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Analyze the most dangerous game
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The most dangerous game critical analysis
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In “The Most Dangerous Game” written by Richard Connell. Rainsford was a hunter that fell off a yacht in the Caribbean sea, and swam to an island named Ship-trap, Sanger Rainsford had to figure out how to outsmart Zaroff. The Author states three topics from the hunt starting by climbing up a tree, then seating a trap and hurting Zaroff, Lastly jumping off the cliff and swimming to General Zaroff’s home. Rainsford demonstrated how he is a quick thinker written several times throughout the story.
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford fits the category of Zaroff’s ideal animal to hunt, because Rainsford displays the attribute to reason by being able to make many life saving decisions throughout the story. Rainsford has the ability to reason from the very beginning of the story, because he was able to remain calm to make a life saving decision in an unnerving situation, which proves that he fits the quarry for Zaroff to hunt. As he was in the water, he recalls the gunshots he heard while he was still on the yacht, “they had come from the right, and doggedly he swam in that direction, swimming with slow, deliberate strokes, conserving his strength” (Connell 14). Whereas most people would have panicked in the situation
Character Essay “I’ll agree to do nothing of the kind,” is Rainsford’s response when he is asked not to speak of the island where a man goes for his favorite hobby; murder (Connell 37). Rainsford is just a poor sailor who swam onto Ship Trap Island to escape the frigid waters that he accidentally fell into. He meets General Zaroff and learns about his personality and actions. Shortly after that, Rainsford soon realizes he needs to get off of the island as soon as he can.
Trapped against their foes, fighting to survive. The common problems while trying to fight for your life. In the book The Odyssey by Homer, the main character Odysseus has just began to return home from Troy after fighting in the Trojan war.
Another example of Rainsford’s emotions was when Rainsford felt relief after defeating Zaroff, and being able to sleep in the bed. Lastly, Rainsford felt hesitation right before he jumped into the ocean to escape from the dogs. The reason that Rainsford’s emotions can be seen as animal’s emotions is because he was the animal. He was hunted
Rainsford deals with the problem by using his experience and knowledge to defeat the general’s game in which he has to survive for three nights while being hunted. Instead of running away from the problems and trying to hide, Rainsford uses his skill to ultimately beat Zaroff in his own game. Rainsford’s ability to reason is seen when “he got a grip on himself, stopped, and [took] stock of himself and the situation. He saw that straight flight was futile; inevitably it would bring him face to face with the sea. ”(Connell)
The narrator says, “Rainsford held his breath. The general’s eye had left the ground and were traveling inch by inch up the tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring”(13). Rainsford is scared to death when the general is hunting him because this is a real life or death situation. General Zaroff is pulling tricks on Rainsford to try to get him to come down from the tree.
In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” Sanger Rainsford is forced to test his survival skills while he is intensely hunted by an experienced war general named General Zaroff. In this story, Rainsford exhibits some very helpful characteristics like his resourcefulness, his strategic planning, and his ability to reason. As a result of Rainsford’s questioning the validity of General Zaroff’s hunting methods, he ended up playing in the game. Although I believe Rainsford is a very helpful, interesting, and dynamic character, at the end of the story, he must give up his own personal morals to win the game.
“Off to the right he heard it, and his ears, expert in such matters, could not be mistaken.” Rainsford has a keen sense for hearing gunfire, and he seeks the source of the gunshot. During Rainsford encounter with Zaroff, the reader notices that Rainsford inspects the objects around him. This shows Rainsford’s awareness of his surroundings. Rainsford, being forced to play Zaroff’s game, lost control of his mind and his first instinct was to run from Zaroff.
Also, General Zaroff is an extreme hunter and doesn’t find pleasure in hunting regular animals. Zaroff says the most dangerous game is humans because they have the ability to reason. Rainsford is going to be hunted and is given a certain amount of time to survive. Moreover, while Rainsford is being hunted Zaroff
Throughout the story the reader sees how Zaroff “plays” with Rainsford as he hunts him and not once does Zaroff think he will lose to Rainsford. This is a clear example of the theme to never underestimate your opponent skills or the underdog may overtake you. Connell illustrates this theme through foreshadowing, irony, and, man vs. man. To help us visualize, foreshadowing shows how Rainsford, being the underdog, will overtake Zaroff who underestimates Rainsford. Although Rainsford is not seen as being the weaker link, Rainsford showed he did not pity those below him: “‘Who cares how a jaguar feels all they understand is fear.’
It is now hard for him to trust anyone after being forced to be hunted. “The pit grew deeper; when it was above his shoulders, he climbed out and from some hard saplings cut stakes and sharpened them to a fine point. These stakes he planted in the bottom of the pit with the points sticking up” (Connell 34) because of this flashback Rainsford starts to get scared about himself hurting another human being. He won’t hunt again because he remembers his times of desperation and how he felt while trying to kill a living person. Another factor of Rainsford’s nervousness is when he told that the man being hunted the day before lost his head.
In Richard Connell's short story"The Most Dangerous Game," the protagonist Sanger Rainsford is selfish, unsympathetic, and cruel. In the beginning, Rainsford talks to Whitney about the prey’s, in this case, the animal's perspective while being hunted, like how they feel. Rainsford and Whitney butt heads. Rainsford’s philosophy is much like Zaroff's. Rainsford disagrees with Whitney, who believes that animals can comprehend the fear of pain and death.
Tanner Toussaint In the short story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff. One of the reasons why Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff is on the island the only way to live is to hunt or to be the one being hunted. Secondly, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff because Zaroff wanted to die. Lastly, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff because killing Zaroff is going to be the only way Rainsford will escape the island from a psychopath.
Rainsford faces many conflicts along his journey on the island, such and man v.s nature, man v.s. himself, and man v.s man. He has to overcome all of this in order to keep calm, and survive. One of the conflict in “The Most Dangerous Game”, was man v.s. nature. This conflict presented itself at the beginning of the story, when Rainsford fell into the water.
