Short-Story Essay Three unique short stories: “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, and “The Lady or the Tiger?” by Frank Stockton are full of excitement and action. “The Most Dangerous Game” is set in the early 1900’s on a very isolated and gloomy island, named Ship Trap Island. “The Lady or the Tiger?” takes place in medieval times in an arena of sport where criminals battle furious tigers. “The Scarlet Ibis” is set in a small town in North Carolina during 1918. In addition to unique settings, these three stories have unique plots. In “The Most Dangerous Game”, an evil man named Zaroff, uses a desert island in a ultimate game of survival. When Rainsford falls overboard and lands on Ship Trap Island, Zaroff begins a new game with Rainsford as the prey. “The lady or the Tiger” is about a barbaric king that has a very cruel justice system. When his daughter, the princess falls in love …show more content…
Rainsford and Zaroff become the players in “The Most Dangerous Game” and immediately the reader learns about both of them, their strengths and weaknesses. This story is a big cat and mouse game. The following quote describes the chase, “where there are pistol shots, there are men. Where there are men, there is food.” In this quote, Rainsford is approaching Ship Trap Island and trying to survive. The characters in “The Lady or the Tiger” include the common man, the princess, and the barbaric king. The description of each of these characters tells the reader about them, including the description of the king as barbaric and the princess as jealous and barbaric like her father, while the young common man is seen as someone in search of love. In “The Scarlet Ibis” Doodle appears to be frail and immobile, similar to the ibis. The brother and parents are seen as helpful to Doodle, but do not completely understand Doodle’s