Rainsford In The Most Dangerous Game, By Richard Connel

For decades the idea of survival of the fittest has thrived in human culture. Countless works of literature have stemmed from the theory that the strongest are meant to inherit the Earth while the weak are meant to be left behind. The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connel, is a short story that focuses on a man named Rainsford who, at the start of the work, comes across as a flat character who believes that hunting is simply survival of the fittest and feels no remorse for the animal being hunted. As the story progresses however it becomes clear that Rainsford is a dynamic character whose life-like characteristics and understandable actions come together to create an overall successful persona. A dynamic character is defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary as a, “literary or dramatic character who undergoes an important innerchange, as a change in personality or attitude.” When The Most Dangerous Game first begins a …show more content…
“Who cares how a jaguar feels?” Rainsford replies in response to Whitney’s concern. “I rather think they understand one thing--fear” says Whitney, “the fear of pain and fear of death.” This answer is met with incredulity, “Be a realist [Whitney]. The world is made up of two classes-the hunter and the hunted. Luckily you and I are hunters.” This conversation introduces Rainsford as a flat character - a ruthless hunter; however it also foreshadows the transformation that will earn him the label of a dynamic character as he experiences the fear of being prey hunted by General Zaroff. “Rainsford, as he realizes that he will become a hunted animal, quite naturally reverses his previous stand, recognizing that the hunted can know fear.” (Three Short Stories for