Rainsford's Decisions In The Most Dangerous Game By Richard Connell

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Everyday people make decisions, some are made during life or death situations. Not everyone has to go to through a circumstance that is life or death, but some people do. Richard Connell once composed a fictional short story about a life or death situation. In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” large game hunter Sanger Rainsford is tested in the following ways: strong versus the weak, the value of life, and becoming what he fears. Nevertheless he made it through these challenges, but he also learned a few life lessons while doing so. First off, one thing Rainsford faced was strong versus the weak. In the beginning of the story Rainsford fell off a yacht by, what Richard called, “Ship-Trap Island.” Once he …show more content…

Once Rainsford was on the island he met a man named Zaroff, a general who loved hunting but had become bored hunting animals so started hunting humans instead. Since the island was secluded, Zaroff was able to hunt people that were shipwrecked without getting caught. Eventually Zaroff decided to hunt Rainsford, who put up a good fight against his captor. Rainsford then found out how the animals felt when he had been hunting them and began to feel sympathy for them. His being hunted like an animal being hunted led him to figure out the value of life. What kept him from giving up during the three days of him being hunted was his new value of life. This value made him want to never become what Zaroff was. Zaroff was a murderer because he enjoyed the challenge of hunting humans over animals, which were no longer a challenge to him. Once Rainsford realized what Zaroff was doing he became afraid of him and refused to hunt with him when he had offered. Then, Rainsford was being hunted like the big game he used to hunt. He did not want to become what he feared, so he decided to put up a fight against Zaroff instead. Although most fears are harmless, his was not. His value of life had made him realize these