“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell was published in 1924, 6 years after WW1. He served in WW1 and was a writer and editor before that. Around 1924 there were big events that might have caused him to write this story. WW1 ended, the Russian Revolution was happening, and big game hunting in Europe was popular. This story is a modernism piece because a modernism story it has no clear conclusion or just capturing the moments in detail. Connell’s story had an untrustworthy authority figures, movement away from moral goodness, an allegory, and an ambiguous ending. Those are all characteristics of a modernist story. In this story there was two main characters Rainsford and General Zaroff. General Zaroff was a very untrustworthy authority figure from Russia who escaped the Russian Revolution. “It is a very great pleasure and honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter, to my house.” In the beginning he was very welcoming to Rainsford and shared dinner and clothes with him. Rainsford started to believe he was safe and was going to be able to head home soon. Then they …show more content…
General Zaroff was a war general who escaped to the caribbeans. He found pleasure in killing others as a sport. In WW1 the Russians were killing the Germans and Austrians. This could have triggered why Zaroff likes and thinks killing others is okay. “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 […]". During this time no one owned the Caribbean's so for him this was a good place to live and continue his killing streak. There are many ways to trap victims in the jungle like dead-ends, pouncing, and booby traps. In WW1 they used many of these techniques and more like a pit of spears or gun traps. This story was an insight of what the narrator and Zaroff saw during
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
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
General Zaroff uses lights to attract ships to his island, where they would crash into the rocks. Zaroff would let those who were stranded in the crash into his home and give them food, clothes, and shelter. Later, they would be taken to his basement, where they would train for the hunt. He does give the refugees the right to refuse to participate in the hunt, which is one reason that he believes it is humane. However, if they choose not to participate, Ivan, Zaroff’s servant, tortures them. Rather than face the torture, most attempt the hunt in the hope they could survive. After Zaroff kills someone on the hunt, he keeps their head in his library as a trophy. Killing people gives Zaroff pleasure, and Ivan’s torture doesn’t bother him, either. In his mind, the wea...
“Indifference to me is the epitome of all evil.” (Elie Wiesel). The short story “The Most Dangerous Games” by Richard Connell relays a shocking exposé of a man who believes that regardless of what is right or wrong, that this should not matter as long as it meets his needs. General Zaroff is an expatriate Russian Cossack who now lives on an island with his henchman and hounds. He is the antagonist or the adversary of Rainsford and remains static throughout the short story always remaining as he did in the beginning. However, it does not take the reader long to discover that Zaroff portrays himself as a “man of the world”, “psychopath” and “egotist”. As the reader proceeds through the short story ‘the most dangerous game’ the idea of General Zaroff being a sophisticated, intelligent, cultured ,well educated, and civilized man quickly changes as his true self is revealed.
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
"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.
Richard Connells “The Most Dangerous Game” is a short story which illustrates that calm analytical thinking can increase your odds of survival and controlling panic.
G. Zaroff is untrustworthy because in the end after Rainfords has beaten him he still has to fight him. He shows this when Rainsford meets him in the bedroom the General says “I see, Splendid! One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in a very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford…..” This means that he didn’t keep his promise of letting him go after three days and still made him fight.
General Zaroff uses the sea to his advantage to trap the prey for his hunts. He uses light to indicate a channel that is non-existent. The sea brings a great deal of fear and terror for most people that use it. The sea is the first place where people feel fear as they are being trapped. The jungle symbolizes the Greek god Phobos, the god of panic and flee. “...spurred on by the sharp rowers of something like panic.” The jungle provokes the panic in Rainsford as well as the feeling of being hunted. “When the general, nursing his bruised shoulder, had gone, Rainsford took up his flight again. It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight, that carried him on for some hours.” The jungle has provoked the feeling of panic and flight. This is where the feeling of flee and panic grows most strong. Being hunted by a psychopathic general and being forced into the jungle causes emotions to flood into Rainsford’s mind. Finally, General Zaroff symbolizes the ruler of the underworld, Hades. “...his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth.” These characteristics symbolize the evil in General Zaroff. General Zaroff said, “So I bought this island built this house, and here I do my hunting.” General Zaroff is the owner and
I have read the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. In this story, Rainsford was thrown from his ship, and wound up on Ship-Trap island. There he meets General Zaroff. He is an unusual character who likes to hunt. His main game just so happens to be people. Rainsford is put against him and has to survive three days in the wild avoiding Zaroff. He uses his skills to try and beat him at his game.
Search for Innocence in American Modernism. American Literature from its very beginning has been centered around the theme of innocence. The Puritans wrote about abandoning the corruption of Europe to find innocence in a new world. The Romantics saw innocence and power in nature and often wrote of escaping from civilization to return to nature. After the Civil War, however, the innocence of the nation was challenged.
The art, literature, and poetry of the early 20th century called for a disruption of social values. Modernism became the vague term to describe the shift. The characteristics of the term Modernism, all seek to free the restricted human spirit. It had no trust in the moral conventions and codes of the past. One of the examples of modernism, that breaks the conventions and traditions of literature prior to Modernism, is Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants”. The short story uses plot, symbolism, setting, dialogue, and a new style of writing to allow human spirit to experiment with meaning and interpretation.
General Zaroff has his own ways on his island, and to him they’re seen as “civilized” (26). For example, he hunts people for sport and says that there are the hunter and the huntees of the world (25). His sport gives him ecstasy, giving him the urge to keep playing. His addiction, makes him feel imperious as if he is the best hunter created. In addition, when Ivan is killed by Rainsford’s native trick, the General didn’t mind (34). He is apathetic for
piece a modernist one. The play’s dialogue, technology, and the fragmentation of the piece, are
In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a chaotic form of writing takes place which is characteristic of the Modernist's experiments in their style of literature of stream-of-consciousness. Written before WWI took place, he spoke of a different type of chaos and uncertainty present in the world at this time; the issue of slavery.