Literary Analysis for the Most Dangerous Game

In “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell, the author uses conflicts, imagery, and a tenacious theme to add to the plot of the story. “The Most Dangerous Game” is a story about a man names Rainsford and his struggle to defeat a hunting game against the antagonist, General Zaroff. Rainsford had fallen off a yacht in the Caribbean Sea and swam up onto the beach of a mysterious island. He found his way to a home belonging to a man named General Zaroff. After meeting the General and his servant, Ivan, they begin the hunt and Rainsford realizes how uncivilized the General really is. Rainsford finally understands how the animals he hunts feel when realizes that General Zaroff is hunting him, not any animals. In the end, Rainsford survives the three days and comes back to get his revenge on General Zaroff. To begin, there is one main conflict and a few minor conflicts throughout the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game.”A conflict is a struggle or clash between opposing characters or opposing forces. The main conflict throughout this short story is that Rainsford is struggling to save his life. He realizes the General’s goal is to hunt him, and he has to think of strategies to escape the General’s boorish game. General Zaroff says, “It’s a game you see. I suggest to one of them that we go hunting. I give him a supply of food and an excellent hunting knife. I give him three hours’ start. I am to follow, armed only with a pistol of the smallest caliber and range. If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. If I find him…he loses.”(16) Another conflict in the exposition of the story was when Rainsford fell off the yacht. He was left stranded in the ocean as the waves were crashing over him. The author’s conflicts in “The Most Dangerous Game” help add to the suspense of Rainsford’s experience. Secondly, the author of “The Most Dangerous Game” uses imagery to describe things such as the characters and the actions in this story. Imagery is language that appeals to the senses. It is used in this story when Rainsford first sees General Zaroff. He describes the general’s looks which makes the reader visualize what he looks like through the eyes of Rainsford. In the story the narrator states, “Rainsford’s first impression was that the man was singularly handsome; his second was that there was an original, almost bizarre quality about the general’s face. He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military moustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come…”(9) Another place imagery is used is when Rainsford knew that the general was getting close to his next location. The narrator says, “Then he felt an impulse to cry aloud with joy, for he heard the sharp crackle of the breaking branches as the cover of the pit gave way; he heard the sharp scream of pain as the pointed stakes found their mark.” The author’s use of imagery in “The Most Dangerous Game” helps the reader better understand the setting and events throughout the story. Lastly, the author uses a theme to show the reader what the character has learned from their experiences throughout the story. The theme is the central idea of a work of literature. The theme of this short story is that you should understand other people, or creature’s perspectives. Rainsford finally gets the chance to understand what it would be like to be an animal that is being hunted. In the beginning of the story Rainsford tells Whitney, “The world is made up of two classes – the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are hunters.”( ) This tells us that Rainsford doesn’t think much about the huntee’s feelings until he is being put in their position when he is stuck on the island. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell, the author uses conflicts, imagery, and a tenacious theme to add to the plot of the story. The conflicts through the story help build suspense and it leaves the reader eager to continue reading to find out what happens to the character next. The author used imagery very often because it helped the reader better understand the details of the setting and events that were taking place. The theme of understanding other people’s perspectives was implied during the short story because Rainsford is no longer the hunter; he becomes the huntee. This was a very eventful story that the author wrote to explain the importance of understanding everyone’s perspectives. The conflicts in the story were written very detailed which helped the reader visualize the action that took place. The use of imagery was helpful as the reader was getting a feel for the characters and their personalities. The author’s style of writing keeps the reader interested and makes for an entertaining story.