most dangerous game persuasive
Jane Doe
Honors English 9
September 22, 2011
If you could get away with repeatedly murdering innocent people, would you do it? In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” this is exactly what a malicious man named General Zaroff does up until he meets the courageous animal hunter named Rainsford. In the end, Ranford murdered the General out of fear, and the fact that he wanted to get off of Zaroff’s island for good. Rainsford murdered Zaroff because he was extremely frightened of being his next victim. For example, only about two hours after departing from Zaroff’s island mansion into the jungle, Rainsford was already repeating to himself, “I must keep my nerve. I must keep my nerve” (Connell 26). This shows that Rainsford was very nervous about the hunt, and he was trying to keep himself calm. The fact that Rainsford was nervous is important because if he kept himself on his toes, then it made him more alert and he had a better chance of defeating Zaroff. Also, just after the general sees him (but pretends that he doesn’t), Rainsford’s thoughts of Zaroff’s “playing with him” had sent “a shudder of cold horror through his whole being” (Connell 27). When Rainsford thought this, it demonstrates that he is still very fearful of dying, or just of Zaroff himself. That is important because it tells more about Rainsford; he will take things seriously and not try to just ignore the present situation. All in all, Zaroff was killed by Rainsford out of fear. A second reason why Rainsford would have annihilated Zaroff is because he wanted to escape the island forever. On the contrary, some people still might think that Rainsford would want to stay because in the very end, he slept in Zaroff’s bedroom and decided that “he had never slept in a better bed” (Connell 31). That tells that now Rainsford could possibly want to remain on the island and live out his life in Zaroff’s huge, comfortable, island mansion.
Honors English 9
September 22, 2011
If you could get away with repeatedly murdering innocent people, would you do it? In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” this is exactly what a malicious man named General Zaroff does up until he meets the courageous animal hunter named Rainsford. In the end, Ranford murdered the General out of fear, and the fact that he wanted to get off of Zaroff’s island for good. Rainsford murdered Zaroff because he was extremely frightened of being his next victim. For example, only about two hours after departing from Zaroff’s island mansion into the jungle, Rainsford was already repeating to himself, “I must keep my nerve. I must keep my nerve” (Connell 26). This shows that Rainsford was very nervous about the hunt, and he was trying to keep himself calm. The fact that Rainsford was nervous is important because if he kept himself on his toes, then it made him more alert and he had a better chance of defeating Zaroff. Also, just after the general sees him (but pretends that he doesn’t), Rainsford’s thoughts of Zaroff’s “playing with him” had sent “a shudder of cold horror through his whole being” (Connell 27). When Rainsford thought this, it demonstrates that he is still very fearful of dying, or just of Zaroff himself. That is important because it tells more about Rainsford; he will take things seriously and not try to just ignore the present situation. All in all, Zaroff was killed by Rainsford out of fear. A second reason why Rainsford would have annihilated Zaroff is because he wanted to escape the island forever. On the contrary, some people still might think that Rainsford would want to stay because in the very end, he slept in Zaroff’s bedroom and decided that “he had never slept in a better bed” (Connell 31). That tells that now Rainsford could possibly want to remain on the island and live out his life in Zaroff’s huge, comfortable, island mansion.