The Most Dangerous Game Literary Analysis

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.”

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.

Without imagery in “The Most Dangerous Game,” the setting wouldn’t be nearly as powerful. The imagery allows readers to better understand how difficult it is for Rainsford to navigate the terrain. At the beginning of the story, the narrator uses imagery to describe the island: “dense jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs. What perils that tangle of trees and underbrush might hold for him did not concern Rainsford just Then” (Connell). The imagery is very effective in this scene because the narrator uses words such as “dense” and “tangle,” which clearly illustrate how hard it is to navigate the terrain. The imagery also allows readers to picture General Zaroff’s mansion. The narrator describes what Rainsford sees when he comes across the mansion: “but as he forged along he saw to his great astonishment that all the lights were in one enormous building--a lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward into the gloom. His eyes made out the shadowy outlines of a palatial chateau; it was set on a high bluff, and on three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows” (Connell). By using words such as “lofty” and “enormous,” readers are better able to picture what the mansion looks like. Therefore, imagery is one of the reasons why “The Most Dangerous Game” is a successful short story because it enables readers to picture the setting, which is very important to the plot.

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.

In the story, The Most Dangerous Game, written by Richard Connell, a world-known hunter falls off a yacht and stumbles upon an island inhabited by a fierce competitor thirsty for men to hunt. In the film, High Noon, written by Carl Foreman, a murderer is returning to his hometown, seeking sweet revenge for being sent to jail. The town marshal struggles between leaving town with his Quaker wife or staying behind to defend his town. In both the story and the film, there are similar conflicts while the characters and settings are different, which affects the plot of both stories.

Short stories can teach a reader different life lessons, however without the use of literary elements these stories get boring. Richard Connell uses different literary elements to tell the story of a man playing a hunting game to save his own life in “The Most Dangerous Game”. Louise Erdrich also uses literary elements to tell a child’s story through flashback in “The Leap”. Both stories use lots of literary elements, however Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” uses them better.

Humans are a unique species because they have possess the ability to reason. Other animal species only have instinct, thus making them less smart. In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, it tells of a hunter named Rainsford who got stranded on Ship-Trap Island. Zaroff hunted Rainsford on the island, but in the end Rainsford killed Zaroff . In “The Most Dangerous Game”, the author uses imagery, setting, and characterization to suggest that instinct is better than reasoning.

Literary Devices and Impact in “The Most Dangerous Game” In his short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, Richard Connell expands and builds upon the hunter versus the hunted, through subtle and effective use of literary devices. Metaphors, similes, and underlying irony create a world much like our own, with very few yet complex characters. Rainsford, our protagonist starts out with ideals expressed with statements such as “‘You’re a big game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?’”(40).

Throughout literature, characters are faced with hardships that require them to think and act differently than they normally would. This is demonstrated in “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. Renowned hunter, Sanger Rainsford, falls off his yacht, and washes ashore to the infamous Ship-Trap Island, an island that is feared by sailors. On the island, Rainsford meets General Zaroff, another acknowledged hunter, who has turned to hunting men after no longer finding any pleasure in hunting animals. When Zaroff challenges Rainsford, Rainsford uses several different methods to survive the hunt, such as utilizing natural resources, with determination, and by planning strategies.

In “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell convey the easily corruptible nature of mankind. Connell uses setting, conflict, and character to convey that when confronted with fear mankind acts differently, but without the ability to experience fear mankind abandons its morals.

It’s no secret that people have intellect and ability to reason. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, by Richard Connell. Think about being alone in the cold night but your with your friends and your hiding from them. You guys are playing a game like tag or ghost in the graveyard, or even home free. But now think that you are doing this but not with your friends but with an enemy that is what Rainsford goes through in this book.

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be on the hunt out in the wild for three days with no supplies and little to no prior knowledge of your surroundings? Well, that’s exactly what happens in Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game.” In this short story, Sanger Rainsford, the protagonist, arrives at an island appropriately named “Ship-Trap Island” with his companion, Whitney, on a yacht. Rainsford unwittingly falls off the yacht into the ocean after leaning on the guard rails and is left with no other choice but to swim towards Ship-Trap Island. He encounters a castle-like structure and eventually meets General Zaroff.

In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” physical strength, intelligence, and instincts are necessary for survival.These three skills are necessary for Rainsford to make it out alive. Rainsford, a big game hunter, must show that he has what it takes to survive when he suddenly goes from the hunter to the hunted. He needs to outsmart General Zaroff in order to live. Rainsford uses physical strength, intelligence, and instincts to make it through the hunt alive.

Character vs character is known as a common theme in literature. In the short story titled, The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell, character vs character is a continuous theme on Ship-Trap Island, a jungle filled with a variety of animals to hunt from, and one mysterious man who lures people to his island to play the most dangerous game with him. In this short story, two men who go by Whitney and Rainsford are on a yacht and they discover an island. Rainsford believes this island is a valuable place for a hunter like him to catch some prey, but Whitney disagrees. As Rainsford is reclining in his steamer chair and smoking his pipe, he heard the sound of gunshots; because this startled him, Rainsford went out to see where these sounds were coming from. As he leaned forward, Rainsford’s pipe fell from his mouth to the ground, causing him to tumble down and has to swim to the cryptic Ship-Trap Island. He meets the mysterious man of the island and wants to play with him the most dangerous game.

When put in certain situations time can fly, and time can seem to not move at all. The short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell presents a hunter named Rainsford who falls of a ship and swims to a nearby island. He then meets a seemingly friendly hunter named Zaroff who secretly hunts human beings for fun. The story then changes pace as Rainsford realizes Zaroff will be hunting him and that he must use his skills to survive. Throughout the story, the author uses setting and pace to build suspense.