get to the point.

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.

In Richard Connell's short story, "The Most Dangerous Game';, the use of literary devices, found blended with other literary devices, gives the story an inner meaning. The blending of literary devices effectively expresses the intentions of Connell to present contrast between the antagonist and protagonist points of view. As a result, the reader can gain insight on the good and evil sides of the story to enhance the purpose of his interpretation. "The Most Dangerous Game'; by Richard Connell presents literary devices such as foreshadowing, setting, and irony which reveal the underlying meaning of the story.

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.

Due to Rainsfords sleepless night filled with dismay, he must control his nerve to stay strong from the general. Rainsford is hiding up in the tree to blend in where the general can not see him. As the general approaches the tree, Rainsford believes the general can see him, and Rainsfords fear starts to take over. But soon enough, the general walks away leaving Rainsford in a curious and worried state. Rainsford climbs down from the tree and in exhausted breath he says, “‘ I will not lose my nerve. I will not. “‘ (12). Rainsford knows if the general had stayed any longer, he would have lost his nerve. Also, later in the story as Rainsford is running from the general’s hounds, he yells, “‘Nerve, nerve, nerve!”’(13). The closer Rainsford is to being caught by the general, the closer his never comes to overpower his own strength. Rainsford is fighting against his own fear, to keep ahead in the generals game.