Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” features the protagonist, Rainsford, who finds himself stranded on an island after a shipwreck. There, he meets a man named Zaroff, who explains that he hunts humans for sport. Rainsford is initially horrified by this idea, but he soon realizes that he must embrace it in order to survive. The story is full of suspense and excitement, as Rainsford tries to outwit Zaroff at his own game. In the end, Rainsford is victorious, but the experience has changed him forever.
At the outset of Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” Sanger Rainsford is portrayed as a cavalier character who entertained himself with thoughts of hunting. He scoffs at his companion Whitney for feeling empathy towards jaguars that were about to be hunted. However, after being tracked by Zaroff and hearing the baying of hounds drawing nearer, he experiences a change in personality. Suddenly sympathetic to the position of prey, Rainsford runs for his life.
Their bayonets were at his back” (Connell ). In this moment of true terror, Rainsford becomes sympathetic to the plight of the jaguars. He is no longer laughing at Whitney; he is Whitney.
When Rainsford finally kills Zaroff, the reader sees that he has undergone a complete change in his attitude towards hunting. In the beginning, Rainsford was a cold-blooded hunter who saw no problem with killing for sport. However, after being hunted himself, Rainsford realizes the horror and cruelty of what he has been doing all along. He says to Zaroff, ““You’re a beast…a cruel beast. I’ll see you hanged for this”” (Connell ). From this statement, it is clear that Rainsford no longer sees hunting as a game; he sees it as the barbaric act that it is.
Rainsford’s change in attitude is significant because it shows that even the most cold-blooded of people can have a change of heart. Richard Connell uses Rainsford to demonstrate that everyone has the capacity for empathy and compassion, even if they may not always show it.
Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” features the character Sanger Rainsford as a dynamic individual. Throughout the story, Rainsford undergoes changes in his personality due to the events unfolding around him. In the beginning, Rainsford is dismissive of Whitney’s concerns about the jaguars they are hunting. However, after Rainsford himself is hunted by Zaroff, he begins to understand Whitney’s point of view.
“Rainsford knew now how an animal at bay feels” (Connell). Furthermore, when the general mentioned his idea over dinner, Rainsford was horrified that anyone would do something so cruel as to hunt humans. Zaroff tries to reason with him, saying “I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harboring romantic ideas about the value of human life. Surely your experiences in the war-” “Did not make me condone cold-blooded murder,” finished Rainsford stiffly” (Connell).
However, later in the story Rainsford himself becomes the hunter when he tracks Zaroff through the jungle. The tables have turned on Zaroff and now it is his life at stake. Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” is a suspenseful tale about the dangers of hunting.
It follows the story of Sanger Rainsford, a famous hunter who becomes stranded on an isolated island after falling off his yacht. There he meets General Zaroff, a wealthy Russian aristocrat who has made a hobby out of hunting humans. Although at first Rainsford is against the idea of human hunting, he eventually comes to see it as a game and takes on Zaroff as his opponent.
The story is full of suspense and excitement, making it a thrilling read. Richard Connell was a successful American author and journalist who is best known for his short stories. “The Most Dangerous Game” is one of his most famous works, and has been adapted into multiple films and television shows. If you are a fan of suspenseful tales or hunting stories, then “The Most Dangerous Game” is the perfect story for you.
Rainsford returns to Zaroff’s house and hides in the curtains of the bed, only to step out before the general realizes his presence. Rainsford says, “I am still a beast at bay…Get ready, General Zaroff…He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided” (Connell). This last sentence proves that Rainsford became the victor and obviously disregarded cold-blooded murder.
Richard Connell’s short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, is about two hunters, one who hunts for the thrill of the kill and one who hunts to be hunted. The story takes place on Ship-Trap Island where a man named Zaroff hunts humans for sport. He becomes bored with hunting animals because they have no chance of winning. When Zaroff meets Rainsford, he sees the perfect opportunity for a new hunt.
Rainsford does not want to be hunted but he realizes that he has no choice. In the end, Rainsford is the hunter and Zaroff is the prey. Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” uses characterization, setting, and irony to create suspense.
The story begins with Zaroff introducing himself and his hobby to Rainsford. Zaroff is a very wealthy man who owns an island known as Ship-Trap Island. He enjoys hunting animals, but he becomes bored because they have no chance of winning.
Sanger Rainsford’s views on hunting change throughout the story in two ways: he becomes more sympathetic to the prey, and he murders Zaroff in cold blood.
Rainsford’s original attitude toward hunting is one of cavalier unconcern. It is simply a sport, a “pursuit of the wily and well-meaning animal.” To Rainsford, the quarry is nothing more than an inanimate object, lacking any sort of emotional response or intelligence. Zaroff, on the other hand, views his prey as worthy adversaries, dangerous and cunning enough to provide him with a real challenge. This difference in perspective is what ultimately drives the two men apart.
When Rainsford finally comes face-to-face with his own mortality, he realizes that Zaroff was right all along—the prey does feel fear, and it does have something resembling intelligence. Rainsford himself becomes the prey in Zaroff’s game, and he experiences the terror and panic that come with being the hunted. In this way, Rainsford comes to understand what it is like to be the animal, and his attitude toward hunting changes completely.
Interestingly, after he has killed Zaroff, Rainsford does not go back to his old ways. He does not simply see the prey as an object again; instead, he remains cognizant of the fact that it is a living creature with feelings and intelligence. This new perspective leads him to commit a cold-blooded murder—he kills Ivana because she knows too much and could potentially expose him. In other words, Rainsford now views hunting as a dangerous and serious business, not a sport to be taken lightly. He has become just like Zaroff, a ruthless killer who preys on the weak and innocent.