Most Dangerous Game Suspense Essay

In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, suspense is created through the use of foreshadowing, different points of view, and cliffhangers. Without suspense, the book would be boring and uninteresting to read. The author uses these three main techniques to keep the reader engaged. First off, Connell uses foreshadowing to create suspense by using appalling words to map out the near future, and by using dialogue. The author uses dreadful words like “dark” and “cannibal” to foreshadow the daunting future. For example, when Whitney brings up the topic about Ship-Trap island and how “[s]ailors have a curious dread of the place” (Connell 1), the reader suddenly experiences a sinking feeling set in as they can already assume

In this case, the story is told mostly through Rainsford’s eyes which creates suspense, for Rainsford’s perspective is quite different from Zaroff’s. For instance, when Zaroff looked up at the tree Rainsford was hiding in but his eyes stopped before they “reached the limb where Rainsford lay” (Connell 12), the reader’s heart must’ve skipped a beat as they presumed that Zaroff had noticed Rainsford’s presence and decided to continue the game for entertainment. This creates suspense because if it had been in Zaroff’s point of view, the reader would know if he had seen Rainsford or not, but because it was in Rainsford’s point of view, this scene raises questions. On the other hand, after Rainsford had jumped off the cliff, the standpoint of the story shifts towards Zaroff. As he went home to have an “exceedingly good dinner in [Zaroff’s] great paneled dining hall” (Connell 14), the reader wonders about the whereabouts of Rainsford. This creates suspense as the reader believes Rainsford is dead and not a part of the plot anymore. If the author had decided to stick with Rainsford’s perspective, the plot would be completely different, as the reader would know what had happened to Rainsford, therefore making the story rather