In Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game, the setting gives the story depth. Having the story being set on an island supplies the plot with multiple conflicts that Rainsford must face. It also makes the story suspenseful. The island symbolizes the consequences of isolating a man.
In the story, Rainsford experiences many conflicts with in the jungle on the island. The General says "So I bought this island built this house, and here I do my hunting. The island is perfect for my purposes--there are jungles with a maze of traits in them, hills, swamps--" This makes it harder for Zaroff's prey to survive on the island. It also adds difficulty to the hunt which Zaroff likes the challenge. Later in the story he also runs into quicksand
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When Rainsford is finding out what Zaroff does on the Island, Connell drags out the moment creating a scene of suspense. He also uses the setting of an island to make the story more suspenseful to add a sense of danger. When Whitney and Rainsford are coming closer to the island Whitney says, "We were drawing near the island then. What I felt was a--a mental chill; a sort of sudden dread." (Page 2) This foreshadowing shows the darker and more mysterious side of the island. The island makes Zarroff hunting him, unescapable. This adds suspense because Zaroff could be right behind him and Rainsford would have no idea. When Rainsford is hiding in a tree, General Zaroff approaches the tree. "He made his way along with his eyes fixed in utmost concentration on the ground before him. He paused, almost beneath the tree, dropped to his knees and studied the ground." (Page 11) "Rainsford held his breath. 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." This shows the thrilling part that the island provides to the story. Rainsford knew he could do one of two things. He could stay where he was and wait. That was suicide. He could flee. That was postponing the inevitable. For a moment he stood there, thinking." (Page 13) This shows that the island supplies the story with tension and suspense because the hunt is …show more content…
The island symbolizes a place where normal laws and morals are not governed. And a dictator (Zaroff)can come and control the island and use people for what he wants. Zaroff says "Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong anf if need be, be taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure, I am strong." He believes he is above others. e believes that this is what he should be doing and that he is allowed to do this. On the island, the only laws enforced are the ones he enforces. He believes the life of a man is inconsequential. The island symbolizes the consequences of isolating a man. Since he is rich he has power. This lets him do what he wants and create a place like Trap-Ship
In the story “The Most Dangerous Game”, the author creates a feeling of suspense multiple times. Throughout the story, you will see examples of suspenseful moments, including these few I’m about to tell you. When Rainsford and Whitney are on the yacht in the ocean going past Ship-Trap Island, after Whitney goes to sleep and Rainsford is outside on the boat, he hears a gunshot go off a few times. Rainsford then got curious wanting to know what it was and he then stands on the edge of the boat and falls overboard then finds it hard to swim and yells for help but the boat never stops. He then decides to swim to the island and as he is walking through the jungle that’s on the island, he found a chateau on the strange island.
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph,” said Thomas Paine. During “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford had to survive three nights as prey for General Zaroff. Rainsford, though, was only able to live due to the setting serving as a solution to the conflict. At the very end of the narrative, Rainsford’s options become increasingly more limited as time progresses. However, he is able to jump off of the large cliff and regain his freedom.
In The Most Dangerous Game, Richard Connell suggests that the hunter is not that different from the hunted when the big game hunter Rainsford becomes general Zaroff’s prey. Rainsford believes that hunting is a game because he doesn’t value the lives of the animals he hunts. When conversing with his hunting companion Whitney, Rainsford presents his view of the subject by stating that, ”You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?”(92). Contradicting his superior’s opinion, Whitney suggests that “they understand one thing—fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death.
Over the course of his experiences, his disposition changes remarkably. Rainsford 's first sight of Zaroff 's secluded mansion foreshadows the sea of contradictions that is Zaroff. In the midst of a dark, unforgiving terrain lies a man-made masterpiece. Much like this setting, Zaroff is a cultured man.
Richard Connell Biography and Short Story Connections “The Most Dangerous Game” begins with a long ride on a yacht traveling through a “moonless Caribbean night” (1) making their way to Rio. As the two men Whitney and Rainsford finished their discussion about hunting, Rainsford decided to go smoke out on the deck. Until he fell overboard following the sounds of gun shots and ended up swimming his way to “Ship-Trap Island” (1) While he wonders around he encounters a hidden castle. He is then introduced to General Zaroff and notices that they both have a passion for hunting.
Sometimes guilt overwhelms them and they are forced to do things that trace back to their roots… Each person on the island shows that at the beginning of terror they can maintain their humanity until something pushes them over the edge. Until one tiny thing in the matter of all the chaos turns the switch off inside of their brain. To where they can't think or do anything that isn't a strategy to protect and secure themselves. To protect their identity even when there's no longer a trace of it.
Theory of Relationship: The relationship between Rainsford and General Zaroff is that of a friend becoming an enemy. Paragraph 1: “He was finding the general a most thoughtful and affable host, a true cosmopolite” (7 Connell). In this passage from “The Most Dangerous Game” Rainsford’s first impression is that general Zaroff is nice and polite.
In the short story The Most Dangerous Game, the author Richard Connell shows that Rainsford needs control of his emotions, patience , and expert hunting and decision making skills in order to defeat Zaroff. Rainsford needs to gain control of his emotions to outthink Zaroff, who symbolizes Rainsfords "steep hill". When he finds that he is going to be hunted his natural instinct is to run and panic, but then he stops to look around and get a grip on the task at hand. Then at a critical moment when Zaroff finds him in a tree, Rainsford panics again because he realizes Zaroff is on his trail and is toying with him. Once again, he gains control of his emotions and formulates a plan.
The the book “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, has lots of challenges and conflicts throughout the whole story. Two hunters are on a yacht in the Caribbean Sea, when one falls off and washes up on an island. There, he meets General Zaroff, a man with only one desire. To hunt humans. He makes Rainsford (the man from the shipwreck), go loose on the island in order to hunt him.
Will Rainsford Ever Hunt Again? Adrenaline is the hormone that increases heart rates, breathing and someone’s condition of stress. Hunting is Rainsford’s favorite sport; he loves this. But the catch is that this favorite sport nearly got him killed.
We later learn that the island is the home of General Zaroff, a Russian immigrant and devoted hunter, who lures boats to the jungle island and hunts the sailors for fun. The setting is necessary to the conflict because Rainsford being trapped on the island has no choice but to become the prey for Zaroff to hunt. In the beginning of the story, Rainsford tells Whitney
The setting of the island in “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is essential to the plot of the story. For example, the setting of the island’s giant rocks is significant to the story. As Rainsford swims to shore on Ship Trap island, he encounters large rocks surrounding the island. The giant rocks prevent people from docking and supplies the island with them.
Therefore, Rainsford won’t ever hunt again because he is traumatized by his experiences on the island. With all his experiences on the island Rainsford became traumatized. For example when Zaroff tells Rainsford about the type of hunting he does, which he hunts actual men. “Hunting? Good God, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder” (Connell 23).
Do you believe “The Most Dangerous Game” is effective? Richard Connell was born October 17th 1893 in Poughkeepsie, New York. Rainsford, a big game hunter, is traveling to the Amazon by boat. He falls overboard and finds himself stranded on Ship Trap Island. Rainsford finds a large home where Ivan, a servant, and General Zaroff, a Russian aristocrat, live.
Rainsford looked out into the ocean through the massive window. He could see the pack of ships coming to the island. Right on time he thought as he checked his Rolex. After the Zaroff incident, Rainsford had decided to turn the murder zone into a place for hunters to learn to hunt wild, vicious animals. The once captive sailors now work for him, transporting the newest hunters to the island.