The Most Dangerous Game Mood Essay

When picturing a tropical island, it's hard to tell whether it is inhabited by good or bad, but when a hunter goes mad and becomes something inhuman, his island becomes unnatural. “The Most Dangerous Game” is a thrilling adventure between two hunters. Using skills they both learned through various hunting trips worldwide, they work against each other for survival. Through this story, the author, Richard Connell, uses many techniques to create a suspenseful mood. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” Richard Connell uses the setting, the character’s thoughts, and actions to enhance the suspenseful mood of the story. A good way of creating a suspenseful mood for the reader is to through the setting. And, looking at how Richard Connell described the

At this point in the story, Reinsford climbed into a tree for the night while awaiting General Zaroff to come and hunt him down after Reinsford disagreed with Zoroff’s practices. Zaroff got to the tree where Reinsford slept and walked away. “The general was playing him! The general was saving him for another day’s sport! The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror.” ( 573-575) This little event gives the reader a sense of mystery. It shows that Zaroff is a better hunter than Reinsford thought, which makes him lose hope, and rattles him.. This event also adds to the challenge of survival in this life-or-death chase. Thoughts are used in a way to build suspense for the reader. After Reinsford gets away from the tree he runs and stumbles upon the swamp. “Then, as he stepped forward, his foot sank into the ooze. He tried to wrench it back, but the muck sucked viciously at his foot as if it were a giant leech. With a violent effort, he tore his feet loose. He knew where he was now. Death Swamp and its quicksand.” ( 617-620) By giving this situation of being caught in a deadly swamp, it creates this suspense since no one knows if Rainsford will get caught or not. How the thought is presented also invites the idea that someone may fall into the quicksand and perish. Richard Connell does this by mentioning how

This part goes back to when Reinsford was hiding in the tree. General Zaroff was messing with Rainsford, and this shows how he got that idea into Reinsford’s mind. “The general’s eyes had left the ground and were traveling inch by inch up the tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring. But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limb where Rainsford lay; a smile spread across his brown face.” ( 557-560) Richard Connell writes in detail, making scenes easy to picture. So when Reinsford thinks that he is about to die and Zaroff smiles, suspense and intrigue filled the air. The character, General Zaroff, is made to be the villain and is used to create suspense with his actions and insanity. Rainsfords actions help to add to a mysterious, suspenseful mood, especially later in the story. When Reinsford escapes the general through the swamp and stabs Ivan using a trap, he quickly finds himself running out of options. The dogs and General Zoroff were running right behind Rainsford and he had no more cards to use. “Across a cove, he could see the gloomy gray stone of the chateau. Twenty feet below him the sea rumbled and hissed. Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then he leaped far out into the sea…” (Lines 678-681) Creating this mysterious end to the game Reinsford and Zaroff were playing is the suspense. Giving the