In Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game Rainsford’s motivations changed from wanting to be a great hunter to trying to stay alive. As Whitney and Rainsford are headed to Rio to hunt they are talking about the great sport itself, hunting. Rainsford agrees with Whitney and says that hunting is, “The best sport in the world” (Connell 1). This shows he enjoys hunting by saying that it’s is the best and most enjoyable sport in the world. If you are passionate about something it can motivate you to try new things and in his case, hunting new animals. After Rainsford falls off the yacht and wanders to the island he then finds a home and knocks on the door. Ivan answers and General Zaroff soon approached Rainsford and saluted him. After allowing …show more content…
him inside, Zaroff told him he had read his book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet and told everyone in the house that Rainsford was a celebrated hunter and a guest of honor (Connell 4). Not anyone can write a book about hunting, so it means that hunting is a big part of his life. Seeing as man from an unknown island recognized Rainsford as a ‘celebrated hunter’ shows that hunting is something that Rainsford is exceptional at and passionate about. After Zaroff explained how he hunted humans Rainsford requested to go home, but Zaroff would not allow it. instead explained how they were going to play a game in which Zaroff hunts him.
Rainsford headed off and had spent two hours making his way across a bush all the while repeating the phrase, “I must keep my nerve” (Connell 11). Rainsford tried to keep calm in a terrifying situation because he wanted to live. He was being motivated by the idea of living so he kept persevering. Rainsford had jumped into the sea to get away from the General and it had worked because later that night Rainsford snuck into the General's room and challenged him. Rainsford ultimately won the game and won the privilege of sleeping Zaroff's excellent bed, because we can infer that Rainsford killed him (Connell 15). Rainsford took a chance and jumped into the sea because he knew he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. When Rainsford showed up in his room he knew the general would not let him leave so he challenged him in order for him to stay alive, again taking a chance in order to live. Throughout the story Rainsford had changed, leading up to this moment when he won the game, stayed alive, and killed the general. In the beginning Rainsford was motivated by the great sport of hunting, but then near the end Rainford's only motivation was to stay
alive. I can infer that this experience changed the way Rainsford looked at hunting because instead of being the hunter he was being the one hunted.
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff. Rainsford is a hunter. He was on a yacht that crashed and he was the only survivor. The island that he swam to was named “Ship Trap Island.” This where General Zaroff lived. He is also a hunter. He has hunted anything you can think of. Even… people. He has the survivors from the ship wrecks “play” his “game.” The survivors go out into the jungle and General Zaroff goes out and finds them. They have three days to survive. If they don’t get caught in those three days, they win. If they lose… they are killed. This happened to Rainsford. Rainsford, thankfully, won the “game.” He shot General Zaroff after his win.
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
Rainsford is an intelligent man. Early in the story, “Rainsford remembered the shots. They had come from the right, and he doggedly swam in that direction” (34). Rainsford had just fallen in the water, swam fifty feet further out, but he kept his senses in the right direction. In total darkness, Rainsford used his intelligence and intellect to reach the land. Also, I don’t think that Rainsford knew he was being sized up when Zaroff was staring at him, but when “Rainsford’s bewilderment showed in his face” (100), he quickly understood what Zaroff was leading too. Rainsford wasn’t a murderer. Sure he liked to hunt game, but he wasn’t bored as Zaroff was. Rainsford never bought into all the old tales. ‘“One superstitious sailor can taint the whole ship’s company with fear”’ (20). He never got worked up or stressed out.
In the game, General Zaroff arms everyone on that crew with a knife and a pack of food and each and gives them a three-hour head start. When three hours has passed, General Zaroff hunts them down with a pistol of the smallest bullet size and range, and if someone who is being hunted stays alive for three days, they win. If a person who is supposed to be hunted refuses to play, they are whipped. If they are close to winning, General Zaroff brings out his pack of vicious and ruthless dogs, and because of the general’s unfair method of this cruel game, he has not lost one game after playing this for countless years. When General Zaroff explains to Rainsford that he will hunt again the next day and he wants Rainsford to hunt alongside him, Rainsford cannot bring himself to participate. Since Rainsford is not hunting, he ends up being hunted, and he wins. This short story applies to the first interpretation of “Character is what you are in the
Robert Rainsford from “The Most Dangerous Game” is a very open character. He always shows what he’s thinking verbally or just with facial expressions. When he landed on Ship-Trap island and was lost in the woods, he found a pathway. “They pointed along the cliff in the direction he had been going.” Rainsford’s attitude toward the pathway is what brought him and General Zaroff together. Rainsford had the opportunity to just not follow the hunting boot tracks and walk down a different trail but then the story would never have ended the same. “‘Thank you, I’m a hunter, not a murderer.’ ‘Dear me,’ said the general, quite unruffled, ‘again that unpleasant word. But I think I can show you that your scruples are quite ill founded.’”This quote signifies the start of conflict for the two characters.
In the short story “the most dangerous game”, Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff.
After falling off his ship and forced to swim to a mysterious island, Rainsford is faced with a challenge. General Zaroff traps him in a “game” that requires Rainsford to use his skills to survive. He is hunted for three days; where he was chased, tracked down, and shot at. General Zaroff led the hunt to try to kill Rainsford. General was equipped with more firepower and help from his henchman and dogs. But even with his much greater opponent, he was able to survive. Rainsford used his many skills to defeat and kill his enemy. He used quick wit to make traps that would slow Zaroff and kill his dogs and henchman. Then he used his intelligence to escape Zaroff by swimming away, but sneaking back into his own mansion.
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.
For many people, hunting is just a sport, but for some it is a way of life. In Rick Bass’s “Why I Hunt” he explains how he got to where he lives now and what he thinks of the sport of hunting. There are many things in the essay that I could not agree more with, and others that I strongly disagree. Overall this essay provides a clear depiction of what goes through the mind of a hunter in the battle of wits between them and the animal.
General Zaroff first appears to be a handsome man past his middle age, but looks can be deceiving. When he smiles, it shows his pointed teeth. This is shown in the story when the author describes, “... said the general, and his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth…(Connel 23). Having pointed teeth isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s connotating that he’s evil because pop culture use attributes such as having pointed teeth or red eyes to show that someone is evil, and this is no exception. Not to mention that Rainsford, the protagonist of the story, decides to kill General Zaroff because he realizes that he’s a threat to everything around him. It’s inferred that Rainsford later kills Zaroff when Zaroff says, “One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford…’ He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided” (Conell 36). Although the fight is never written about, we can assume that there was a fight based off of the dialog and how time passes after the
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
“A man who had been hiding in the curtains of the bed, was standing there. ‘Rainsford!’ Screamed the General. ‘How in gods name did you get in here?’(80).” The General left that day knowing he hadn't caught Rainsford after he jumped out into the sea. The General believed he would not come back but until he found Rainsford in room, did he start to think anything bad would come to him. Up until this point in the story the general is enjoying hunting Rainsford, and Rainsford has the exact opposite feeling about this situation. Rainsford says himself “I am still a beast at bay”(80). The General challenged Rainsford, “‘One of us will furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On Guard, Rainsford…’(80).” The General never thought he would lose at his own game. That was until he was fed to his own
The Hunting Ground is a documentary written and directed by Kirby Dick. The film follows the journey of two sexual assault survivors, Andrea Pino and Annie Clark, as they file a Title IX lawsuit against University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for not properly supporting them. Although released in March of 2015, the documentary features cases and personal narratives from survivors dating back to 2011. Pino and Clark also provide testimonials from other real survivors, both college-aged men and women, in order to depict the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses. The film also provides insight and statistics from various educated professionals, such as university deans, researchers, and writers. The demographics of the sexual assault
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.
Ted Kerasote once said, “For us hunting wasn’t a sport. It was a way to be intimate with nature.” I like this quote because when you hunt you see a lot of things out in nature that you normally wouldn't. My favorite memory is when I shot my second deer with my cousin.