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The most dangerous game richard connell analysis
The most dangerous game analysis essay
The most dangerous game richard connell analysis
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Two Common Themes, Between Different Works of Literature
Themes plays a very important part of any short story, poem, drama or any other kind of literary work and though each literary work may be different, there can be a common theme between them that can truly make the work great. One common theme in “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, “Batter my heart, three-personed God” by John Donne and the drama Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, is the fact that someone or something is searching for someone else and goes to fairly extreme measures to find them, as well as there being a change in a character. In, “The Most Dangerous Game”, Zaroff is searching for Rainsford in what Zaroff calls his game of hunting humans instead of animals. In “Batter
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my heart, three-personed God”, God is trying to get a hold of someone who needs a Savior, but the person loves someone else instead. In Les Miserables Inspector Javert tries desperately to bring Jean Valjean back to jail. Change is also a common theme amongst these three literary works. In “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford goes from being opposed to Zaroff, to almost taking his position. For “Batter my heart, three-personed God”, the human that God is trying to pursue, that actually loves God as well, says that they love another, which is a switch from their original intentions. The change in Les Miserables, is how Inspector Javert goes from being dead set on hunting down Valjean, to giving up and taking his own life soon afterwards. Kasperek 2 “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is about a man named Rainsford who, having fallen overboard from a boat, ends up on a rather dark island where he meets a man named General Zaroff, who is a great hunter.
Zaroff at having been successful at hunting every kind of animal has taken up the sport of hunting what he considers to be the best kind of game, “it must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason”(Connell 75). Zaroff is talking about humans. He considers them the best kind of game to hunt, because, they always do something different and are unpredictable in their actions whereas, real animals follow their instincts. Rainsford ends up playing Zaroff’s game of being hunted and if he outwits Zaroff, he will be taken back to the mainland. Rainsford reluctantly agrees to this and is hunted for three days by Zaroff. Rainsford does elude the general and does kill one of his hunting dogs, as well as his main henchman, Ivan, by means of a man catcher and knife. “General Zaroff was still on his feet. But Ivan was not. The knife, driven by the recoil of the springing tree, had not wholly failed”(Connell 84). As stated, one theme in this short story is the fact that someone is searching for someone else and goes to extreme measures to find them. Zaroff displays this by hunting down Rainsford and doing so for three whole days, as well as, losing his best man, Ivan, and a dog in the process, plus enduring the long
hunt. Another part of “The Most Dangerous Game” is the part where Rainsford changes and nearly becomes the new Zaroff. At the beginning of the story, Rainsford is appalled at the very fact that Zaroff has taken on the sport of hunting humans. “But you can’t mean—“ gasped Rainsford. “And why not?” “I can’t believe you are serious, General Zaroff”(Connell 75). This response from Rainsford shows that he still has a clear conscious and good morals, whereas, Zaroff seems to have lost his morals in the pursuit of becoming the best hunter around. As the Kasperek 3 story progresses, Rainsford seams to undergo a kind of change, that is quite shocking. In the process of being hunted like an animal, it appears that Rainsford starts to lose his own morals. By deciding to not just run and outwit Zaroff, but to lay traps for him to kill him. He does not kill Zaroff, but instead takes the life of another man, and a hunting dog. Perhaps the most shocking part of Rainsfords’ change in character, is at the end, when instead of taking a boat back to civilization after outwitting the General, he literally becomes the General. Rainsford says, “I am still a beast at bay,” he said, in a low, hoarse voice. “Get ready, General Zaroff”(Connell 85). It then appears that he kills Zaroff and thinks “he had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided”(Connell 85). The ending to this story is somewhat surprising as it seems that in the process of being hunted like a wild animal, Rainsford becomes an animal himself. The poem “Batter my heart, three-personed God” by John Donne, shows a similar theme to the short story already described. There is searching, to a very extreme amount and change is demonstrated in one of the characters. The poem is about a human that God wishes to draw close to him but, there is a friction between the human and his choice of turning to God. As the beginning of the poem goes, “Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you / as yet but knock, breath, shine, and seek to mend”(Donne lines 1-2). This shows the determination of God to try to heal the broken heart of a lost soul who needs God. The determination and power of God is also shown in the line, “your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new”(Donne line 4). These characteristics of God are true for all men who are pursued by God need His love that he shows to try to make us turn to him and become new. Kasperek 4 Another theme in this poem is where the human does love God and it seems like willing to turn to him, but then there is a change. “Yet dearly I love you and would be loved fain, / but am betrothed unto your enemy”(Connell lines 9-10). This change in the mind of the human is very similar to many other humans in real life. They love God, but they think that since they have turned away from him and have chosen to follow the devil, they cannot become one of God’s children. Though a sad statement, it is something that is fairly common in the minds of many non-believers. However, many do not realize that if they repent of their sins, God will forgive them and they can live with God forever, regardless of the mistakes that were made in the past. This change in the poem, “Batter my heart, three-personed God”, shows that even though the human loves God, they believe they cannot love and turn to him because, they have chosen to follow the devil instead. The final literary work that has a common theme to the other two previously listed works is the drama Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway. This drama is about an ex-convict named Jean Valjean, who at being released from prison after serving nineteen years is being pursued by Inspector Javert. Valjean after being released from prison tried stealing silver from a bishop who later forgave Valjean when he was caught and was told by the bishop to go and live a decent life and was pardoned from his sin by the bishop who may have represented God. So in trying to live an honest life, Valjean takes on a new identity and becomes the Mayor of a town as well as the owner of a factory. However, to do this Valjean broke his parole and is being chased by Inspector Javert as a result. Javert has made pretty much his sole mission to recapture Valjean and put him behind bars once again. Valjean is confronted by Javert at his factory and Javert thinks he recognizes Valjean, but Valjean Kasperek 5 dismisses his claims so as not to blow his cover. However, Valjean’s conscience nags at him as he remembers that he is trying to be an honest man, but, if he turns himself in, all his employees who are women, could become homeless and suffer. To make matters harder for him, a man is captured and will take Valjean’s punishment so if he remains silent, he will suffer internally. Valjean decides to turn himself in but the court does not believe him, except for Javert, who ends up chasing him for pretty much the rest of his life. The character who changes in the drama is Javert and his change is not a pleasant thing. Latter in the story Javert is captured by rebels during the revolts in France and Valjean is given the choice of killing Javert for the good of the rebellion. He chooses to let Inspector Javert go which is a complete shock for the Inspector who has not shown any real mercy to anyone because of his devotion to the law. Latter Javert catches up with Valjean, who is carrying an injured man after the rebellion has passed and tells Valjean that if he takes another step, he will shoot both of them, except he doesn’t shoot them he lets them go instead so Valjean can nurse the man back to health. After all this has passed Javert is so confused as to why Valjean sparred his life instead of killing him, which he expected to happen. Javert, who cannot understand what has happened to him, gives up the chase and commits suicide so as to be gone from the world of Jean Valjean. The change that happens to Inspector Javert is he goes from hunting down Valjean until he is captured to killing himself because he cannot comprehend the mercy Valjean has shown him and wants to be free of men like Valjean. The main theme of each of these literary works is how someone or something is pursuing something else at a tremendous effort and how there is a change that happens to a character. In Kasperek 6 “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford goes from being a human who respects human life and getting hunted to becoming just like General Zaroff and killing other humans. For “Batter my heart, three-personed God” a human is pursued by God, who wants to show love and change the person’s life to rejecting God because the human has chosen to follow Satan and does not understand that God can forgive them as well as show them the love they desperately need. In the drama Les Miserables, the main character Jean Valjean is being chased by Inspector Javert because he has broken his parole and towards the end Valjean chooses to show Javert mercy by sparing his life. Javert does not understand why Valjean sparred his life and he changes by going from a man who’s one mission is to capture Valjean, to giving up the chase and killing himself. Each one of these literary works, though different, does have the same common theme, of having someone being chased and later having someone’s life change.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based on an author’s opinion on a subject. The theme of innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a conflict that connects to the theme that innocence should be protected is the death of Tom Robinson.
In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, General Zaroff is shown as crazy, Fearless, and Playful. General Zaroff is shown to be crazy in the story when he traps people on his island and then hunt them. “No animal had a chance with me anymore”(. This quote shows that Rainsford is crazy because during this part, he is hunting real living humans. During the story, General Zaroff is also Fearless. He shows that he is when he is hunting Rainsford and he knows he is in the tree but doesn't kill him because he wants a better fight. “His eyes stopped before they got to the limb where Rainsford laid and he smiled”. General Zaroff shows that he is fearless during this scene because he could get killed if he lets him live for a better fight but
One example of the theme occurs when the author first introduces the story. “But the summer I was 9 years old, the town I had always loved morphed into a beautifully heartbreaking and complicated place.” (pg. 1). The author is saying that the year she turned nine, she found out something about her town that broke her heart and changed the way she saw it. This quote is important because it supports the theme. It shows that now she is older she has learned something about her town that made her wiser than when she was younger. She is now more informed because the new information changed her and caused her to begin to mature.
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
Zaroff is extremely pleased when he gets to host Rainsford at his house, as if it's an honor to host this world renowned hunter in his home. He is so pleased when he has the chance to tell Rainsford about his new hunting style. “Dear me. Again with that unpleasant word. But I think I can show you that your scruples are quite ill founded” (26). Zaroff believes that he can change Rainsfords view on his hunting style when he reacts immediatly with great disgust.
“You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?”. The story “The Most dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell introduces an adventurous type of thriller with two main characters named Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff. Both of which are hunters who in the story play a “game” invented by General Zaroff out of pure fear of becoming bored of the hunt. General Zaroff is a big fan of the hunt and everything he says about the hunt is to be taken serious. Rainsford and General Zaroff are described to be excellent hunters through the traps Rainsford makes, all the big game Zaroff has hunted, but Zaroff is better at hunting through the fact that the hunt has began to bore and he needs more of a challenge hunting humans.
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the protagonist, Rainsford, is a smart, clever, resilient man who keeps a cool head in stressful and dangerous situations. Rainsford is not allowed to leave the island he washes up on after he falls off the yacht he was traveling on, because the mentally disturbed general wants to hunt people with Rainsford. Rainsford makes a deal with the general to win his freedom. If Rainsford can evade Zaroff for three nights, then Rainsford is free to leave the island. During the hunt, Rainsford must think quickly and be resourceful in order to stay alive. Rainsford is an extremely experienced hunter who writes books about his hunting experiences. When Rainsford is running from the
An idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art of literature can be referred to as a “Theme”. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly. Theme is an important part of fictional stories. Several themes are presented in the novel to kill a mocking bird. One of the reoccurring themes in to kill a mockingbird is courage.
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
Theme is defined as the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person’s thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic. Throughout literary history, authors have been using theme to bring a story together and make a point. In order to make a story have a resounding feeling in readers, authors use themes to leave an underlying message which are usually lessons and morals that should be widely taught, such as in children’s books or in fables. In all three stories, “A Rose for Emily”, “Hills like White Elephants”, and “Harrison Bergeron” the author’s use a mutual theme of death and further show how death brings change to each of the main character’s lives in different
G. Zaroff is a cruel person because instead of hunting animals, he hunts humans and does not care for the value of life. He displays this quality when he tells Rainsford “I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harbors romantic ideas about value of human life. In this quote he shows his cruelness because he doesn’t care about humans but himself. He also doesn’t care for the value of human life.
In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Zaroff is a hunter that lives on an island in the middle of nowhere. Zaroff demonstrates that he is rich, smart, and confident.
Theme is the underlying power beneath a story; the “force” that makes the whole experience worthwhile. Theme is “an idea or message that the writer wishes to convey” (Holt 874). A theme can be either stated or implied. A stated theme is a theme “that the other expresses directly in his work (protic.net); an implied theme is a theme “that is not directly stated in the work” (protic.net). As mentioned before, both of these stories have an implied theme, which now is revealed to mean that the author of the story insinuated it. Themes exist in all stories (verbal or written) and can be long, short, true or false. “Earth people will beat out any other intelligent life-form in any and all competitions” is a theme, but “good always beats evil” is one too. “Once upon a time . . .” stories have themes too, except they are more one-dimensional. For example,...
Theme plays a very important part in this short story. Theme is the idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character and action. The great example of theme that is evident throughout the entire short story is the duty to perform certain acts. We can see here that the Irishman Donovan is very big on obeying his duty to carry out orders that have been authorized to him.
For an abundance of authors, the driving force that aids them in creation of a novel is the theme or number of themes implemented throughout the novel. Often times the author doesn’t consciously identify the theme they’re trying to present. Usually a theme is a concept, principle or belief that is significant to an author. Not only does the theme create the backbone of the story, but it also guides the author by controlling the events that happen in a story, what emotions are dispersed, what are the actions of characters, and what emotions are presented within each environment to engage the readers in many