Intellect against Instinct The story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell in 1924 is one that has inspired a multitude of books by other authors. One example of a story inspired by The Most Dangerous Game is one that has been quite popular in recent years, The Hunger Games. The main character is a man named Sanger Rainsford who is a world class hunter who served in a war (presumably World War I); at the beginning of the story Rainsford is on a yacht bound for Rio along with his fellow hunter, Whitney. In Rio the two hunters plan to hunt jaguars in the jungles, but little does Rainsford know, he would not make it to Rio. In an attempt to catch a pipe that he dropped overboard he fell overboard himself; he swam to a mysterious island known …show more content…
The island that Rainsford finds himself on is one that not much is known about, aside from its name: “Shiptrap Island” (41). On this island there is a massive chateâu surrounded by dense jungle with a swamp on one end that is literally known as “Death Swamp” (56) This island was definitely a factor in the deaths of so many of the prey that Zaroff had hunted. An island with a name that implies that the island itself is a trap would more than likely strike fear into most, and with fear comes the use of instinct. The jungle limits visibility which likely gives the hunted a sense of isolation. “The chateau gates snapped shut behind him. His whole idea was to put distance between himself and General Zaroff, spurred by the rowels of something very like panic.” (53). The sound of the gates of the chateau may inspire the hunted to use instinct as they are locked out of what essentially would be their sense of civilization. A likely reason is that many of Zaroff’s prey never make it out alive is the fact that they let their instincts take over due to the unfamiliar area that they are forced into, however Rainsford uses the jungle to his advantage, using the wood for his traps and the quicksand of the swamp for his pit, both of which were effective against
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.”
The future is uncertain for most. The idea is told within the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. The author, Connell shows us the rounded antagonist Rainsford. He is a hunter on a ship that doesn't care for anyone and believes his point of view is the right path, and after discussing with Whitney, he shortly becomes a man overboard. Ship Trap island is where Rainsford landed on, and met a man named Zaroff. He finds that Zaroff is a hunter, but not what he expects. Rainsford shows he is un-barbaric by not hunting humans with Zaroff . That is when Rainsford must join Zaroff’s game, and displays his wittiness by making traps and quick get always from Zaroff. He is a that cares for no one, un-barbaric to hunt men, and has a
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.
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.
Fear is one of the most powerful killers. Fear is a strong emotion, from the thought of danger or pain. In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, by Richard Connell, fear is demonstrated in 3 different ways throughout the story. Rainsford has to fight against his lack of sleep and anxiety in order to beat general Zaroff. Along with fighting himself, Rainsford must compete against Zaroff to stay alive through the strange game. Without the setup of Zaroff’s island, beating Rainsford would be nearly impossible. Therefore, Rainsford has more than just Zaroff to fight off in this story. Without the three major conflicts of man versus nature, man versus man , and man versus himself, this story would not be possible.
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.
A man gets hunted by another man on the deserted Ship-Trap Island in the middle of the Caribbean. Rainsford, the protagonist in “The Most Dangerous Game”, a short story written by Richard Connell, gets hunted by General Zaroff. Rainsford abounds with fear, making him crazy. General Zaroff’s arrogance causes him to feel that he possesses the right to hunt the people he captures. His arrogance causes him to commit gruesome things; in this case, murder. Prior to becoming another man’s prey, Rainsford feels that animals have no feelings, but he sympathizes for animals being hunted after he himself becomes prey. His feelings and opinions transform after this experience. “The Most Dangerous Game” consists of three central themes: fear makes an individual crazy, arrogance causes hurtful actions, and some experiences have the potential to alter an individual’s opinion.
Rainsford woke up to the booming sinfony of dozens of hungry hunting hounds and a satisfied look soon materialized on his face. With a prolonged yawn, he rose sleepily from the luxurious bed to find the body of General Zaroff staring blankly at the ceiling. He was the hunter, his hunter, that he had just murdered. Rainsford realised he had finally and truly won the most dangerous game. He remembered what the Cossack had said before their fight, “One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed.” Rainsford silently walked over to the window and gazed down towards the dogs below. As if know what Rainsford was thinking, the hounds barked viciously at him, salivating at their mouths. He ceremoniously picked up the still body of General Zaroff and threw him out the window with a crash! He put a fresh pair of clothes on while listening to the now satisfied canines eat their meal. determined he needed to get
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.
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.
He was able to use “a huge dead tree” that “leaned precariously on a smaller, living one” to build what is called a “Malay mancatcher” (12). While most people would probably just see two trees and walk past them, Rainsford was able to think creatively and put them to effective use. Even though Zaroff did not get caught by it entirely, the hunter was able to buy himself some time to move to a different area so that he could avoid the general. After he went back to treat his injury, Rainsford “took up his flight again” that “carried him on for some hours” (13). His resourceful thinking had allowed him to use even more time to put his plan for winning this life-risking game into action. Without this helpful asset, Rainsford might have been more prone to giving up and letting himself be killed.
“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.” Daniel H. Pink’s quote relates to Richard Connell’s fictional short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” where the main character, Rainsford, learns to grow empathy to others situation and feelings. Connell uses this short story for readers to grasp a deeper concept besides just a fun read while connecting with Thomas C. Foster informative literature How to Read Literature Like a Professor; For Kids.
‘But no animal can reason’ objected Rainsford.” In both of these situations Rainsford shouldn’t have overlooked the events. he should’ve realized sailors call it Ship-Trap Island for a reason, however Rainsford only looked at the light of situation. Rainsford also should’ve not overlooked what Zaroff said about the ultimate prey and realized what it was― - a human. If Rainsford didn’t overlook these things and only looked at the light then he might have swam to a different island and not gone through the horrendous
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, the author, Richard Connell, characterizes Zaroff as a mysteriously intimidating, crazy man. In the story, a sailor, named Rainsford, is stranded upon an island and is welcomed with open arms by General Zaroff and his servant, Ivan. The general invites him to a hunt, but Rainsford soon finds that he is the best game around. He narrowly escapes only to surprise the general as he settles for bed; in a final battle between the men, the reader can assume that Rainsford is victorious. One example from the text is that Zaroff said, “I hunt the scum of the earth - sailors from tramp ships - lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels- a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them”(Connell