QUESTION 1
The term game serves a double meaning in Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game, it refers to the animals that are hunted and to the competition between General Zaroff and the hunted castoffs. The title suggest that the most dangerous game is an activity that involves challenges that test people’s strength, stamina and overall wit, “outdoor chess,” as General Zaroff describes it. However, throughout the story the word game is used as a substitute for prey; Zaroff regards human beings as the most dangerous game for they have the ability to reason and not just follow instinct alone. The irony behind the title propose that hunting humans is the most dangerous game and that people themselves are the most dangerous game to hunt in …show more content…
Zaroff is an intelligent and experienced hunter, even throughout the various traps Rainsford has set out to throw Zaroff off his trail, none of it works. Zaroff is too knowledgeable over the hunt. He states to Rainsford that he lives for the danger and adrenaline in pursuing an animal, and at long last he apprehended a creature that could match his wits. Hunting gained a new thrill to Zaroff for it now became a battle of human minds and will. His main goal is to find loopholes in his opponent’s plan and disprove their strategy. This new found mental stimulation of hunting humans is a good antidote for his boredom.
QUESTION 3
Connell’s detailed description of Zaroff’s cigarette smoke created a sense of impending doom through setting an anxious tone. By smoking a cigarette, Zaroff’s eerie calmness prolongs Rainsford’s inevitable capture through the following passage: “Then he straightened up and took from his case one of his black cigarettes; its pungent incenselike smoke floated up to Rainsford’s nostril. The general’s eye has left the ground and were travelling inch by inch up the tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring. But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limp where Rainsford …show more content…
He merely returns in an ironic twist to hunt his former tracker. At this point, Zaroff commends Rainsford for his triumph—" I congratulate you," Zaroff said. "You have won the game.” However, with Rainsford’s victory, all the rules change, he is no longer revoked from the island and transported back to the mainland; Rainsford now possesses the power, winning simple isn’t enough anymore. Throughout the game, Zaroff was playing for the sake of an amusing challenge, while Rainsford was playing for his life. He could have easily escaped the horrors of the island but instead Rainsford stayed seeking revenge. “He is still a beast at bay,” this statement indicated that Rainsford isn’t finish with the game, he appears to be following primitive instinct of fighting rather than fleeing. Through this act the crown has switched heads, Zaroff is the true victor in the game for he has found an opponent who has matched his wits and another individual who appreciates the thrill of his game. Therefore, by killing Zaroff, Zaroff passes his role to Rainsford, which makes him no better than the murder he has fed to the hounds. The closing line: “he had never slept in a better bed. Rainsford decided,” this not only implies who remains alive, but by sleeping in Zaroff’s bed, Rainsford is symbolically becoming the next general of the island. Rainsford slept soundly for man
The term game serves a double meaning in Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game, it refers to the animals that are hunted and to the competition between General Zaroff and the hunted castoffs. The title suggest that the most dangerous game is an activity that involves challenges that test people’s strength, stamina and overall wit, “outdoor chess,” as General Zaroff describes it. However, throughout the story the word game is used as a substitute for prey; Zaroff regards human beings as the most dangerous game for they have the ability to reason and not just follow instinct alone. The irony behind the title propose that hunting humans is the most dangerous game and that people themselves are the most dangerous game to hunt in …show more content…
Zaroff is an intelligent and experienced hunter, even throughout the various traps Rainsford has set out to throw Zaroff off his trail, none of it works. Zaroff is too knowledgeable over the hunt. He states to Rainsford that he lives for the danger and adrenaline in pursuing an animal, and at long last he apprehended a creature that could match his wits. Hunting gained a new thrill to Zaroff for it now became a battle of human minds and will. His main goal is to find loopholes in his opponent’s plan and disprove their strategy. This new found mental stimulation of hunting humans is a good antidote for his boredom.
QUESTION 3
Connell’s detailed description of Zaroff’s cigarette smoke created a sense of impending doom through setting an anxious tone. By smoking a cigarette, Zaroff’s eerie calmness prolongs Rainsford’s inevitable capture through the following passage: “Then he straightened up and took from his case one of his black cigarettes; its pungent incenselike smoke floated up to Rainsford’s nostril. The general’s eye has left the ground and were travelling inch by inch up the tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring. But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limp where Rainsford …show more content…
He merely returns in an ironic twist to hunt his former tracker. At this point, Zaroff commends Rainsford for his triumph—" I congratulate you," Zaroff said. "You have won the game.” However, with Rainsford’s victory, all the rules change, he is no longer revoked from the island and transported back to the mainland; Rainsford now possesses the power, winning simple isn’t enough anymore. Throughout the game, Zaroff was playing for the sake of an amusing challenge, while Rainsford was playing for his life. He could have easily escaped the horrors of the island but instead Rainsford stayed seeking revenge. “He is still a beast at bay,” this statement indicated that Rainsford isn’t finish with the game, he appears to be following primitive instinct of fighting rather than fleeing. Through this act the crown has switched heads, Zaroff is the true victor in the game for he has found an opponent who has matched his wits and another individual who appreciates the thrill of his game. Therefore, by killing Zaroff, Zaroff passes his role to Rainsford, which makes him no better than the murder he has fed to the hounds. The closing line: “he had never slept in a better bed. Rainsford decided,” this not only implies who remains alive, but by sleeping in Zaroff’s bed, Rainsford is symbolically becoming the next general of the island. Rainsford slept soundly for man