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The Ultimate Hunt In The Most Dangerous Game By Richard Connell

Decent Essays

Are human beings better as the hunter, or as the hunted? The Most Dangerous game is a short story by Richard Connell. The story follows a renowned hunter named Sanger Rainsford as he interacts with a rich hunter named General Zaroff. Rainsford meets General Zaroff after falling off of a boat while on his way for a hunt in the Amazon rainforest. General Zaroff is an odd character, one who grew tired of hunting animals, and has created an environment in which he can capture and hunt human beings. This story really touches on the morality issues of hunting humans, but General Zaroff also makes some strong points as to why he chooses to hunt humans as a challenge. Although morally wrong, General Zaroff points out that hunting a human can be considered the ultimate hunt due to their courage, cunning and reason.A human being can be calculating and courageous. They don’t act purely out of courage. A human being will always weigh the possibilities and consequences of an action. Human courage is more thought out than the courage of a wild animal. Which gives another challenging dimension to hunting humans as prey. This is evident in the story in two different instances. When Rainsford was running from General Zaroff and his hounds were drawing near, he paused and considered his options. “Across a cove he could see the gloomy gray stone of the chateau. Twenty feet below him the sea rumbled and hissed. Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then he leaped far out into the sea.”

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