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“The Most Dangerous Game” Narrative Essay

Looking for The Most Dangerous Game essay examples? This paper analyzes the short story by Richard Connell. It explores The Most Dangerous Game themes & provides the story’s summary.

Introduction

• Summary of the Story
• The key theme

“The Most Dangerous Game” is a short story authored by Richard Connell published in 1924. It is a story about a hunter becoming the hunted. “The Most Dangerous Game” essay shall provide an analysis of the story. The main character Sanger Rainsford accompanied by his partner Whitney set out on a journey from New York to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The two are on a mission to hunt the Jaguar, a big cat in South America.

Summary of The Most Dangerous Game

The play notes here that Rainsford loves hunting to the extent that he calls it the best sport in the world. In the course of their discussion over their ability to hunt wild animals, they are terrified suddenly by gunshots and screams. This occurs at night.

The scare makes Rainsford fall off their boat into the Caribbean Sea in trying to rescue his pipe. The circumstance did not allow him to swim back to the ship. He then swims to an island, which is in the direction that the yells and gunshots had come from. This island also happens to be a Ship-Trap zone. On the Island, Rainsford finds two inhabitants living in a palatial mansion. General Zaroff is the owner of the island and an astute hunter.

The second person is Zaroff’s servant, who is deaf and mute. His name is Ivan. It is surprising that after the introduction, Zaroff has heard of Rainsford from the books he has read about him hunting leopards in Tibet, China. They then have dinner together. Zaroff’s explanation follows this to Rainsford on how he got bored with killing wild animals because the adventure did not bring challenges anymore.

His adventure surprises Rainsford, who, even after persuasion, refused to join. What happens when Rainsford refuses to hunt with Zaroff? Zaroff says that he now captures sailors whose ships are wrecked; he then sends them to the forest with food, dressed in full hunting regalia and a knife. The sailors now become his target and turn to hunt and kill them. Being a determined General, he sets his limits to three days. If by the third day neither Ivan, his hunting dogs nor himself have killed the prey, he lets them go.

However, his hunting skills had never allowed an escape to occur. Rainsford turns down the offer to join the hunting of human beings. Zaroff gives him two options. To become either the next prey to be hunted or Ivan whips him to death. Rainsford chooses the former.

The Most Dangerous Game Theme

In “The Most Dangerous Game,” dogs and Ivan play equally significant role in the plot. This is a dangerous game pitting Rainsford on one side and Zaroff’s entire team of Ivan and the dogs on the other side. It is the use of stamina and strength with the show of intelligence. Zaroff makes sure that Rainsford gets the standard treatment of a captive, including giving him food supplies and instructions. The challenge is risky but very intriguing. Rainsford starts by hiding his hunting tactics. He climbs a tree where he is very visible.

This serves to convince Zaroff that Rainsford is easy prey and immediately turns it into the game. The next flow of events proves that Rainsford is a guru in hunting. He sets a trap made of a massive log joined to a tripwire. The first casualty is Zaroff. His shoulder is injured, sending him back to the mansion to sleep. The trap he uses here, he calls it, a Malay man catcher. Day one is done, and Rainsford knows that he has two to go.

His trap on day two killed one of Zaroff’s hounds. This is a trap he nicknames the Burmese tiger pit. The third trap, a native Ugandan knife, kills his servant Ivan. Rainsford then throws himself over the cliff and swims back to the mansion to evade Zaroff. On returning home, the presence of Rainsford in his bed curtains causes Zaroff to salute him. Rainsford refuses this and challenges him for a fight. As the “The Most Dangerous Game” narrative essay shows, he is confident that he can handle him.

Rainsford considers the hunting of human beings as cold blood murder. The general takes the challenge. The challenge affects both whoever loses the duel would be fed to the dogs, and the winner will sleep on Zaroff’s bed. Rainsford expressed that he had never slept on a better bed before. This implies that he killed Zaroff.

“The Most Dangerous Game” essay proves that reading this play, we can see the conflict between man and wild animals. This appears to be acceptable in the story. In the beginning, Rainsford and his partner proudly talk about their experiences in hunting. They are also on a hunting mission to hunt a jaguar. Furthermore, Zaroff, who also explains to Rainsford how he was a good hunter of wild animals before he sort new challenges, has featured Rainsford in books for his hunting skills as read.

Zaroff introduces the second conflict that is between men. Zaroff launches his new adventure of killing people. He uses his wealth to prove his inhuman actions. He is chasing people to kill them like wild animals. This was, in fact, the cause of his death at the ending of the play.

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IvyPanda. (2022, August 1). “The Most Dangerous Game” Narrative Essay. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-most-dangerous-game/

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "“The Most Dangerous Game” Narrative Essay." August 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-most-dangerous-game/.

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game

Analysis of Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 30, 2021

Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” is widely anthologized in both high school literature and college introductory fiction courses largely because it offers a fine illustration of many of the potential conflicts that an author can incorporate into an compelling plotline: man versus man, man versus nature, and man versus himself.

Initially set on board a steamer headed for South America, “The Most Dangerous Game” begins with a conversation between two hunters, Rainsford and Whitney, who are aboard the vessel and are nearing a dangerous stretch of water that shipping charts label as Ship Trap Island . Their discussion centers on their chosen sport, big game hunting, and whether wild animals have any fear when they are being stalked by humans.

Almost immediately the reader senses that Rainsford’s surroundings are threatening. The sea and the island’s negative reputation place him in jeopardy, which is heightened when he falls overboard while investigating the sound of three gunshots he hears from the deck of his ship.

Although he survives the fall, Rainsford is savvy enough to get to shore by following the direction suggested by the shots. However, upon his arrival at Ship Trap Island, the safety he anticipates is not evident; instead he is faced with a ragged jungle environment and evidence of a fierce struggle that has recently occurred there.

Richard Connell/AmericanLiterature.com

Ultimately, Rainsford makes his way inland and, to his surprise, he discovers a palatial chateau, which he initially feels is a mirage, but he eventually finds that the house is occupied by a General Zaroff, a military aristocrat with a deaf mute servant of extraordinary strength whose name is Ivan. Aware of Rainsford’s reputation for hunting expertise, Zaroff initially seems delighted to have him as a guest since he, too, considers himself a master of the hunt. Indeed, his feudal dining room is decorated with the heads of many of his animal kills, including elephants, tigers, and bears. As the two discover what they consider to be the most dangerous game animal, the reader begins to recognize that the general is far from humane in his pursuit of the sport.

Rather, as Zaroff recounts his career to Rainsford, it becomes clear that the general now finds lower animals less of a challenge. Bored with their ability to offer him competition, Zaroff had retreated to this isolated primitive jungle exclusively to hunt the only animal that reasons: men. Zaroff clearly expresses his belief that even his human prey are an inferior species—the weak of the world—but individuals whom he trains to make them competitive to his superior skills. He then offers the individual he hunts a game of cat and mouse. If Zaroff catches his prey, the individual loses (and dies); if the prey eludes him for three days, the individual is free to leave Ship Trap Island unharmed. However, such an escape has so far never been achieved by those whom he has hunted, and no one has succeeded in winning the game.

Clearly, after initially believing Rainsford’s conflict will be environmental in nature, readers now see that a man-versus-man conflict emerges as a primary emphasis of Connell. The intellectual and physical battle between the two men takes center stage, displacing the original struggle with the environment. Since Rainsford offers the general a much more challenging opponent than he has had previously, the game of wits is intriguing. For Zaroff, the hunt has become a plaything, and he toys with Rainsford as he tracks him nightly, at times intentionally letting him slip away from being captured and killed. Suddenly the word game no longer refers to animals but rather suggests an elaborate chess match whose loser forfeits his very life.

The story concludes with Rainsford forced to do battle with Zaroff. Though outnumbered (Zaroff has dogs and Ivan to help), Rainsford does not panic and uses the tricks of the hunting trade to outsmart his opponent. Nevertheless, the general discovers Rainsford during the first hunt and, preferring to extend the contest not to capture him, decides rather to enjoy what he believes will be his eventual triumph over a longer period. During the second encounter, Rainsford becomes more successful as he uses a Malayman-catcher at least to wound Zaroff. Thus the man-versus-man conflict intensifies, and the game becomes more complex. Though Rainsford claims the lives of both the general’s best hunting dog and Ivan, he is eventually trapped on a high cliff. Since retreat is impossible, he is then forced to seek refuge in the dangerous sea by jumping from his precarious location. While Zaroff believes he has again conquered even though he has not killed his prey personally, his opponent, Rainsford, returns later that night to claim victory, having proved successful not only in subduing his dangerous surrounding but in eluding his hunter and surviving for three days.

Surprisingly, as the story draws to a close, Rainsford is not content just to be free. Instead he proves that men (not wild animals) are indeed the most dangerous game by challenging his antagonist to a duel and winning. Though Connell deftly avoids showing Rainsford’s actual killing of his fellow man and his subsequent decision to feed the general’s body to his pack of hungry dogs, the author surely concludes that when pressed to desperation, man will resort to any means to stay alive. Consequently, it is evident that Rainsford, who initially revolted at the thought of violently attacking others, has struggled with his own value systems and eventually decided that self-preservation may require dire and even immoral action. His personal impulse toward morality at the beginning of the story is thus, at the story’s end, overcome by the necessity to survive, and his inner struggle introduces the third primary fictional conflict: man’s eternal struggle with himself.

Considered a plot-centered story, “The Most Dangerous Game” has rather static stereotypical characters including a noble heroic protagonist and a vicious and unsympathetic villain, but Connell’s ironic twist at the story’s end makes the story an appealing read, especially for those who prefer exciting series of events to complex character studies. It is a well-crafted narrative that lends itself well to basic analysis by younger and perhaps less experienced readers.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Most Dangerous Game — “The Most Dangerous Game”: Conflict, Resolution, and Morality

"The Most Dangerous Game": Conflict, Resolution, and Morality

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Published: Sep 7, 2023

Words: 707 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Plot summary of "the most dangerous game", conflict and resolution in "the most dangerous game", power, violence, and survival, the nature of justice and morality.

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The Most Dangerous Game

Richard connell, everything you need for every book you read..

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Most Dangerous Game: Introduction

The most dangerous game: plot summary, the most dangerous game: detailed summary & analysis, the most dangerous game: themes, the most dangerous game: quotes, the most dangerous game: characters, the most dangerous game: symbols, the most dangerous game: literary devices, the most dangerous game: theme wheel, brief biography of richard connell.

Historical Context of The Most Dangerous Game

Other books related to the most dangerous game.

• Full Title: The Most Dangerous Game, or The Hounds of Zaroff
• Where Written: Westport, Connecticut
• When Published: 1924
• Literary Period: Modernism
• Genre: Short story, adventure
• Setting: A remote island in the Caribbean Sea
• Climax: After eluding the murderous General Zaroff in the jungle, Sanger Rainsford kills the general in his mansion.
• Antagonist: General Zaroff
• Point of View: Third person

Extra Credit for The Most Dangerous Game

Item1. “The Most Dangerous Game” was also published in Collier’s Weekly under the name “The Hounds of Zaroff,” possibly a reference to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles .

Item2. Richard Connell’s first job after graduating college was as a homicide reporter for the New York American .

The Most Dangerous Game

By richard connell.

• The Most Dangerous Game Summary

" The Most Dangerous Game " opens with a conversation between two men, Whitney and Rainsford. The pair are on a yacht headed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the time of the story, they find themselves somewhere in the Caribbean. Both men are aficionados of big-game hunting. They discuss the ability of an animal to understand a hunt. Rainsford believes that animals are incapable of feeling or understanding any human emotion.

Shortly after their discussion, Whitney retires for the evening. Rainsford decides to stay on deck to smoke his pipe. He suddenly hears the sound of gunshots and in his attempt to see the source of the sound, he falls into the water. After a brief moment of panic, Rainsford rallies and decides to swim toward the source of the gunshots. When he finally makes it ashore, he falls asleep.

The next morning he decides to investigate his surroundings. He finds a pool of blood and surmises that it is from the prey that was shot the night before. Near the blood he sees the footprints of hunting boots. He elects to follow them. After a long hike Rainsford arrives at a palatial estate. He is greeted at the door by a large man wielding a gun. A second man enters and explains that his assistant, Ivan , is deaf and dumb. The man is dressed elegantly and has an air of sophistication about him. He introduces himself as General Zaroff .

Zaroff is familiar with Rainsford's book on hunting snow leopards. After getting settled, Rainsford and Zaroff dine together and discuss the merits of hunting. It is during this conversation that Rainsford learns that Zaroff hunts men on the island. As a result of becoming bored with the available game in the world, Zaroff has turned to hunting those that can reason and present a greater challenge. Rainsford is horrified by Zaroff's revelation. Zaroff invites Rainsford to hunt with him but Rainsford declines citing exhaustion.

That night Rainsford is unable to sleep. The next day he learns that he is either to serve as Zaroff's newest prey or fall into the burly, violent hands of Ivan. He elects the former and immediately sets off into the jungle. After a few hours of zigzagging through the dense jungle, he climbs a tree to hide from his adversary. Incredibly, despite the elusive trail, Zaroff is able to easily find Rainsford. However, in order to prolong the fun of the game, Zaroff leaves Rainsford without harming him.

Rainsford panics and is subject to a few other encounters with Zaroff. Each time he gets closer and closer to defeating his foe through the use of primitive traps. Unfortunately, he is unable to trap his pursuer. He does manage to kill one of Zaroff's prized dogs and Ivan. In the final chase, Rainsford dives off the edge of the cliff into the ocean. Zaroff is disappointed to have lost his worthy adversary and returns to his house crestfallen.

After a hearty meal and much reminiscing of the day's events, Zaroff decides to retire for the evening. Upon entering his bedroom, he is confronted by Rainsford, who has been hiding behind the bed curtains. Zaroff is delighted that he has been defeated. However, Rainsford is not willing to let the game end there. He challenges Zaroff to one final duel. Zaroff accepts and says that whoever loses shall be fed to the dogs, and the winner would sleep in Zaroff's bed. The story ends with an indirect ending-- Rainsford cites that he had never slept in a better bed.

The Most Dangerous Game Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Most Dangerous Game is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Which of the following infers about Whitney is best supported by the beginning of the story

a.he is a superstitious person who believes in rumors and legends

Zaroff killed the Cape buffalo in spite of his fractured skull. What does that tell us about his character? Group of answer choices Zaroff is strong Zaroff does not give up easily Zaroff is weak

Zaroff does not give up easily

The following passage (paragraphs 7-9) mainly shows that fill in the blank_____________. “We should have some good hunting up the Amazon. Great sport, hunting.” “The best sport in the world,” agreed Rainsford. “For the hunter,” amended Whitney. “Not for

That they are big game hunters and animal welfare isn't a concern until Whitney brings it up.

Study Guide for The Most Dangerous Game

The Most Dangerous Game study guide contains a biography of Richard Connell, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Most Dangerous Game
• Character List

Essays for The Most Dangerous Game

The Most Dangerous Game essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.

• Rainsford's Character in "The Most Dangerous Game"
• The Three Hunters
• The Most Dangerous Game: A Hunt For Morality
• Analyzing Suspense in ‘The Most Dangerous Game’
• Characterization in “The Most Dangerous Game”

Lesson Plan for The Most Dangerous Game

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Most Dangerous Game
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Most Dangerous Game Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Most Dangerous Game

• Introduction
• Real-life parallels
• Adaptations

The Most Dangerous Game

22 pages • 44 minutes read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

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Important Quotes

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Summary and Study Guide

Summary: “the most dangerous game”.

Written in 1924, Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” has achieved fame as a popular short story worldwide. The story is an iconic tale that questions the value of human life and offers a commentary on the morality of man and instinct versus reason . It has sparked numerous adaptations and inspired other pieces of fiction, from poems and novels to several films and TV series.

As the story opens, Sanger Rainsford , a game hunter, is on a yacht traveling to the Amazon to hunt the largest cat of the region—the jaguar. As they pass an island called Ship-Trap Island on a dark night, Rainsford and his friend Whitney stand on the ship deck and discuss the superstitions sailors hold about the mysterious Caribbean island. They also discuss their impending hunt, considering the effects of man on the animal kingdom and how the hunted animals must feel. They agree that they are lucky to be the hunters, not the hunted. After Whitney turns in, Rainsford hears gunshots as the boat passes the island shore, and upon shifting closer to investigate, he falls overboard. When he realizes that he cannot swim back to the boat, he decides to swim toward the island, where he washes up on shore and falls into a deep sleep .

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Upon waking, Rainsford takes in the rough and wild jungle landscape. As he starts picking his way along the shore, he sees signs of a struggle—blood and crushed foliage—along with an empty .22 cartridge. He finds it odd that such a small caliber round would be used against what appears from the evidence to be a sizeable animal. Rainsford follows boot prints on the ground and eventually comes upon a large chateau high on a bluff.

Rainsford’s knock on the door is met by a large, black-bearded man named Ivan , pointing a revolver. He soon meets the chateau owner, General Zaroff , who instructs Ivan to stand down and explains Ivan is deaf and without speech. Zaroff is also a big game hunter, and after Rainsford explains his situation, Zaroff gives him a large meal and a place to rest. Over an exceptionally delicious dinner, Zaroff and Rainsford have a long, engaging discussion about hunting and animals. However, amid his hospitality, Zaroff reveals that hunting began to bore him because it no longer held the challenges of wit it once had. He now hunts much bigger and more cunning game—the sailors whose ships crash into the island. He gives them food, rest, and survival training then sends them out into the jungle with some supplies and provisions. Then the hunt begins. Zaroff tells Rainsford that if a target can survive for three days without being killed by him, Zaroff will let him go—however, none of his past victims have lasted that long.

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Rainsford is shocked and turns down Zaroff’s invitation to accompany him hunting that evening. Instead, Rainsford goes to bed but is so unsettled by Zaroff’s hobby that he cannot sleep. As dawn breaks, he hears the shot of a pistol in the distance and knows that Zaroff has killed the man he was hunting.

The next afternoon, Rainsford is informed that he will have a three-hour head start before Zaroff begins hunting him. If Zaroff has not killed him by midnight of the third day, he promises to take Rainsford by boat to the mainland. On the first day, Rainsford creates a confusing trail for Zaroff and eventually climbs a tree. However, Zaroff finds him quickly and taunts him by smoking a cigarette at the base of the tree and sparing him on purpose to prolong the hunt for his own entertainment. The general then goes home to prepare for a more serious fight the next day. On day two, Rainsford fashions a “man-catcher” trap, which Zaroff triggers as he steps on it unknowingly, getting hit in the shoulder and going home injured to rest for the final day. He is pleased with Rainsford’s ingenuity and again chooses to spare Rainsford’s life to keep the hunt going. On the third day, Zaroff brings his pack of hunting dogs. Rainsford shows additional wit and skill by creating other traps—firstly, a hole in the ground that captures and kills one of Zaroff’s dogs, then a knife trap that kills Ivan.

As the chase intensifies, Rainsford jumps off a cliff into the sea. Zaroff investigates and deduces that Rainsford is dead. He is disappointed that Rainsford would end the game by committing suicide. The general returns home and goes up to his bedroom, locking the door behind him; however, Rainsford is there, hiding in plain sight. Rainsford reveals that he swam around to the other side of the island, snuck into the chateau, and climbed up to Zaroff’s bedroom.

Zaroff is impressed with Rainsford, exclaiming that he won the game. However, Rainsford does not take it so lightly—he intends to fight Zaroff to the death. The story ends with the line, “He’d never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided” (15), implying that Rainsford has killed Zaroff.

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"The Most Dangerous Game" Argumentative Essay

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Nebraska's College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts

Learning Domain: Reading

Standard: Cite specific textual evidence to analyze and evaluate the effects of historical, cultural, biographical, and political influences of literary and informational text written by culturally diverse authors, to develop a regional, national, and international multicultural perspective.

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Standard: Construct and/or answer literal, inferential, critical, and interpretive questions, analyzing and synthesizing evidence from the text and additional sources to support answers.

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Standard: Generate a draft that conveys complex ideas and critical thinking through analysis, reflection, and use of effective organizational patterns that are appropriate to the purpose and intended audience.

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Standard: Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from print and digital resources to create new understandings and defend conclusions.

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