The Most ___ Game
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, a theme of the justification of violence against living beings, is produced by suspense and characters. The story begins when the protagonist, Rainsford, is travelling by boat, accompanied by his friend Whitney, to go on a hunting trip. As they are making their way to the desired hunting grounds, the two begin talking about the morality of their sport. Whitey notes that “ ‘Even so, I rather think they [the animals] understand one thing--fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death’”. Rainsford does not share Whitney’s reservations and believes how the animals feel is irrelevant. This event initially sparks the thoughts on when hunting and killing is acceptable.
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He eventually swims to the shore of Shiptrap Island where he meets General Zaroff, a man who is also a hunter. It is then Rainsford learns of Zaroff’s game in which he hunts humans. After refusing to participate and kill alongside the General, Rainsford is forced to be one who is hunted. As Rainsford runs for his life and attempts to elude Zaroff in the wood, he feels the fear that the animals he hunts also experience. Rainsford character ties back to the theme through his changes of thought. In the beginning, he supported the notion that hunting is acceptable. However, after being put in the position of the hunted Rainsford learns what it’s like to have to run for his life, bringing up the idea of whether or not it is acceptable to kill. After trying to simply hide from his pursuer, it becomes unclear whether or not Rainsford will fight back. He could either give up or kill Zaroff to save his life. The building tensions to his decision creates suspense which directly affects the theme. In order to survive Rainsford must do something he previously declared he would never do, kill another human. In time his choice is revealed by the following, “The cat was coming again to play with the mouse”. Rainsford does fight back and in