A Dangerous Game Conflict

The short story, ‘A Dangerous Game,’ brings out a cogent case of conflict among the two main characters in the story. It starts off with the narration of two sailors coming near an island that has gained much fame among seamen lore for its feared evils. While on board, Rainsford dismisses Whitney’s remarks regarding game hunting. Rainsford simply professes that the animals being hunted have no understanding and no one really cares about how they feel. He then comes across General Zaroff who is another accomplished hunter who apparently hunts fellow human beings for sport. Here, the first fundamental conflict is evidenced. Rainsford is great lover of hunting, but is unable to appreciate, accept and condone the type of hunting being perpetrated by Gen. Zaroff; even calling the general a murderer. The two believe that the world only has two types of people; hunters and hunter. Rainsford is however conflicted with the general’s extreme perception; holding that ‘The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure.’
Later on, Rainsford experiences the fear that he now able to understand as being similar to that the animals he hunts usually feel. This creates a major conflict in him. Eventually, he
manages to outrun the hunter and confronts the general in his own room and tells the general that he is still a beast at bay; implying that he had become the hunted, unlike his initial position. The major conflict is resolved through Rainsford consecutive triumphs over the general and Rainsford own enlightenment as regards the hunting of animals. From a personal point of view, the character that received my deepest sympathy is the animals (s) constantly hunted for sport from time immemorial. While most assume that such animals have no appreciation and understanding of the life they lead, it is only through experiences such as that of Rainsford that one is able to fully comprehend the animals’ plight. ‘The Destructor’ then comes in with its own on inferable conflict of a less serious nature when compared to the former.
The basic conflicts in this short story are those of leadership among the small group of pretend-gangsters, operations to run, unknown secrets of little detrimental effect and the limits of their acts. Much tension is built in the story through the gang’s decision to take on a mission which involved the damage and destruction of a building owned by an elderly fellow living next to the parking lot where the gang met. First, this undertaking has been proposed by T (Trevor) whose election as the leader did not settle well with Blackie who sought to undermine him and secondly, some of the gang members sought to call off the mission while
underway. Individually, the gang members are seen to have their own issues of conflict that they have to deal with. The first one is that of Mike, seeing that he is of the habit of being constantly surprised and opening his mouth but he has to fight this habit because of what he was told about a frog leaping into his mouth. Blackie is also torn apart between undermining the leadership of T since he always perceived himself the leader and accepting the wish of his fellow gang members who voted for T. similarly, T has issues with his family background and the apparent absurdity of a person with such a background being a gang. Just like in the earlier story, the conflicts in this story are fully resolved, with T using the initials to hide his background, Mike becoming more accustomed to the mouth-closing habit and Blackie appreciating T’s leadership. Of all these, Mike received my deepest sympathy because he is forced to change his very nature.