Character and Theme in The Most Dangerous Game
Character and Theme in The Most Dangerous Game
Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche. In The Most Dangerous Game, three characters, Zaroff, Rainsford and Whitney correspond respectively to id, ego and super-ego. What’s more, these characters also correspond to three parts of the theme.
It's likely that the latter part of the novel is Rainsford’s dream. For one thing, we can see that the narrative style before and after Rainsford’s drowning is entirely different. The former part of the novel mainly describes the dialogue between Whitney and Rainsford, placid and realistic, while the latter part of the novel portrays a horrible and unthinkable game between Rainsford and Zaroff. In addition, before Rainsford falling into the water, there was no sound in the night ... but the muffled throb of the engine that drove the yacht swiftly through the darkness, and the swish and ripple of the wash of the propeller. Rainsford, reclining in a steamer chair, indolently puffed on his favorite brier. The scene is so peaceful and cozy that we can infer Rainsford has been asleep. For another thing, other parts of this novel also reflects that it may be a dream. For instance, the end of the story, “He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.” , may be a hint of dream.
As a result, in the dream, Rainsford shows his subconsciousness and his instinct, splitting his personality into Zaroff while in the reality, Rainsford shows his consciousness and his reason, splitting his personality into Whitney. As for Rainsford himself, he shows his preconsciousness, acting between reality and dream.
Zaroff is the id part of Rainsford’s personality. Based on Freud’s theory, the id is the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives, operating according to the pleasure principle. In the novel, Zaroff just perform as a beast with
Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche. In The Most Dangerous Game, three characters, Zaroff, Rainsford and Whitney correspond respectively to id, ego and super-ego. What’s more, these characters also correspond to three parts of the theme.
It's likely that the latter part of the novel is Rainsford’s dream. For one thing, we can see that the narrative style before and after Rainsford’s drowning is entirely different. The former part of the novel mainly describes the dialogue between Whitney and Rainsford, placid and realistic, while the latter part of the novel portrays a horrible and unthinkable game between Rainsford and Zaroff. In addition, before Rainsford falling into the water, there was no sound in the night ... but the muffled throb of the engine that drove the yacht swiftly through the darkness, and the swish and ripple of the wash of the propeller. Rainsford, reclining in a steamer chair, indolently puffed on his favorite brier. The scene is so peaceful and cozy that we can infer Rainsford has been asleep. For another thing, other parts of this novel also reflects that it may be a dream. For instance, the end of the story, “He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.” , may be a hint of dream.
As a result, in the dream, Rainsford shows his subconsciousness and his instinct, splitting his personality into Zaroff while in the reality, Rainsford shows his consciousness and his reason, splitting his personality into Whitney. As for Rainsford himself, he shows his preconsciousness, acting between reality and dream.
Zaroff is the id part of Rainsford’s personality. Based on Freud’s theory, the id is the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives, operating according to the pleasure principle. In the novel, Zaroff just perform as a beast with