The Most Dangerous Game Summary

When he finds where Rainsford is, he stands underneath the tree that Rainsfords in and a large smile spreads across his face. “ Very deliberately he blew a smoke ring in the air, then he turned his back to the tree and walked carelessly away, back along the trail he had come.” Zaroff leaves Rainsford for another day. He knows that he could have easily killed him, but his overconfidence shows as he brushes it off and decides it would be more fun to string it out and save Rainsford for another

He does this rather than being killed on the spot because he refused to be hunted. Rainsford does not want to simply be killed because he disagreed on General Zaroffs opinion on the object he hunts. Finding the idea absurd, Rainsford reluctantly agrees to be hunted after learning about the terms. This does not automatically make him go insane or change him but rather introduces what he will become. Rainsford sets off running away from General Zaroff trying to remain calm. Rainsford makes his way to a tree and climbs it. A couple hours later when he reaches the top branch of the tree he hears Zaroff coming after him and has to constantly remind himself to remain idle in the tree so he won't be caught. One would see this when Rainsford is travelling through the bushes reciting to himself, "I must keep my nerve, I must keep my nerve, I must keep my nerve" (Connell 229). Rainsford thinks he has a chance at leaving the island but this confidence diminishes when he realizes that he may not make it

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

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.

Rainsford is disgusted and sickened at the fact that General Zaroff’s idea of hunting means hunting humans. In return for his passage off the island Zaroff forces Rainsford to participate in his hunting game where he is the hunter and Rainsford is the prey. The main characters,

Rainsford is not a hero due to his egocentric attitude and hypocritical behavior. After Rainsford hears the hounds and sees Ivan and General Zaroff approaching, he then creates a trap to kill General Zaroff. When Rainsford hears the footsteps stop, he looks back at the trap and “[sees] in the shallow valley that General Zaroff was still on his feet. But Ivan was not. The knife, driven by the recoil of the springing tree, had not wholly failed” (Conell 14). This quote proves that Rainsford does not obtain the qualities of an altruistic and civil being. This is due to Rainsford wanting to kill General Zaroff for his own survival. Furthermore, once Rainsford accidentally kills Ivan, he swims away in refuge from General Zaroff.

While Rainsford tries to get comfortable with the place of Zaroff . He expresses about his feelings and hunting experiences. The General explains that “hunting was beginning to bore him,” and

Perplexed, he rushed out the mansion onto the beach and frantically searched for help, a way off the island, anything! To his displeasure, he perceived nothing that seemed useful for escape and when Rainsford spotted a vacant, lonely dock, he knew the transport ships were long gone and were not an option of escape. Although he was somewhat disheartened to learn about the ships, he was pleased to take in the refreshing wave of beauty that the view provided. Beyond the thriving, swaying trees, the sea was calm, like a slumbering, tranquil baby, and the sky was absent of any clouds. The soft breeze brought a sweet tropical scent that aroused his senses and reinvigorated his thinking. Rainsford recalled how he came to Ship-Trap Island and when General Zaroff mentioned the many sailors that were also stranded on the island. He wondered if there were still any sailors on the island. He decided to search the

Although, the only way Zaroff allowed was to take part in his game or get turned over to Ivan. Rainsford prepares for the hunt and on the following day they set out into the jungle. During the hunt, he makes many traps such as false trails, a Malayan mancatcher, a covered pit of wooden stakes, and a knife tied to a sapling. Throughout the hunt, Rainsford becomes creative of using his resources and figures out how to trick the mind of others. For the trail, Zaroff found Rainsford pretty quickly but wanted to enjoy the hunt so he lets him go. The Malay mancatcher only injures Zaroff’s shoulder but usually kills, which made the hunt harder. The wooden stakes trap kills one of Zaroff's best dogs, impressing Zaroff of Rainsford’s skills but makes sure he needs to improve ending Rainsford because that dog was really important to him. The knife tied to the sapling kills Ivan however, Zaroff’s has little to no care of losing his guard rather than losing his best hunting tool. During the hunt, Rainsford and Zaroff trade places of who is the hunter and the huntees. Rainsford fully experiences the fear of being hunted when being held at the edge of the cliff by dogs. He pants ”Nerve, nerve, nerve” ( Connell 14 par. 7) struggling trying not to get killed. Rainsford finally jumps off the cliff and swims around the island to get back to the chateau because it was quicker than walking through. When Zaroff

When Rainsford was put in the jungle he made a trail tring to fool Zoraff thats the

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.

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

“Hunting? Good God, General Zaroff what you speak of is murder” said Rainsford - Connell 27. Rainsford is a big game hunter who fell off this boat and ended up on an island, while he was there he met General Zaroff who used to be a general for the Russians. Rainsford will likely not hunt again after being shocked from the events on the island.

Rainsford, a big game hunter, falls overboard on his boat and falls into the Caribbean Sea. He struggles to keep his head up but he manages to make it to the closest island shore. Rainsford soon discovers that he is on shipwreck island, a island that most people don’t escape. While he explores the island he runs into many life threatening encounters. In order to escape he will have to come up with good skills to keep him alive while he participates in General Zaroff’s game. In order to win this game he will have to hide in the jungle for three nights and to not get seen or caught, and if he does then General Zaroff, another hunter, gets to kill him. Many survival traits are developed throughout the story that keeps Rainsford alive. In the “Most

He could hear breathing in the shrubbery at his back. Taking a large branch from the forest floor, he proceeded towards Whitney. In a flash of movement Rainsford had knocked the gun from the boy’s hand and raised his club for the fatal stroke.