More handpicked essays just for you.
The great gatsby f scott fitzgerald character
The Story Behind F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
The Story Behind F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Challenges are a big part of life and it trains people to persevere through difficult situations and circumstances. When faced with a difficult challenge, characters in literature often find a way of overcoming it in one way or another. In Richard Connell's “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford is forced to fight for his life when General Zaroff challenges him to a dual on his island. To survive and win, Rainsford must think of creative ways to attack Zaroff from a distance. In short, Rainsford is only equipped with a hunting knife and a small supply of food. He has three days to evade Zaroff, who has a small pistol and band of hunting dogs. This challenge Rainsford faces can very easily lead to a certain death but protagonists are typically …show more content…
First, with Zaroff approaching, “Rainsford took his knife and began to work it with all his energy … the dead tree delicately adjusted to rest on the living one crashed down and struck the general a glancing blow on the shoulder” (33). By creatively using a dead tree and a hunting knife to make a trap, he is able to hurt Zaroff. Zaroff’s injury bought Rainsford more time to move to another area and make another trap. Next, when Rainsford is being attacked by hunting dogs, “The pit grew deeper: when it was above [Rainsford’s] shoulders he climbed out and from some hard saplings cut stakes and sharpened them to a fine point” (34). He overcomes the hunting dog by using saplings and a hunting knife. With the spikes he made, he is able to kill another predator who wants to kill him. Lastly, with an opportunity to kill Zaroff, “[Rainsford] caught hold of a springy young sapling and to it he fastened his hunting knife, with the blade pointing down the trail, with a bit of grapevine he tied back the sapling” (35). Using the resources that he has, Rainsford is able to create a makeshift catapult that launches his knife at his target. By using his invention, he is able to make an attempt to kill Zaroff while fleeing from the hunting dogs. By creatively using the resources at hand, Rainsford is able to solve his
This essay is comparing and contrasting Rainford and Eckles.Mostly on what what they will do to survive, what ways will they complete that and in what state of mind are they in while trying to save themselves.Rainsford is from The Most Dangerous Game and Eckles is from The Sound of Thunder.The Most Dangerous Game is written by Richard Connell while The Sound of Thunder is written by Ray Bradbury.
In both film and story, Rainsford expresses his lack of sympathy for his prey. Similar to the story, Rainsford meets Ivan first and can’t get through to him and then, he’s greeted by Zaroff. In the film, Zaroff knows that Rainsford is a famous hunter and has read his books, just like in the story. Moreover, Zaroff reveals that a cape buffalo gave him the scar on his head. In the same manner, Zaroff tells Rainsford how he stocks his island with human prey. Just as the film showed Zaroff has a room filled with human heads, and that’s also mentioned in the story. Furthermore, Rainsford uses the same traps (Malay Mancatcher, Burmese Tiger Pit, and a native Uganda Trick) in the film as he did in the story. In addition, Rainsford kills Ivan with the same native Uganda trick. Both film and movie, unveils that Rainsford kills
Rainsford is known for his extravagant hunting skills, even General Zaroff speaks of Rainsford as is if he has inspired him to become a hunter. Rainsford talks about hunting with passion, while he is speaking to Whitney he tells her it’s “the best sport in the world” (19). Rainsford has no guilt when he kills animals, he even tells Whitney that it’s nonsense when she mention the jaguars have feeling. But Rainsford shows immediate disgust when Zaroff brings up his hunting of humans, “hunting, great heavens, what you speak of is murder” (26). This only the first of many times that he reacts with great displeasure.
A skilled hunter sprints desperately through the woods, realizing the futility of hiding from his greatest foe: his own kind. Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” is the story of a hunter that becomes the hunted. The story explores the sense of extreme terror the protagonist feels being pursued by a psychopath living on a mysterious island. This protagonist, Rainsford, has many traits that aid him in his battle with the general. By demonstrating his cunning, sly, and remorseful traits, Rainsford shows the story’s theme of “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes”.
In the beginning of the story, Rainsford has a conversation with his friend, Whitney, about hunting animals. Rainford does not care about the animals that he hunts. He believes hunting is only a sport to kill innocent creatures. “‘Who cares how a jaguar feels?’” (1) Showing the reader exactly what he thinks of hunting. Rainsford does not understand that the animals he hunts are like the people that Zaroff hunts. They are innocent, and he is murdering them when he hunts them. Rainsford thinks that Zaroff is insane for murdering people, but Rainsford is also a murderer. When Zaroff hunts Rainsford, the protagonist realizes the terror and pain the jaguars must have felt when he hunted them. Now the roles are reversed, and Rainsford is the one being hunted. “The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. The general was saving him for another day’s sport! Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror.” (17) Rainsford has changed his feelings about hunting animals now, and he has become a better person. He now takes into account how his prey feels. His interactions with people will also be different, because instead of being extremely overconfident, he realizes that he is not perfectly adept at hunting, and everyone has feelings that matter. In conclusion, Rainsford is now more humble and less overconfident than he was when he began his
In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell the protagonist, Sanger Rainsford, is a very resourceful person. When Rainsford is thrown overboard his ship he finds himself in a rather odd predicament. He meets a man who he discovers hunts humans for sport. He quickly learns that he will be the next quarry of this man. While on the run he must use his survival skills to stay alive. “With fingers flying he wove a rough carpet of weeds and branches and then he covered the mouth of the pit” (Connell 56). Rainsford is able to use his hunting and wilderness knowledge by creating a trap for his hunter. This example shows that Rainsford is able use what's around him to stay
Rainsford was forced to choose between life and death by Zaroff. Zaroff tells Rainsford that he hunts people as a type of wild game and takes them hunting first then gives them a few survival things and have to survive for three days in order to win.
General Zaroff used hunting tactics when they were eating “the last supper” at Zaroff’s house. Every time Rainsford looked up, he said, “he found him studying him, appraising him narrowly” (Connell 66). By this, the reader can tell that Zaroff is trying to notice Rainsford’s tendencies. Knowing these can make hunting him easier. Also at dinner, Zaroff explains to Rainsford that “God made him a hunter” and how his father believed that “his hand was made for the trigger” since he was ten (Connell 85). Zaroff sharing this with Rainsford is proof that this man is a talented hunter and has been for a long time. Rainsford is quite the hunter himself. So much so, that Zaroff knew who he was when he arrived. The General stated, “It is a very great pleasure and honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter, to my home” (Connell 52). Also during the hunt when Rainsford set up the Burmese tiger pit and claiming one of Zaroff’s dogs, Zaroff tells him, “You’ve done well, Rainsford” (Connell 194). If his enemy believes that he is a great hunter, then he must be. Especially because Zaroff thinks so highly of himself. Going back to when Rainsford was
When Rainsford falls off of the boat, he has to try his best to stay afloat until he can find something to latch on to. He swims vigorously until he reaches Ship-Trap Island. "Jagged crags appeared to jut up into the opaqueness... dense jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs." It is midday and he is just searching for a place to rest when he runs into Ivan, the astonishingly large guard of the island. Zaroff, the owner of the island, joins in on their conversation about hunting. The conversation is interesting to say the least. Zaroff says, "You'll find this game worth playing…your brain against mine. Your woodcraft against mine. Your strength and stamina against mine. Outdoor chess! And the stake is not without value, eh?" Zaroff is trying to point out that he finds interest in hunting humans, and he wants to know if Rainsford will rise to the challenge. Rainsford is left with a choice to make; will he fight Zaroff, or will he decline and get killed by Ivan. The choice in this situation is pretty self- evident.
Facing hardships, problems, or obstacles shouldn’t discourage one from completing their task or job. Many of authors usually put their characters through tough complications to show the reader that no matter what happens; anyone could pull through. In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connel, the main character Mr. Rainsford gets stranded on an eerie island with a bad reputation. He meets General Zaroff and gets thrown into a huge hunting game, where his life is on the line. In the end, he wins the game and will continue to hunt animals, but not people, as the general once did. He will continue to hunt because one, hunting means everything to him. Two, he will not continue the general’s crazy ways, and resort back to the legal and non-dangerous to other humans sport. Third, he feels powerful when he becomes the hunter and not the hunted. Giving up hunting would be like giving up his life, so just because of a minor block he had to overcome, he will not give up hunting.
The final step to his loss takes place at the very end of the story, it is not even told in the narrative, it is hinted at in the very end. Rainsfield is forced to kill the general. He does not even consider himself a man. “ I am a beast at bay.... get ready, general.” He becomes the thing that he hated in the beginning of the tale, a murderer.
Rainsford overcomes many obstacles, and in return he receives that special feeling of satisfaction in his body. To start, he overcomes the thought of him being weak. Furthermore, he conquers learning the value of even an animal’s life. Not to mention, he defeats becoming the hunted, when he is the hunter. In the short story Sanger Rainsford outwits General Zaroff in the battle of “The Most Dangerous
Often in works of literature, a character struggles against powerful forces or obstacles, and these have a significant effect on the character. In the fictional novel Deathwatch by Robb White, the protagonist Ben is an example of a character who has to struggle against powerful forces or obstacles. Ben is a college student who wants to be a geologist. He was given an opportunity to earn some extra cash to help pay for college. The only thing he had to do was to guide a big game hunter named Madec in the desert to the location where Bighorn Sheep would be found. It sounded easy but he later ran into problems with Madec. He first had to fight through the hardships that was experienced for survival. Then he had to manage to undertake mother nature.
The most dangerous game began as a sport for one man. His name is Sanger Rainsford. In Richard Connell’s story “The Most Dangerous Game,” Sanger Rainsford, an avid hunter, is lost at sea, stranded on “Ship-Trap” Island-every sailor’s worst nightmare. Rainsford goes through a series of events that prove to be life-altering. Even though Sanger Rainsford went through many trials and tribulations, he never lost his intelligence, composure, or his bravery.
"Get ready, General Zaroff," (Connell) states Rainsford as he is about to fight the General. "The Most Dangerous Game" is an adventurous story, written by one of the greatest American Literature authors. The story includes all the works: a detailed setting, an intriguing point of view, an interesting conflict, a protagonist and antagonist, a theme that shines throughout the story, and a mysterious twist at the end. "The Most Dangerous Game" won the O. Henry Memorial Award for short fiction in 1923 and 1924, which is proof that this story is worthy of reading. "The Most Dangerous Game" is analyzed as an exciting journey and a must-read short story for young adults everywhere.