People can become very baffling when their bored. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the protagonist, Rainsford starts out on a boat waiting to go hunt. Later that day, as the sunlight faded away, Rainsford hears gunshots and leans toward the edge to see but ends up falling overboard. He ends up on Ship-Trap Island where he meets a man named General Zaroff who loves hunting just as much as he does. Rainsford soon finds out that the General isnt a normal hunter, but got bored with it long ago so he now hunt a more dangerous game, human. When Rainsford refuses to hunt with him, the general gives him a harsh choice, he can be hunted or be handed off to be whipped. So he eventually realizes that he’ll have to survive three nights outside without sleep. He ended up staying …show more content…
His friend, Whitney, tries to tell him that their is something bad about Ship-Trap Island. Rainsford didn't believe him and just said “Pure imagination, one superstitious Sailor can taint the whole ship’s company with his fear” (Connell 41). This shows that even though his friend tried to explain what he felt, he still doubted him.
Rainsford is also very restless later on. General Zaroff tells Rainsford that he hunts human beings now and Rainsford flips. The General was gonna show him his collection of heads but Rainsford told him that he didn't feel well and went off to bed. “He was tired in every fiber of his being, but nevertheless Rainsford could not quiet his brain with the opiate of sleep” (51). This shows that with all the thoughts in his head of what could happen, he became restless.
Rainsford, above all, is resourceful. The dogs were chasing him and their was no where to go. He used the things he had in the jungle to help him escape. “He heard the hounds. Then he leaped far out into the sea”(57). This shows that even with nothing to help him escape he, in a panic, saved himself quickly with little though of
The mood in another scene is happiness because Rainford actually had what it took to win the big hunt. Rainsford ended that night laying in general Zaroff’s bed. “A man, who had been hiding in the curtains of the bed, was standing there. " Rainsford!" screamed the general,” (14). In both scenes Rainford had to out smart General Zaroff to win the big hunt.
The sea’s waves took him to the beach of the island and there start another survivor story for Rainsford. General Zaroff refused him to be the hunted after he used to be the hunter. After a nice night, Rainsford had spent it
He does not agree to keep quiet about what he has been told and things he has seen on Ship Trap Island (Connell 37). What happens on the island is wrong. General Zaroff, the owner of the island does not have the same beliefs as Rainsford. At that moment, he clearly tells General Zaroff that hunting men is not okay (Connell 35). No matter how boring hunting animals is, it is not okay to kill humans for a
In The Most Dangerous Game, Richard Connell suggests that the hunter is not that different from the hunted when the big game hunter Rainsford becomes general Zaroff’s prey. Rainsford believes that hunting is a game because he doesn’t value the lives of the animals he hunts. When conversing with his hunting companion Whitney, Rainsford presents his view of the subject by stating that, ”You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?”(92). Contradicting his superior’s opinion, Whitney suggests that “they understand one thing—fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death.
Another example of his likeable character and will to conserve his standards is right before the hunt begins. Since he is not willing to hunt humans, the general decides that he will hunt Rainsford! The only rule is that if he survives for more than three days, and beat the general's challenge, he is not aloud to tell any one about the island and what happened there. To this Raindsford responds, "'I will agree to nothing of the kind'" (6). This again shows Rainsfords abundance of character and hero like morals that make a very likeable
(He is the one who killed all of those animals). On his island, where he hunts humans, the General has never lost to his own game of ‘survival’. Which means he eventually killed all of the contestants, (captured men who come to the island) or they die on their own. As well as the General , Rainsford too is a great survivor with the same characteristic as General Zaroff.
Rainsford being the brilliant hunter he is, knew that “he could do one of two things. He could stay where he was and wait. That was suicide. He could flee. That was postponing the inevitable…
In the short story The Most Dangerous Game, the author Richard Connell shows that Rainsford needs control of his emotions, patience , and expert hunting and decision making skills in order to defeat Zaroff. Rainsford needs to gain control of his emotions to outthink Zaroff, who symbolizes Rainsfords "steep hill". When he finds that he is going to be hunted his natural instinct is to run and panic, but then he stops to look around and get a grip on the task at hand. Then at a critical moment when Zaroff finds him in a tree, Rainsford panics again because he realizes Zaroff is on his trail and is toying with him. Once again, he gains control of his emotions and formulates a plan.
Everyone has to overcome adversity in their life. In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” the main character, Rainsford, fell of his boat at night time On the Island, Rainsford finds a home where General Zaroff lives. The problem is that the only way he can leave the island is if he survives a “game”. Where General Zaroff is hunting him. So Rainsford has to survive for three days.
He had to fight himself to stay on track. He was so scared in the jungle while the General was trying to hunt him. On page 186, it says “He could not say where he was. That was suicide.” This shows the reader that Rainsford may be thinking of what could go wrong, and is not thinking on the positive side of things.
When he washes ashore on Ship-Trap Island and meets the general, they get into a discussion about big-game hunting. Realizing that the general’s big-game hunting is hunting for humans, Rainsford’s reaction is one of shock and disbelief. He responds to the general’s statements saying, “I can’t believe you are serious . . . This is a grisly joke . . . Hunting?
Finally, when Rainsford has learned of the general’s “game” and his current setting creates a sense of helplessness or powerlessness. The night before he is hunted, Rainsford states, “Once he thought he heard stealthy steps in the corridor outside his room. He sought to throw open the door; it would not open. He went to the window and looked
In Richard Connell's short story"The Most Dangerous Game," the protagonist Sanger Rainsford is selfish, unsympathetic, and cruel. In the beginning, Rainsford talks to Whitney about the prey’s, in this case, the animal's perspective while being hunted, like how they feel. Rainsford and Whitney butt heads. Rainsford’s philosophy is much like Zaroff's. Rainsford disagrees with Whitney, who believes that animals can comprehend the fear of pain and death.
When Zaroff mentions the fact of a sailor losing his head during the hunt, Rainsford wants to leave immediately but has no choice; he has to stay. Rainsford doesn’t feel like he can trust the General and doesn’t want to agree to take part in the hunting. Rainsford believes that Zaroff can’t be trusted, “Oh, you can trust me, said the Cossack. I will give you my word as a gentleman and a sportsman. Of course you, in turn, must agree to say nothing of your visit here.
These reasons are why I believe that Rainsford’s ability to reason is a very important and helpful characteristic and it played a very important role in his survival on Ship Trap