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Survival Of The Fittest In Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game

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Survival of the Fittest “The soul that is within me no man can degrade.” This phrase was said by Fredrick Douglass. When a person is in a tough situation, they will need to stay strong and be courageous. Rainsford, the main character in Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” is a well known hunter who is being hunted by another man, but as he is scared, he also remains brave. His fear starts when he meet General Zaroff and learns of his desire to kill. As Rainsford tries to run and hide from him, he still shows his bravery by trying to kill him. Consequently, in order for Rainsford to survive, he has to kill the ones that hunted him. Therefore, Rainsford’s motivation is to stay alive and to get off of the island. For example, in the story all Rainsford wants to do is to survive when he figured out the game the general wants to play where man hunts man to the death . Rainsford says,“I must keep my nerve. I must keep my nerve,” (42). Rainsford fights his way through the bush for …show more content…

Rainsford is tired of running and wants to kill Zaroff, so he makes a trap to kill him but kills Ivan instead. In the short story it says,“But the hope that was in Rainsford's brain when he claimed died, for he saw in the shallow valley that General Zaroff was still on his feet, but Ivan was not. The knife, driven by the recoil of the springing tree, had not failed” (45). The only major consequence Rainsford has is to murder another man in order to survive. He has to kill, even though he does not want to so he can win the game. Rainsford says,“I swam, I found it quicker than walking through the jungle.” The general sucked in his breath and smiled, “I congratulate you, you have won the game” (45). Rainsford kills General Zaroff by surprise so he can leave the island safely. However, when Rainsford tries to kill General Zaroff the first time, although it didn’t wholly fail, he kills him later

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370 Words | 2 Pages

In the short story The Most Dangerous Game, the author Richard Connell shows that Rainsford needs control of his emotions, patience , and expert hunting and decision making skills in order to defeat Zaroff. Rainsford needs to gain control of his emotions to outthink Zaroff, who symbolizes Rainsfords "steep hill". When he finds that he is going to be hunted his natural instinct is to run and panic, but then he stops to look around and get a grip on the task at hand. Then at a critical moment when Zaroff finds him in a tree, Rainsford panics again because he realizes Zaroff is on his trail and is toying with him. Once again, he gains control of his emotions and formulates a plan.

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If I find him, the general smiled, he loses” (Connell 5). In this section of the story, Zaroff is explaining the rules of the game to Rainsford. When Zaroff says “If I find him….. he loses,” you can highly infer by this that when he says “loses” he means they die, so he’s practically saying that is Rainsford loses, he dies. Typically, when one knows they are going to die, they do what they can to save themselves, which is what Rainsford did.

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354 Words | 2 Pages

Everyone has to overcome adversity in their life. In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” the main character, Rainsford, fell of his boat at night time On the Island, Rainsford finds a home where General Zaroff lives. The problem is that the only way he can leave the island is if he survives a “game”. Where General Zaroff is hunting him. So Rainsford has to survive for three days.

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The general thinks that he will enjoy this but, Rainsford is a “hunter, not a murderer” (Connell 27). He loves to hunt, but doesn’t believe in hunting people. He does not want to be a murderer like Zaroff is. Rainsford, unlike the antagonist, is caring, he thinks about people's lives, and refers to hunting, not murder. This shows external conflict because the general wants him to hunt people but, he doesn’t want to commit murder.

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553 Words | 3 Pages

“Rainsford did not want to believe what his reason told him was true- the general was playing him, saving him for another day’s sport…. Then it was that Rainsford knew the meaning of terror” (184). This reveals that Rainsford is realizing that Zaroff knows where he is, and that he is being manipulated by Zaroff. Rainsford's internal conflict is developing in this section of the story since he is becoming more fearful and agitated.

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The narrator says, “Rainsford held his breath. The general’s eye had left the ground and were traveling inch by inch up the tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring”(13). Rainsford is scared to death when the general is hunting him because this is a real life or death situation. General Zaroff is pulling tricks on Rainsford to try to get him to come down from the tree.

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Then Rainsford came and surprised General Zaroff while he was in bed, Rainsford killed General Zaroff. The text states, “Rainsford! How in god’s name did you get here?” (Connell 20). In addition it states, “I’m still a beast at bay, he said in a low, hoarse voice.

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Hunters believe animals are not capable of reasoning and they see them as something lesser than humans. Throughout time, these positions can change. The short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” written by Richard Connell, consists of General Zaroff being the hunter and Rainsford being the hunted. During the story, their positions change to the complete opposite.

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It is now hard for him to trust anyone after being forced to be hunted. “The pit grew deeper; when it was above his shoulders, he climbed out and from some hard saplings cut stakes and sharpened them to a fine point. These stakes he planted in the bottom of the pit with the points sticking up” (Connell 34) because of this flashback Rainsford starts to get scared about himself hurting another human being. He won’t hunt again because he remembers his times of desperation and how he felt while trying to kill a living person. Another factor of Rainsford’s nervousness is when he told that the man being hunted the day before lost his head.

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Rainford exposes his selfishness and lack of empathy by saying, “‘Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the huntees. Luckily you and I are hunters’”(2). His actions throughout the story show his cruelty too. Rainsfords profession is killing animals, and while he does

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961 Words | 4 Pages

In “The most dangerous game” written by, Richard Connell, he uses many devices such as: characterization, plot structure and theme to contribute to the overall meaning of the story. Characterization is a big part of the overall meaning of the story which is that survival is of those who are smart, cunning, and can adapt to their environment. The protagonist Rainsford is at a constant battle with the antagonist General Zaroff. Throughout the entire short story they both have similar minds sets and then farther along the main character 's mind set develops into something more. The reader can almost sense a self centeredness, and that he believes that there are only two type of people in this world, “the hunters and the huntees”, and he believes that he is the hunter.

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662 Words | 3 Pages

Tanner Toussaint In the short story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff. One of the reasons why Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff is on the island the only way to live is to hunt or to be the one being hunted. Secondly, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff because Zaroff wanted to die. Lastly, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff because killing Zaroff is going to be the only way Rainsford will escape the island from a psychopath.

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510 Words | 3 Pages

Most people when they hear “The Most Dangerous Game” they think of bull riding or other dangerous games that don’t involve death. “The Most Dangerous Game” is a suspenseful cliff hanging story that follows the days of a castaway on the island of a crazed hunter. Rainsford is a big game hunter who falls off a boat near the island of General Zaroff, a big Cossack general who is looking for an alternative to hunting dangerous animals but with a twist. Throughout “The Dangerous Game” Rainsford and General Zaroff both show examples of IRony and exert arrogance.

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353 Words | 2 Pages

When your life is on the line, it can be very unforgettable. Fortunately, not everyone goes through these situations. There are people who, however, have been through these situations, and those people will never forget what has happened to them. In Richard Connell's the short story "The Most Dangerous Game," big game hunter Sanger Rainesford is tested in the following ways: strong versus the weak, the value of life, and becoming what he fears. First off, Rainesford will discover his strengths versus his weaknesses.

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460 Words | 2 Pages

himself. This happened when Rainsford was on the island. He had to do his best to keep his composure and not lose his head. While he is in the jungle, he says “I will not lose my nerve”(184). This tells the reader that Rainsford was having trouble staying calm and not worrying.

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