Most Dangerous Game Irony

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.

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.

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.

“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 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.

Stranded, lost, and alone is how Sanger Rainsford felt as he scaled the rocky cliffs of the island. The Most Dangerous Game is a short story written by Richard Connell and published on January 19, 1924. Sanger Rainsford a legendary hunter falls overboard off a yacht on his way to the Amazon. He finds himself on `Ship-Trap Island` where he meets General Zaroff the owner of a mansion on the island and Ivan his servant. General Zaroff invites Sanger Rainsford to hunt with him.

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.

To help illustrate that the direction of perspective from hunter to hunted has changed, Connell uses situational irony. At the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to the main character of the story, Sanger Rainsford, a world renowned hunter. Rainsford mentions at the beginning of the story: “‘Who cares how a jaguar feels?’ ‘Perhaps the jaguar does,’ observed Whitney. ‘Bah! They’ve no understanding” (Connell 18). This reveals that he believes jaguar do not have emotion when they are prey. Only until he learns that General Zaroff, a hunter living on a big island that Rainsford had washed up on, was hunting humans and his intention is to hunt Rainsford as well. This is ironic because Rainsford is a hunter who is being hunted, allowing him to step into the “shoes” of the jaguar. He is now able to see the other side of the

In the beginning of the story the reader finds out that Rainsford has no understanding of the feelings of animals he hunt nor does he care. This information can be discovered in pageone when the author says, "'Don't talk rot, Whitney,' said Rainsford. "You're a big-game hinter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?,'" (Connell). The reader once again realizes Rainsford's lack of sympathy for the animals in page two. "The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees. Luckily you and I are are the hunters," (Connell 2).

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

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

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.

Irony and imagery are both important writing tools, used to guide the reader through the story while keeping them engaged and thinking about the story complexly. When used together successfully, the reader can walk away with something to think about, a new perspective on something they might have thought different about before. When considering this, I would argue that “The Most Dangerous Game,” is overall a better story than “The Necklace”.

Irony, a main focus of Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” gives multiple implications from the story’s title itself and serve as the groundwork for how the story is told sequentially. In the story the main character Rainsford is on a journey to hunt new exotic prey and the setting opens with Rainsford having a discussion with a man named Whitney. Whitney contradicts the way that Rainsford views his love for hunting as only enjoyable for the hunter. As the story progresses the audience learns of the many uses of irony and twists that are presented as Rainsford deals with the internal and external conflicts as he is stranded on a cursed island.

The Most Dangerous Game The most dangerous game is a thrilling short story about three huntsmen with very different views. What happens if an expert hunter gets bored of hunting animals? The story starts off with three men, and it ends with only one. Now the question is, what happened to the other two hunters? Being stranded on an island, alone with a psychopath can really change someone.