Being able to overcome anything in life is a great feeling. There is a special feeling in the body and the mind when the body achieves a goal, and the mind gets a feeling of satisfaction. Since, the mind chooses to go against the body's will to quit, you have to be mentally strong. In Richard Connell's short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” large game hunter Sanger Rainsford is tested in the following ways: strong versus the weak, the value of life, and becoming what he fears. To begin with, Rainsford has to pose as the weak against the strong, General Zaroff. Rainsford has to outwit his mental capabilities of being weak to defeat his terror. His mental strength has to be very strong because he has to swim miles while his body is tired …show more content…
The value of his life increases as he runs from Zaroff and the hounds thru the woods. He also refuses to kill Zaroff when he has the opportunity because he has valued the life of other human beings. In the time he was being chased, he learned to even value the lives of the other animals in the world, and he thinks of of being an animal at bay. Furthermore, he will try to not become what he fears. Sanger Rainsford has to overcome many obstacles he faces to not become what he fears, the hunted. When he is sprinting away from General Zaroff he has to fight the urge to quit, and he has to fight the battle of “The Most Dangerous Game.” He is running from the hounds, Ivan, and General Zaroff, when he arrives at a safe place he thinks about how close he was to becoming what he fears. Nevertheless, Sanger Rainsford out wits everything he has experienced and wins “The Most Dangerous Game.” 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
In short, he learns how it feels to be utterly insignificant against a clearly superior foe. One way Rainsford is impacted by the theme “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” is that he is harshly taught the way of life that a hunted animal has to follow. He builds elaborate traps to defend himself, he runs desperately in an attempt to escape. He feels that his actions are entirely futile when his enemy finds him, yet he is still forced to keep his sanity and not just simply give up. This is a prime example of the toll the story’s theme takes on its protagonist. A second generalized way the theme affects Rainsford is that it teaches him the true meaning of fear. When the general sees Rainsford for the first time, Rainsford is petrified with fear, and reflects on this when Zaroff leaves, realizing exactly what Zaroff was actually doing; toying with him. A third and final way that Rainsford is impacted by the theme is that he realizes in the end how it is wrong to kill without remorse. From his first meeting with Zaroff, Rainsford sees the error in the general’s ways, namely his lack of morality or reason. He therefore strives not to sink to the general’s level and instead comes to the realization that killing is not always
He was resourceful when creating a trap for his hunter out of the nature around him. Rainsford could think on his feet when he made the quick decision to jump off the cliff and into the ocean. Finally, he used his good eye to tell what happened in the forest when he first arrived on Ship Trap Island. When Rainsford went into survival mode he was able to use these traits and many more to stay alive. This shows that when put into a life or death situation the body will use it survival skills to keep itself
“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
Sanger Rainsford is a dynamic character, and the protagonist of Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game.” (rpt. In Thomas R. Arp, Perrine’s Literature, Sound, and Sense, 12th ed. [Bostson: Wadsworth, 2015] 487-501). Rainsford is a celebrated American big game hunter, and he has written several books on the sport of hunting. The most famous book he wrote is about hunting snow leopards in Tibet. He falls overboard on a trip to Rio De Janeiro, and ends up on Ship-Trap island. It is there that becomes the prey of General Zaroff. In addition to being a hunter, he is also a World War I veteran. Throughout the story, Rainsford shows characteristics of being a realist, being resourceful, and being a dynamic character.
Some people you meet can have a major impact on your life and change it for better or for worse. Rainsfords (a man who likes to hunt dangerous animals) life was greatly changed in both a good way and a bad way by a man who lives on a tiny island in a big house named General Zaroff. Rainsford ended up on this island after he fell of a yacht he was on to go hunt an animal somewhere else but ended up swimming his way up to the shore of an island. But after about a day of being on the island Rainsford was being hunted down. While Rainsford was trying his hardest to survive on the island he was on he found a way to escape to the mainland where General Zaroff was to try and get a way off the island back to civilization. The points in this story will be somehow related to my thesis statement in ¨The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Zaroff teaches Rainsford how it feels to be like the hunted and not the hunter.
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.
The story The Most Dangerous Game says, “his pipe;striking a rope, was knocked from his mouth. He lunged for it...he realized he reached too far.” When he dropped his pipe he tried to grab for it but reached to far and ended up falling into the sea. The next conflict Rainsford faced was either to play the game with Zaroff or go with Ivan. While reading this story Zaroff says “you'll find this game worth playing.” Rainsford didn’t think he would have to play the game but Zaroff said he either has to play or go with Ivan and be killed. The last conflict Rainsford faced was hiding from Zaroff. The story said, “the job was finished and he threw himself down behind a log 100 feet away.” Rainsford has to be smart when he is hiding, so he built a trap for Zaroff to be stuck under. Finally, during the story Rainsford overcame many
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.
“He could stay where he was and wait. That was suicide. He could flee. That was postponing the inevitable.” (Narrator Pg.11). In The Most Dangerous Game by “Richard Connell,” we learn the suspenseful story of how Rainsford survived General Zaroff’s hunting game. He did this by thinking ahead. Humans can survive dangerous situations by reasoning about the future. This can be seen in plot, characterization, and setting.
First off, Rainsford will hunt again because he has hunted as the predator for so long and was now the prey. When the general says that he “read[s] all books on hunting in English, French, and Russian”(Connell 24). He also adds that he read Rainsford’s book on hunting “snow leopards” in the mountains so the general knows who Rainsford is and that shows that Rainsford must enjoy hunting so much that he writes books on it (Connell 24). Later on, when the general forces Rainsford to be hunted by him, Rainsford sets a trap for him. After he
The most effective protagonist due to characterization out of several titles analyzed; would be Rainsford from “The Most Dangerous Game”, by Richard Connell. This can be illustrated as he has the strength of being quick-witted,brave, and is a man of moral standing. The concept of Rainsford being intelligent especially holds its truth as if this were to be false he would not have survived his multiple encounters with General Zaroff. Throughout the course of the story, the experienced hunter can be seen creating his own concoctions of traps, and even heads as far to cover his tracks - leading Zaroff into the wrong path. Therefore, this is even further conveyed in which the General allows the witted antagonist to live for another day as a result of serving a challenge to him. Moreover, several instances in
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
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.
“Over there!” A voice said. “We have to drive him out.” This time the voice the voice was so close, Rainsford could hear the hoarse whisper, “Come on boy, and keep your voice down. Ah! Your useless thing!” It hissed. Then an abrupt silence fell, so complete that Rainsford’s breath seemed like canon fire. He slowly turned his head to look below him.
In the beginning of the story Rainsford states "Who cares what a jaguar feels?" when he was talking about the feelings of his prey. It is easy for Rainsford to make a statement like that when he is in a position of power. Having more power over other creatures rainsford never felt the vulnerability or pain that his prey does. It is easy for him not to care for what his prey is feeling like he says to Withney before he lands on ship