Most Dangerous Game: A Narrative Fiction

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.”

He was ravenous! Rainsford looked around happily because of the gunshots he had heard the night before. Rainsford thought astutely that if there are people on the island, there also is to be access to food. Rainsford got up and looked around at his surroundings, checking for anything that would be useful. He found the footprints of hunting boots along the path, and proceeded to follow them back to a gigantic building. Rainsford knocked on the door of the building and an immense creature had answered it. Rainsford introduced himself to the creature and a man came to the door. The man introduced himself as general Zaroff and introduced the large creature as Ivan. Ivan was a deaf creature, therefore he did not answer when Rainsford introduced himself and said hello. General Zaroff then invited Rainsford into his house. He was fond of that idea, and so he entered. Zaroff then has Ivan show Rainsford to a room where he can dress for dinner with him. Rainsford had noticed that the halls were all filled with heads as trophies of the animals he has killed. At dinner, Zaroff explains how he now hunts far more dangerous prey so he can have a more “fun” game. At first, Rainsford was very confused. Soon, Rainsfords confusion turned to horror as he realized that Zaroff was talking about humans. Yes, general Zaroff now hunts humans for a better thrill. The next day, Rainsford demands to leave the island at once but general Zaroff refused to let him

“So it was you who killed my father? You know what this means right Mr.Rainsford? I’ll have to finish what my father couldn’t. I’ll give you approximately three days to leave this island. At the end of the three days, I’ll come search for you, and if I find you I’ll kill you. So let the hunt begin.”

In the story The Most Dangerous Game one conflict is man vs nature. Rainsford is fighting nature because he is on a ship and he came across an island. Rainsford falls overboard and has to swim for safety. “All he knew was that he was safe from his enemy, the sea and the other was weariness on him”. In order to survive rainsford hast to swim to the island and find shelter. In the conflict man vs nature this shows Rainsford bravery.

Between the movie and story in “The Most Danger Game” there several things that are taken and some added. When they added the Lady in it made the story more interesting. It was more suspenseful because it felt she was slowing Rainsford down and you weren’t sure if they would get killed. An omission that took away from the story was that Ivan did not hold the gun to Rainsford’s heart in the beginning. So Rainsford did not know what was coming until later and it was not as suspenseful during the beginning of the story. These additions did effect the theme it made it even more known that animals feel pain and fear when hunted.

‘’One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard Rainsford.’’

How would it feel to suddenly go from being the hunter to becoming the prey? That is exactly what happened to Rainsford, one of the main characters in The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. Rainsford was a big game hunter who accidentally fell of of his yacht. He swam to a nearby island, and there he met General Zaroff, a cruel man who hunts humans for sport. In exchange for release from the island, Rainsford agrees to be hunted by Zaroff. Consequently, Rainsford is a survivor because he kills Zaroff and wins the game. Rainsford is also a survivor because he demonstrates the qualities that a person must have to be considered a survivor. Although Rainsford is a survivor, Zaroff is not. To be considered a survivor, a person must go through a traumatic or life-threatening experience but still demonstrate resilience and determination.

I will be comparing the video verion of The Most Dangerous Game to the story.

Being lost in an island, hungry, and tired is not an everyday thing. So Rainsford being in that situation, had no other choice than except Zaroff’s generosity. Zaroff gave Rainsford clothes, food and, a place to sleep. Zaroff tells Rainsford to join him for dinner, and Rainsford went to the dinner room as told. Sitting down eating there meal. The two men’s starts a conversation and starts to talk about their lives. Zaroff learns a lot of things about Rainsford and so does Rainsford. Rainsford learns that Zaroff is a smart man and a hunter just like him, but Zaroff him hunting people is part of things that he hunts for. Zaroff on another hand learns that Rainsford is a pretty smart, educated man and lastly a hunter.4

Imagine being on an island, with no laws, no society, just the need to survive. When a normal hunter is going to Rio to hunt, the story takes a wild turn and ends up inverted, with the hunter becoming the prey. This is the plot of Richard Connell's short story, ”The Most Dangerous Game”, this short story was unique and interesting to most readers because of the series of unfortunate events. In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, man vs. man, along with man vs. self can lead to an unexpected resolution.

People are like onions; they have several layers and consist of a bitter core. In consideration of this reality of human nature and reality of a man-made society, “The Most Dangerous Game”, written by Richard Connell, reveals these dangers. It unveils the truth about blood lusting hunters and defines the meaning of civilization. In the story, just like in the real world, so-called rules and laws are made to suppress and dignify human savageness. Here, Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff are two essential characters—capable of virtuous actions, yet prone to decisions that reflect immoral tendencies, and so; a message is conveyed: without the practice of morals and consequences, corruption of man is inevitable.

One of the most relaxing things to do is read a good story. In the stories there are interesting elements such as suspenseful events, interesting characters, and deep themes. Here are examples of important literary elements in stories.

The setting is on a remote island called “Ship-Trap Island”(Pg. 5). The island serves a purpose in the way that the island is like an arena. There is only a certain amount of space that you can use and there is certain obstacles you have to overcome. But you can’t leave the island because there is nothing around you. Eventually Rainsford uses the island to his advantage to get away from Zaroff on the third day. Ultimately Rainsford ends up winning the game because he used the island to his

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell is an action-packed story about an eerie survival game. In the beginning of the text, a hunter named Sanger Rainsford is aboard his yacht when he falls into the ocean and swims to an island nearby. He spots a house in the middle of the woods and goes to it to find shelter, food, clothes, and a place to rest. At the house, Rainsford meets General Zaroff, who tells Rainsford that he has brought big game onto the island to hunt. Rainsford soon realizes that the game is human. Zaroff wants Rainsford to hunt humans with him, but Rainsford refuses because he thinks of it as murder. Zaroff makes a deal with Rainsford,which states for him to leave the island he has to be hunted for three days. If Rainsford

Rainsford woke up the next morning within plain sight of the castle. Its ominous towers stared down at him unmercifully. “They’re just toying with me.” He muttered under his breath. “General Zaroff is all about the hunt. Rainsford knew immediately that he could use this to his advantage. All he had to do was live out the day.