Theme Of Foreshadowing In The Most Dangerous Game

The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell is an exciting thriller that follows the misfortunes of an American hunter that is faced with fear for his life. The hunter Mr. Sanger Rainsford is on his way to Rio De Janeiro with his good friend for a hunting trip; they pass a mysterious island and Rainsford falls from the ship and is forced to swim ashore, Rainsford meets a man named General Zaroff who has a passion for hunting, humans; he offers Rainsford a chance to survive three days as his prey, in the end, Rainsford survives long enough to confront Zaroff and kill him. In “The Most Dangers Game”, Richard Connell uses the literary terms foreshadowing, suspense, conflict, and imagery to show the reader what a human is capable of when it is faced with fear. Foreshadowing is used to advance the plot of a story by keeping a hold of the reader’s attention, but not giving everything away. Richard Connell does this in the beginning of the story when Whitney and Rainsford are on the ship talking about hunting in Rio. As their ship approaches the shadowy Ship Trap Island, a chill comes over the two hunters, like an evil presence covers the island. Another example of foreshadowing is when the two converse over whether animals can feel fear, Rainsford does not seem to think animals feel fear by saying to Whitney, “You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels” (68)? A few lines later, Rainsford also tells Whitney that, “The world is made up of two