Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be on the hunt out in the wild for three days with little supplies and little to no prior knowledge of your surroundings? Well, that’s exactly what happens in Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game.” In this short story, Sanger Rainsford, the protagonist, arrives at an island appropriately named “Ship-Trap Island” with his companion, Whitney, on a yacht. Rainsford unwittingly falls off the yacht into the ocean after leaning on the guard rails and is left with no other choice but to swim towards Ship-Trap Island. He encounters a castle-like structure and eventually meets General Zaroff. Zaroff introduces Rainsford to Ivan, Zaroff’s Cossack “assistant,” and then proceeds to explain …show more content…
A simile is a comparison between two objects using like or as. There are two great examples of similes in “The Most Dangerous Game.” The first of which is “An apprehensive night crawled slowly by like a wounded snake.” This simile is comparing an apprehensive night to a wounded snake crawling by slowly. The author likely used this simile to help the reader better understand the scene. Additionally, it is also an example of personification because the night can’t crawl. Next, the second example is “He strained his eyes in the direction from which the reports had come, but it was like trying to see through a blanket.” This simile is comparing seeing through a blanket to trying to see where the noise came from. The author likely used this simile to better explain to the reader that the scene was very dark. In conclusion, these are the reasons why Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” makes effective use of literary devices. “The Most Dangerous Game” makes effective use of both irony and similes. Irony helped develop General Zaroff’s character and teach the reader a lesson. Similes also helped the reader picture the scene. You can see how these literary devices helped the reader imagine the fact that Rainsford was on the hunt for three