The Most Dangerous Game By Richard Connell

“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.

From the words of C.S. Lewis, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny”. Facing hardships and breaking free from their normal world allows the hero inside of people to come out. Many stories document this journey of a hero through the Hero’s Journey Archetype. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, a man named Rainsford stumbles upon an island where humans are hunted by a crazed man. The hero’s journey archetype is implemented throughout Rainsford’s experiences in the story. Richard Connell used the Hero’s Journey Archetype to structure the plot and develop the theme that with clever thinking and lots of hope, one can succeed at anything.

Underestimation and cruel actions lead to many things. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” author Richard Connell reveals a conflict between the main characters, General Zaroff and Rainsford. Rainsford was to play the most dangerous game created by Zaroff, because the only way to survive, is to win it, otherwise death is the only other option. As demonstrated through the use of personification, symbolism, and repetition in the story, it conveys that one should understand to never underestimate another person and remember that there will always be a consequence for the wicked things that one has done.

C.S. Lewis one said “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny”. Facing hardships and breaking free from their normal world allows the hero inside of people to come out. Many stories document this journey of a hero through the Hero’s Journey Archetype. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, a man named Rainsford stumbles upon an island where humans are hunted by a crazed man. The hero’s journey archetype is implemented throughout Rainsford’s experiences in the story. Richard Connell used the Hero’s Journey Archetype to structure the plot and develop the theme that with clever thinking and the use of past experiences, one can succeed at anything.

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.

In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” author Richard Connell expertly exploits foreshadowing and vivid imagery to emphasize danger and suspense. Many authors attempt to do this, but only a small few succeed. Everyone who has stayed up past their bedtime reading a book will tell you, they stayed awake because the book they were reading was filled with suspense. It is suspense that separates the great stories from the good stories. And “The Most Dangerous Game” is definately a great one. By using foreshadowing and utilizing his characters five senses, Connell keeps readers at the edge of their seats, eagerly waiting to find out what comes next.

Connell utilizes the strength of the story by combining the setting with mood to observe the reaction of the characters when the environment around them changes. For example, as the "poisonous [air]'; engulfs the yacht, it gives Whitney "a mental chill; a sort of sudden dread'; as Rainsford and him sail precariously towards the island (62). Whitney, frightened by the grim nature around him, feels like a wounded bird fighting for its life among the hungry predators hiding in the unknown. The shroud of darkness completely surrounds not only Whitney, but the entire yacht which leaves him in a state of anxiety because of what lies in cover amid the dreadful island. Furthermore, as the eyes of Zaroff scatter over the island, searching for Rainsford, "Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed'; afraid that the eyes will see (73). With shelter high above in the trees, away from Zaroff, Rainsford awaits for the perfect moment where he will jump down from among the sky and pounce on Zaroff like a leopard killing its prey. Consequently, while Rainsford keeps repeating the moment of victory inside his mind; the self-confidence, overflowing out of his veins, develops into uncertainty. Since Zaroff possesses the island and with his military expertise, scouts the island for any advantages in hunt; Rainsford fears that Zaroff will counter the surprise attack and kill him, making the hunter become the prey. When Connell interweaves setting into mood, the method he uses touches

The theme of the hunters and the hunted is conveyed throughout this short story. At the beginning of this story, Rainsford says to his friend Whitney, “The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the hunted” (Connell 40). This quotation sets a path for the rest of the story, as almost everything from the short story reflects upon this idea. From Rainsford’s point of view, his life only revolves around hunting. He

The literary element of suspense also plays a key role in further emphasizing Connell’s theme that humans possess both reason and instinct. From the beginning of the story Connell repeatedly uses suspense starting from the second Whitney brings up the mysterious island to the very end of the hunt. During the hunt is when the theme becomes most prevalent. Although Rainsford wishes to take the life of Zaroff, he remains more man than animal by keeping his

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.

When the narrator says ¨ ..he fought the sea ..¨ and ¨ all he knew was that he was safe from his enemy the sea¨ (page 3) Connell is demonstrating that Rainsford is fighting with the ocean because he fell off the boat that he was in. The sea is pushing Rainsford and as the author says ‘’With his remaining strength he dragged himself from the swirling waters.’’ (page 3). In this moment the author is giving the sea a personification making a man vs nature scenario.

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.

For an abundance of stories the conflicts do not include man vs. man, man vs. nature, or man vs. himself. In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell this is not the case. The main character Rainsford is frequently facing multiple struggles. The story would not keep you on the edge of your seats the same way unless he is constantly fighting through something no matter how big or small the problem is. For example Rainsford the sailor fights nature in this story. In addition to this, he struggles through the toughness and wits of other men. Furthermore, in this story Rainsford puts up with himself as he fights his mind running through the jungle constantly making last minute, and risky decisions. This story shows countless examples of man vs. man, man vs. nature, and even man vs. himself.

Richard Edward Connell was an American author, who was probably most famous for the short story “The Most Dangerous Game.” Connell started writing at the age of 10 covering baseball games for his father 's paper. By the age of sixteen he had become the editor of the Poughkeepsie News-Press. Connell was a very smart man who studied at Georgetown and Harvard.While at Harvard he was the editorial chairman. Connell 's writing style was usually action-adventure. Some of his works were probably inspired from his time working as a homicide journalist, and serving in World War I. By the time Connell passed away he had published over 300 short stories. Richard Connell was a very unique author from experiences he had through out his life, and so was the writing style that he portrayed.