In the short story, The Most Dangerous Game, written by Richard Connell, the saying, “what goes around comes around”, is a prominent theme. This phrase means that how one treats others directly influences how they are treated. The Most Dangerous Game tells the story of a cruel man Zaroff and his ways of hunting humans. While on this island, Zaroff meets Rainsford, a fellow hunter who is both lured and potential prey to Zaroff. This motif is exemplified in the downfall of Zaroff, the success of Rainsford, and when Rainsford transitions from being the hunter to being hunted. One of the many examples in The Most Dangerous Game that showcase the theme, “what goes around comes around” is when Zaroff is shot down and killed by Rainsford because Zaroff hunts and kills humans on Ship-Trap Island. This illustration supports this theme because Zaroff lures sailors, pirate, and other miserable individuals to his island where he holds them captive until he suggests they hunt. They are then chased down by Zaroff until death. If these victims refuse to “hunt” they are slaughtered. Zaroff’s punishment, being shot to death by Rainsford after surviving three days of the hunt is then equivalent to his former actions. When Zaroff sees Rainsford in his room the general (Zaroff) makes one of his deepest bows and said, …show more content…
This precedent supports the theme because Rainsford is a man of honor and courage, for he had previously fought in World War I. When Zaroff announces to Rainsford that the new species he has decided to hunt is human, he reacts poorly. Rainsford is highly disturbed by Zaroff’s hunting style. Zaroff says, “I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harbors romantic ideas about the value of human life. Surely your experiences in the war..."(Connell
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Sanger Rainsford, the protagonist, and General Zaroff, the antagonist, have similar life experiences and beliefs, but their one difference, the will to take a human life for sport, builds the suspense up to Rainsford killing Zaroff for the greater good. Zaroff and Rainsford share many life experiences that majorly impacts their conflict. For example, Rainsford set up three different animal traps to kill Zaroff and Zaroff recognized two of the three immediately because of the similar hunting experiences. Rainsford starts thinking like the General when he is setting up traps such as the Malay Man Catcher and the Burmese tiger pit. When Zaroff is hit by Rainsford’s first trap he says, “I, too, have hunted in Malacca,”(14) here right off the bat if it hadn’t been for Zaroff and Rainsford going to Malacca and learning the Malay Mancatcher then Zaroff might have been killed by Rainsford.
Lastly, for my third plot example General Zaroff was trying to kill Rainsford because humans were his new big game. Zaroff tries to kill Rainsford, but really he is the one who ends up dying at the end, not Rainsford. Richard Connell uses dialogue to highlight how Rainsford and Zaroff are talking about how only one of them are going to die and the another will live happily on the bed. “Rainsford, how did you get here?” “ I swam, it was quicker than walking through the jungle.” “I congratulate you, you win the game.” “I am still a hunted animal.” “ Get ready General Zaroff.” “I see, splendid! One of us will be a meal for the dogs the another will sleep in this excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford.” (Connell pg 22) This helps to see that General was being rude by trying to kill Rainsford for his game. Also he didn’t care what
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” the author, Richard Connell, does an outstanding job of portraying the bizarre adventure of an insane, however experienced hunter, General Zaroff. The protagonist, Rainsford, another experienced hunter from New York City, appears on General Zaroff’s island, explores, and eventually encounters with Zaroff. They introduce themselves, settle down, and begin to talk. During the talk with the general, Rainsford soon learns that the General was not only a hunter; but a murderer as well. Zaroff has lured and ceased many sailors to his island to play a game. Although, they did not hunt with the General, the General hunted them! Zaroff claimed that hunting “had become too easy”, therefore, hunting began
This conflict further develops through the hero’s journey archetype and later reveals the theme as the problem is solved. In addition, Richard Connell conveys Rainsford’s initial refusal to confront the problem during the Refusal of the Call, instead telling the general, “ ‘I wish to leave this island at once’ ”(10) and “I will not hunt”(10). Rainsford’s refusal to take part in the general’s sick practice is a natural reaction, and humanizes the character for the reader. The Refusal of the Call is an important aspect of the exposition, because it allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the character and make it easier later on to learn the same lesson Rainsford would. Even as Rainsford refuses the call, General Zaroff gives him encouragements and tries to coax him into participating in his hunt, foreshadowing that Zaroff himself would be Rainsford’s Experience with Unconditional Love in the Initiation Stage. Furthermore, in the final third of the Departure Stage, the Beginning of the Adventure, Mr. Connell reveals that the hunt had begun, and that “Rainsford had fought his way through the bush for two hours” (11). The Beginning of the Adventure marks the first event in the rising action of the story, when Rainsford accepted the call and ventured into the unknown wilderness. This section of the archetype is the reason for every other action in the archetype—Rainsford attempting to achieve his goal of not being hunted, overcoming his conflict
General Zaroff is killed by Rainsford. Zaroff was killed by Rainsford because Zaroff had killed people for fun. Since General Zaroff did killed humans, karma came back around and he was killed. When Zaroff was hunting for Rainsford, Rainsford sets up a trap and it kills Ivan, Zaroff’s only friend. General Zaroff has killed humans that have their own friends and family. Ivan was taken away from General Zaroff as a sign of karma. While Zaroff is looking to kill Rainsford, Zaroff doesn’t know that Rainsford had a trap set up to kill Zaroff. When General Zaroff realized that he had been set up for a trap, he quickly moved out of the way. Even though Zaroff moved out of the way, the trap still hurt his shoulder. Zaroff had hurt other people during the past games that he had played, so he got hurt playing the game. General Zaroff has learned that what goes around, comes
I read the short story, The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. In this story a man named Rainsford falls off of a boat by a deserted-looking island. He finds a creepy man named Zaroff that lives on the island, and Zaroff hunts people that he traps on his island. In this journal, I will be evaluating the character of Zaroff.
General Zaroff is clearly not under control with his hunting habits. General Zaroff creates for himself, a dangerous hunting game. More dangerous than all the rest, an animal can reason and feel.This animal is a human. The general has gone over the edge. By following his instincts and making his desires reality, general Zaroff now has access to this dangerous game. He hunts and kills them with a pistol, disregards their feelings, and treats them like animals. Some people, such as Rainsford, have decided that obeying the law and sticking to the principles is better than following nature. Rainsford says,“Thank you, I'm a hunter not a murderer.” Rainsford chooses to be civil and lawful. Rainsford quite obviously has more control over his actions than the general. The general gives into his dark side and gives into his guilty desire to hunt animal that has reason, courage, and cunningness. Rainsford chooses not to because he knows wrong from right. But perhaps, when dealing with your human nature you must succumb to your darkest
Hunting big game animals for sport was a popular pastime with the wealthy classes following World War I. The morality of killing for sport was not questioned in reality, but in this short story the author does question it by taking it a step further and having the protagonist, Sangor Rainsford, hunted by the antagonist, General Zaroff.In a short story full of irony, one of the greatest ironies of Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” is that General Zaroff repeatedly tells Rainsford that he maintains a sense of civilization on his island.
In “The Most Dangerous Game”, author Richard Connell uses a variety of literary device to depict the theme. He uses the main character, Rainsford, to be the character which unfolds the theme as he goes through the experience of being treated like a wild animal and becoming the prey of another human for sport. Connell uses three literary devices frequently including foreshadowing, irony and symbolism in order to support the main theme, put yourself in the shoes of the animals you hunt.
In “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford is terrified to find that General Zaroff is actually a murder. Rainsford is listening intently to the new “species” that General Zaroff is describing as hunt for his game. General Zaroff has a passion and has become obsessed with hunt because it “had been (his) life”, but sadly “hunting was beginning to bore (him)”. He was eager to continue hunting because of how much he enjoyed it. He needed a new way to satisfy himself while still involving himself in hunting. He decided to go to the extremity of killing people to satisfy himself and make him find new excitement in the one hobby that used to be his life and his source of happiness. General Zaroff’s love and passion for hunting cause him to kill and murder because hunting animals was not satisfying him anymore. Rainsford realizes that he is in the presence of a murderer and when General Zaroff is describing how he has found a new hunt for killing Rainsford figures out that “what (General Zaroff) speak of is murder”. While Zaroff is defending himself by saying that he is not murdering, he does not realize that he sounds foolish because he is saying that he has fallen in love with hunting of humans’ The idea that someone is no joke, but General Zaroff thinks “it’s a game”. Consequently, General Zaroff’s dark side comes through because his love for hunting
As self-defense has taken place, Rainsford has taken action to place punishment towards crime. General Zaroff and Rainsford are having a conversation. General Zaroff and Rainsford share meals together as both get to know each other. While talking together, Rainsford has found out that he and General Zaroff both hunt. As normal humans hunt small, easy prey, General Zaroff hunt for bigger prey. Once General Zaroff told Rainsford that he hunts bigger prey, Rainsford thought General Zaroff hunted big games like a bear or cheetah. General Zaroff’s big games were hunting humans and not animals. As General Zaroff told Rainsford that he hunted humans, Rainsford told the truth
¨I think today the players are too nice to one another … When you face each other that much, with that much at stake, something is bound to happen¨(Eckersley). With all the rivalry between people, change inevitably will happen. There is so much at stake if they do not start to try and win for themselves. They will find themselves at the bottom if they do not change for the better. This quote pertains to ¨The Most Dangerous Game¨(Connell). Rainsford and General Zaroff go head to head in a game that could end Rainsford's life. With his life at stake, he is bound to do anything and everything he can to survive, which will bring change. The choices Rainsford makes can protect him if he accepts the inevitable change. Rainsford and General Zaroff
Underestimation and cruel actions lead to many things. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” author Richard Connell reveals a conflict between main characters, General Zaroff and Rainsford. Rainsford was to play the most dangerous game, created by Zaroff, because the only way to survive, is to win it, otherwise death is the only other option. As demonstrated through the use of personification, symbolism, and repetition in the story, it conveys that one should understand to never underestimate another person and remember that there will always be a consequence for the wicked things that one has done.
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” ,Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff. Rainsford was an expert hunter that ended up on Ship-Trap Island because he fell off the yacht and heard 3 gun shots. He swam in the direction of the noise because he knew there was land. When Rainsford got to the island , he saw a chateau and knocked on the door . Soon after, he met General Zaroff . General Zaroff is also a hunter but he created a new game where he hunts humans Instead of animals. General Zaroff wanted Rainsford to hunt with him but Rainsford just thought that it was plain wrong to kill innocent humans . Rainsford wanted to go home and when he refused to hunt , General Zaroff decided to hunt Rainsford.
In the short story "The Most Dangerous Game", by Richard Connell, the two main characters General Zaroff who is considered to be a maniac who doesn’t understand between what is right and wrong and Rainsford a well-known profound hunter who disagrees with General Zaroffs views. Both get into a game (competition) that was rigged to benefit Zaroff but after countless mistakes, it was quickly turned around by Rainsford to lead him to victory.