Rainford's Experiences In The Most Dangerous Game, By Richard Connell

In the story, The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell, Rainsford is shown going through the struggles in the game that General Zaroff made. Through a psychoanalytic lens, we can see how the story closely relates to Connell’s experiences in World War I. (Ariffin, 5) Connell was born on October 17, 1893, in New York. Little is known about his childhood, except that he had chosen to follow his father’s footsteps into newspaper editing by the time he was 10 years old.

Connell was drafted into World War I when he was 23 years old where he edited the camp newspaper and served in France for a year. (Gay, 1) While there are not many details available about the experiences that Connell had during his service in France, we do know the conditions

Almost 117,000 Americans did die in World War I. (National Archives Foundation)

Another example is the “black uniform” Ivan was wearing. The color black is very often associated with darkness and death. This symbolizes death for two reasons: Ivan was pointing a revolver at Rainsford as if he was going to kill him and Ivan is the one who takes care of the ones that do not want to play General Zaroff’s game. From Rainford’s first encounter with Ivan, it is clear that the enormous man is a clear threat to the survival of the man lost on the island. It is

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no coincidence that Ivan is the first person Rainsford has to kill to survive the game in the jungle.

The last example of death and darkness is that General Zaroff would only hunt at night. This symbolizes death because all of the death is happening in darkness. This also goes back to

Connell’s time in World War I because it is said that nighttime is the most dangerous in war.

(Canadian War Museum) During the time in which World War I was fought, nighttime was even more dangerous without the technology of today such as portable lights and night vision.

Darkness, night, and the color black are commonly known as symbols of death. Connell

Richard Connell excels at subtly using symbolism to relate The Most Dangerous Game to his own life experiences in World War I. It is an interesting story that most would enjoy without even knowing it is about his own life, but understanding the deeper meaning behind the experiences of the characters helps create a more powerful experience for the reader. Connell’s experience can be related to a lot of men in Ukraine right now. Men ages 18-60 years old, have to fight in the Russo-Ukrainian War. (“How to Go Abroad for a Man during Martial Law: All

Possible Legal Options”) They are not allowed to leave the country. Over 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded to date. This war-torn country is also facing the deaths of civilians. Like Connell, they have no choice but to fight in a war because of the rules the

Ukrainian government has established. Any time a person in life is faced with an unideal situation in which they feel they have no choice to be it can cause much stress and mental anguish. This is evident in Richard Connell, Rainsford, and I am sure the men in present-day