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Empathized In The Most Dangerous Game

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Have you ever had to fight for your life because someone is hunting you? Probably not. In ”The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the main character Sanger Rainsford gets hunted by General Zaroff. Rainsford has to struggle to fight for his life. Over the course of the story, Rainsford realizes what it is like to be hunted because he has experienced being prey. The author uses intense events to show how people are not able to empathize with someone else’s issues unless they are put into these situations. First, the most important piece of evidence that leads the reader to understand that Rainsford feels empathy is stated in the short story. Connell writes, “Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror” (35). When Rainsford is being hunted in the jungle, he has just realized that Zaroff could have killed him, but he was saving him for another day's sport. This explains how Rainsford can empathize with the animals he has hunted because he has felt the same terror that the animals face when being hunted. His fear of Zaroff now shows that he can empathize with being hunted. …show more content…

Initially, Rainsford feels that animals being hunted do not understand or feel the terror that a hunter puts upon the animal. He thinks he will always be a hunter and does not care if the animals have an understanding of being hunted. Then when he meets Zaroff, the tables are turned and now Rainsford is being hunted. Lastly, Rainsford has the opportunity to murder Zaroff quickly, but he chooses to make it a fight. Rainsford over the course of three days has completely flipped his opinion on those that are hunted and those that

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In the short story The Most Dangerous Game, the author Richard Connell shows that Rainsford needs control of his emotions, patience , and expert hunting and decision making skills in order to defeat Zaroff. Rainsford needs to gain control of his emotions to outthink Zaroff, who symbolizes Rainsfords "steep hill". When he finds that he is going to be hunted his natural instinct is to run and panic, but then he stops to look around and get a grip on the task at hand. Then at a critical moment when Zaroff finds him in a tree, Rainsford panics again because he realizes Zaroff is on his trail and is toying with him. Once again, he gains control of his emotions and formulates a plan.

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Zaroff introduces Rainsford to the most exhilarating sport of hunting humans by saying, “It supplies me with the most exciting [hunt] in the world… Every day I hunt, and I never grow bored. . .” (Connell 7). Zaroff’s actions are selfish because he only cares for his thrill and never cares how that impacts his victims. To Zaroff, Rainsford is the ultimate prey.

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The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell is a short story. In his story there is a general, General Zaroff. who enjoys hunting humans and a animal hunter ,Rainsford. Rainsford somehow ends up as Zaroff’s quarry.

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Rainsford changes his attitude toward big game hunting, his thoughts about hunting animals in the beginning of the story was to have fun and enjoyment of being the

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In his short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Richard Connell reveals the transformation of an arrogant hunter. Mr. Sanger Rainsford is a talented man who has a knack for hunting. While he and a friend are traveling for a hunting trip to Rio, Rainsford accidentally falls off the boat after hearing a gunshot in the distance. He survives and swims towards the infamous ‘Ship-Trap Island’, realizing out that there is more that meets the eye of the isolated island. After finding clues of inhabitants, Rainsford stumbles upon an enormous building and soon meets General Zaroff, eventually discovering the general’s habits and winning for his freedom off of the island.

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Zaroff on the other hand cares for no one except for his overwhelming need to hunt. Rainsford is a skilled hunter having past experiences with where he has been and what he can do to survive the three terrifying nights. Zaroff otherwise has experience in hunting, but his knowledge stays in the lay of the land, he has lived there for a while by what he has said with context clues. Rainsford is sickened and hates Zaroff, because he believes Zaroff is insane for wanting to hunt humans, saying that it is ‘murder’. Zaroff respects Rainsford throughout the whole book saying how impressed Rainsford for how well he is able to survive in unknown

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Overall, The Most Dangerous Game is one of the best short stories today. First, this story has many different conflicts throughout the short story that ravage Rainsford and Zaroff countless times. “Hunting? General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder.”

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These two extreme hunters take on the biggest challenge of all, which is being a hunter or the huntee. As this story builds, these two men start to grow to a hatred of each other. They end up playing a game, where Zaroff hunts the most dangerous game, Rainsford. If Zaroff kills or gets Rainsford within a certain amount of time then he, Rainsford, loses and dies in the process. However, if that doesn't happen and Rainsford stays alive and out of his way, then Rainsford wins and keep his life.

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Rainsford picked the hunt because he atleast has chances of surviving it other then being torture to death. Now it is a battle of two good hunters against each other and to see who came out alive. Rainsford learned that even the huntie feels fear when they are being hunted and that he was wrong in the beginning of the story because he has felt the fear of being hunted. Even though Rainsford survived and beat Zaroff this really did change him and open his eyes about the world and the fear that is felt by

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“The world is made up of two classes- the hunters and the hunted” (Connel 212) . This shows a relationship between hunters and the hunted. In the beginning Rainsford and Zaroff are shown to be of the same value. This is, until the story unravels into Rainsford being put in the hunted position. One focuses on types of people and, the other is focused on

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Towards the end of the story Rainsford starts feeling hopeless, feeling like he can’t beat Zaroff at his game. “It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight, that carried him on for some hours.” (Conell 14) Rainsford feels that he can’t go on, and that everything is going on for a long time; hopeless. He’s experiencing the hopelessness that prey feel. Another example of man versus self is Rainsford fearing about the jungle and the things he didn’t know about it.

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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

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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.’

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Therefore, Rainsford won’t ever hunt again because he is traumatized by his experiences on the island. With all his experiences on the island Rainsford became traumatized. For example when Zaroff tells Rainsford about the type of hunting he does, which he hunts actual men. “Hunting? Good God, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder” (Connell 23).

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Rainford exposes his selfishness and lack of empathy by saying, “‘Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the huntees. Luckily you and I are hunters’”(2). His actions throughout the story show his cruelty too. Rainsfords profession is killing animals, and while he does

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