Conflict In Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game

The Push and Pull of a Story Conflict is the sole thing that pulls a story together and pushes it forward. Without conflict, there is no action or force moving the story. External conflict usually pushes the story forward with scenes such as fights and internal conflict pulls the story together with more insightful information about the characters’ personalities. However, they could do both pulling and pushing at times. In the fictional short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, there are many instances of conflict in the story between all the characters. One of the first types of conflict that readers encounter in the story is individual versus nature. In this story, Connell uses individual versus nature many time as an external conflict, using descriptive language to describe struggles between the characters and nature. When Rainsford accidentally falls off his yacht on his way to Rio, he struggled to find his way to Ship-Trap Island, the only things aiding him being sounds. Connell says, “For a seemingly endless time he (Rainsford) fought the sea”

There isn’t many fights that are hand to hand due to the fact that Rainsford would automatically lose because Zaroff has a gun. However, these men are hunters and have other ways to fight than just hand to hand combat or with guns. Rainsford sets up many elaborate traps for Zaroff, reflecting his many years of experience. After finding the quicksand, Rainsford makes a trap for one of Zaroff’s dogs and his small victory is announced by Zaroff when he says, “You’ve done well, Rainsford, your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my best dogs” (21). The fact that Rainsford values human life becomes ironic when he is able to cold-bloodedly kill Zaroff then having a good night’s sleep. Rainsford decided, “he had never slept in a better bed”