Rainsford In The Most Dangerous Game, By Richard Connell

In Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game, the protagonist, Rainsford, experiences drastic character changes when a storm throws him overboard and he swims to what he thinks is safety on Ship-Trap Island. Rainsford, a big-game hunter, becomes stranded there with the insane General Zaroff who is obsessed with hunting. The general immediately recognizes and admires Rainsford as the author of books about hunting. The general welcomes Rainsford into his home, a grand chateau, and treats him with care and respect, but when he starts to talk about hunting, Rainsford realizes something is off. The general brags about how he stocks the island for big-game hunting, claiming that he hunts the most dangerous game--a new animal. Rainsford soon realizes that the general hunts people and he is next to be hunted in the general’s bizarre and twisted game. The terrifying hunt takes place over three days as Rainsford works to foil the

As he explains to Whitney aboard the yacht, “They’ve [animals] no understanding” and further comments, “Who cares how a jaguar feels?” (1). Rainsford is an uncaring hunter who kills for sport, much like the general he will later meet. In Rainsford’s opinion, “The world is made up of two classes--the hunters and the huntees . . .” and he is proud to classify himself as a hunter (1). When he washes ashore on Ship-Trap Island and meets the general, they get into a discussion about big-game hunting. Realizing that the general’s big-game hunting is hunting for humans, Rainsford’s reaction is one of shock and disbelief. He responds to the general’s statements saying, “I can’t believe you are serious . . . This is a grisly joke . . . Hunting? Great Guns, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder!” (7). In this context, Rainsford’s finds killing humans appalling. When the general continues to defend himself, Rainsford further says, “Civilized? And you shoot down