What makes a good story? Does it have to be suspenseful? What about emotional? Or perhaps the thing that makes a good story is the characters. Any story that ever hopes to be considered “great” must have great characters. Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” has just that, but what’s more, his characters change. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford completely changes his personality about hunting. To begin , at the start of the story, Rainsford doesn’t care in the slightest how the animal being hunted feels. This is evident as Rainsford is on his yacht and talking to his friend, Whitney. He makes a remark there that blatantly says how he feels about the animals being hunted. “Don’t talk rot, Whitney… you’re a big game hunter, not a philosopher.
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The first example of this is when Rainford begins to flee from the evil General Zaroff, who is set on tracking down Rainsford in the jungle and killing him. Rainsford begins to plan how he will survive for three days without the General seeing him, therefore killing him in his “Dangerous Game.” Rainsford chants to himself, “‘I must keep my nerve, I must keep my nerve,’ he said through tight teeth… he saw that straight flight was futile.” (230). Connell makes it clear by saying this that Rainsford has begun to become animalistic. From here on, Rainsford’s mind and thoughts begin to marph into much more of an animal’s mind and thoughts. The way that he Connell writes that Rainsford must keep his nerve explains to the reader that he is scared, just as a jaguar is while it’s being hunted. Now, Rainsford has just injured General Zaroff by using a Malay Man-Catcher. After which, the General informed Rainsford he was going to dress his wounds. To which connell writes, “... Rainsford took up his flight again. It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight that carried him on for some hours.” (232). The way that Connell writes and describes this passage with the word choice he uses makes Rainsford seem even more a fearful animal. Taking up flight refers to how scared prey would try to elude its predator. Rainsford is clearly changing …show more content…
Connell introduces the alteration in Rainsford when he had just climbed into the General’s private quarters. Rainsford informs the General that, “I am still a beast at bay, get ready General Zaroff.” (236). With this statement, the reader fully understands the transformation within Rainsford’s character. In the beginning of the story, Rainsford had no regard for any sort of animal; he went so far as to say that they needed to be hunted. Now, Rainsford has claimed to have become an animal. The cherry on top that seals the deal showing that Rainsford has 100% changed when the general says basically “Fight to the death, the winner gets the bed.” The sentence that followed was “He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.” (236). This just completed the transformation between human and animal because Rainsford just killed for his survival. And that is a very animalistic trait. Over time in Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford's character completely changes. In the beginning, Rainsford believes animals have no feelings; the deserve to be hunted. During the middle of the story, though, Rainsford begins to see how the jaguar feels and that it is no laughing matter to be running to save your life. At the end of Connell’s short story, the reader sees how Rainsford thinks of himself - a wild beast. Clearly, with amazing characters, an amazing story
The first example of this is when Rainford begins to flee from the evil General Zaroff, who is set on tracking down Rainsford in the jungle and killing him. Rainsford begins to plan how he will survive for three days without the General seeing him, therefore killing him in his “Dangerous Game.” Rainsford chants to himself, “‘I must keep my nerve, I must keep my nerve,’ he said through tight teeth… he saw that straight flight was futile.” (230). Connell makes it clear by saying this that Rainsford has begun to become animalistic. From here on, Rainsford’s mind and thoughts begin to marph into much more of an animal’s mind and thoughts. The way that he Connell writes that Rainsford must keep his nerve explains to the reader that he is scared, just as a jaguar is while it’s being hunted. Now, Rainsford has just injured General Zaroff by using a Malay Man-Catcher. After which, the General informed Rainsford he was going to dress his wounds. To which connell writes, “... Rainsford took up his flight again. It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight that carried him on for some hours.” (232). The way that Connell writes and describes this passage with the word choice he uses makes Rainsford seem even more a fearful animal. Taking up flight refers to how scared prey would try to elude its predator. Rainsford is clearly changing …show more content…
Connell introduces the alteration in Rainsford when he had just climbed into the General’s private quarters. Rainsford informs the General that, “I am still a beast at bay, get ready General Zaroff.” (236). With this statement, the reader fully understands the transformation within Rainsford’s character. In the beginning of the story, Rainsford had no regard for any sort of animal; he went so far as to say that they needed to be hunted. Now, Rainsford has claimed to have become an animal. The cherry on top that seals the deal showing that Rainsford has 100% changed when the general says basically “Fight to the death, the winner gets the bed.” The sentence that followed was “He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.” (236). This just completed the transformation between human and animal because Rainsford just killed for his survival. And that is a very animalistic trait. Over time in Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford's character completely changes. In the beginning, Rainsford believes animals have no feelings; the deserve to be hunted. During the middle of the story, though, Rainsford begins to see how the jaguar feels and that it is no laughing matter to be running to save your life. At the end of Connell’s short story, the reader sees how Rainsford thinks of himself - a wild beast. Clearly, with amazing characters, an amazing story