Imagine… falling off a boat and being alone on an island, except you’re not actually alone. Well this happened to Sanger Rainsford. Richard Connell’s short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” shows how sense of suspense leads to the literal meaning of “The Most Dangerous Game.”
Richard Connell creates suspense by introducing detail slowly. In the beginning of the story Rainsford repeatedly tries to get the general to tell him what kind of game he hunts. But General Zaroff avoids a direct answer, yet hints at possibilities telling Rainsford, “I’ll tell you… you will be amused I’m sure”. Later on though in the conversation, General Zaroff tells him, “I had to invent a new animal to hunt“. The people reading are beginning to wonder what he is talking about. Readers will try to guess, but more pages have to be read to get the answer. During the hunt Rainsford is in a tree with the general stalking him. As Rainsford hides he becomes
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Rainsford who is innocent of what is going to happen says, “The world is made up of two classes—the hunters and the huntees. Luckily you and I are the hunters”. This comment makes readers suspect that the tables are going to turn on Rainsford. Because they don’t know how it’s going to happen if it even does, readers feel stress and suspense. Later in the story, Rainsford is in the general’s home and admiring his hunting trophies. Unknowingly, Rainsford comments to the general, “you have wonderful heads here’ ”. After they eat the general wants to show Rainsford something in the library. “…to show new collection of heads… in the library”. The question that is left unanswered leaves readers in suspicion of knowing just what kind of heads they are.
In conclusion, Richard Connell made this story chock full of suspense and detail. He did this to show us how the use of suspense in a story can affect how we as the readers infer what we believe will happen later on in the