The main character in the Most Dangerous Game, Rainsford, endured numerous troublesome trials. The last trial he endured, in my opinion, was the hardest; giving him the chance to attack and kill Zaroff right then and there, instead choosing not to take advantage of the situation. Ultimately, he confronted and challenged him to a fair and even sword fight, the winner getting to keep Zaroff 's home while the loser was fed to the dogs. This act shows a great deal of Rainsford 's character and personality, proving to be a man of honor and fairness, with respect in this scenario. Rainsford allowed an even fight to take place, and as a result, for his actions, he won while Zaroff received what he truly deserved.
He is greeted by a man named General Zaroff. A hunter like him but something is off about him. He hunts Humans. The only animal that can reason. Rainsford is in a terrible situation.
Rainsford is initially shown to not show any empathy to the wild animals he hunts. Zaroff is no different, with him declaring, “I hunt the scum of the earth: sailors from tramp ships--lassars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels,” (9). Zaroff hunts humans who have the unfortunate luck to arrive on Ship-Trap Island. Zaroff gives no second thought about hunting humans because he finds them to be the perfect sport to hunt, and finds pleasure in hunting them. In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the protagonist, Sanger Rainsford, and the antagonist, General Zaroff, are similar characters.
Everyday people make decisions, some are made during life or death situations. Not everyone has to go to through a circumstance that is life or death, but some people do. Richard Connell once composed a fictional short story about a life or death situation. 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. Nevertheless he made it through these challenges, but he also learned a few life lessons while doing so.
In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” , Rainsford is the positive force in a classic good vs. evil showdown against a psychopathic man-hunter. For example, Rainsford non - evilness is displayed when he declines General Zaroff’s “ We will hunt - you and I,” (10). This is substantial evidence towards Rainsford morals and integrity as a human. Based on the short story, a good and decent person would not want to hunt someone, it is an act of cold blood.
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff. Rainsford is a hunter who fell off a boat in the middle of no where. As he gets to land he runs into several obstacle courses, then gets to this big house and meets General Zaroff. General Zaroff also hunts, just not animals. He hunts something more dangerous such as humans who boats crashed like Rainsford.
Most people when they hear “The Most Dangerous Game” they think of bull riding or other dangerous games that don’t involve death. “The Most Dangerous Game” is a suspenseful cliff hanging story that follows the days of a castaway on the island of a crazed hunter. Rainsford is a big game hunter who falls off a boat near the island of General Zaroff, a big Cossack general who is looking for an alternative to hunting dangerous animals but with a twist. Throughout “The Dangerous Game” Rainsford and General Zaroff both show examples of IRony and exert arrogance.
Also, General Zaroff is an extreme hunter and doesn’t find pleasure in hunting regular animals. Zaroff says the most dangerous game is humans because they have the ability to reason. Rainsford is going to be hunted and is given a certain amount of time to survive. Moreover, while Rainsford is being hunted Zaroff
This means that the General is talking about hunting men, because no animal can reason but man-kind. Rainsford then
General Zaroff is different, to say the least, in Richard Connell’s book, “The Most Dangerous Game.” Rainsford is stranded on a deserted island, or so he thinks. Rainsford comes upon a mansion that is owned by General Zaroff. He knows of Rainsford, who is a renowned author of a book about the hunt, as well as everything and everywhere Rainsford has hunted. General Zaroff is also a hunter, but he goes to the extreme.
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.
Firstly, in the story The Most Dangerous Game, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff because on the island the only way to live is if the stranded people hunt or the stranded will in contrast become the ones being hunted. In the beginning of the story Rainsford is talking to Whitney about jaguars. Whitney is stating that the jaguars must feel some sort of feeling like fear or terror but in contrast Rainsford states that the jaguars have no understanding of feelings. Then Rainsford is put on a island where he symbolically represents the jaguar and General Zaroff would symbolically represent the hunter.
There are several conflicts in “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell; while person versus person is the most obvious, person versus self and person versus nature are also present. For example, the “jagged crags” upon which Rainsford lands scratch his hands until they are raw, and when Rainsford is trying to survive the hunt, nature once again acts as an obstacle. The muck is like “ a giant leech” and the insects “[bite] him savagely” through the dense vegetation. On the other hand, Rainsford faces an internal dilemma when he is talking to Zaroff about hunting humans for sport: while Rainsford is shocked by the proposition, he feels no revulsion, no disgust. Therefore, because Rainsford does not seem to have an internal aversion to Zaroff’s proposal, that causes a quandary - his lack of moral dilemma in this situation is a dilemma in itself.
"‘But no animal can reason’ objected Rainsford. ‘My dear fellow,’ said the general, ‘there is one that can.’ ‘But you can't mean--’ gasped Rainsford”(Connell, Paragraph 106-108) He knows that General Zaroff is about to hunt him. When General Zaroff asks Rainsford to “play the game” he immediately reverts to himself as a soldier in World War One, in the sense that he knows he has to fight even if he doesn’t want to.
In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” Sanger Rainsford is forced to test his survival skills while he is intensely hunted by an experienced war general named General Zaroff. In this story, Rainsford exhibits some very helpful characteristics like his resourcefulness, his strategic planning, and his ability to reason. As a result of Rainsford’s questioning the validity of General Zaroff’s hunting methods, he ended up playing in the game. Although I believe Rainsford is a very helpful, interesting, and dynamic character, at the end of the story, he must give up his own personal morals to win the game.
