Mood In The Most Dangerous Game By Richard Connell

Suspense is defined as the author withholding information or when the unexpected happens, leaving you guessing and wanting more. In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, he has inserted much suspense in this short (long) story, for the reason that it makes the reader want to know more and having to mindset of excitement or surprise. Another reason he added many suspense is so that it wouldn’t be so blunt, it wouldn’t just tell us what happened it would give us details and how he got or how he did that and more.

Hunting big game animals for sport was a popular pastime with the wealthy classes following World War I. The morality of killing for sport was not questioned in reality, but in this short story the author does question it by taking it a step further and having the protagonist, Sangor Rainsford, hunted by the antagonist, General Zaroff.In a short story full of irony, one of the greatest ironies of Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” is that General Zaroff repeatedly tells Rainsford that he maintains a sense of civilization on his island.

Dinner time on the island and Ivan has a table full of the most delightful looking

Within the first three lines Richard Connell uses foreshadowing. He does this by having Sanger Rainsford quote, “They call it Ship-Trap Island…A suggestive name…Sailors have a curious dread of the place” (Connell 27). When Sanger Rainsford stated that, I had a feeling that part of the story would take place there. To be honest Connell really couldn't have made the name of the island any more conspicuous than that, it was almost like he was stating a fact. Even past the beginning of the story Connell continues to use foreshadowing as his go to rhetorical device.

The tone of a story, poem or novel is the way the author wants the reader to feel. Most people get the word mood and tone confused with each other, but the mood is the way the reader feels about the story, poem, or novel. In the novel the author’s tone is both suspenseful and sympathetic. For instance, it is suspenseful because Estrella wants to know what the chest filled with steel is for. Also, it is sympathetic because Estrella was being bullied by teachers and she did not realize it was happening until something hurt her feelings.

Mood is an important element in all stories, because it decides how the reader feels for the rest of the story. There are different ways for an author to create mood, some of which impact first impressions like characterization and foreshadowing, but some take place in the moment like conflict. In the story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, Richard Connell uses the literary techniques foreshadowing, characterization, and conflict to create suspense.

Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous explains multiple theories, such as nature versus nurture, and survival of the fittest. This short story also seems to have an underlying theme of Social Darwinism (Of Two Classes). Throughout the entirety of the short story, Connell shows a character change of a main character, Rainsford, who is at a constant battle with General Zaroff, the antagonist. This character change shows the importance of the mindset of characters, and how it can be applied to everyday life.

Mood is referred to as the atmosphere of a literary piece, as it creates an emotional setting that surrounds the reader's. Craig Silvey uses several types of language in his novel, Jasper Jones to achieve an effect in the readers mind. The mood is moulded and changed to shape the audience response to the ideas and perspective he is trying to reveal. The construction of mood can be from several different techniques: description, author’s attitude, character’s thoughts and/or feels, syntax, etc. A mood that is often repeated in Japer Jones is suspense and intrigue. The narrative is based around the idea that Charlie and Jasper at any moment could be caught by the authorities because they know where Laura Wishart’s body is. This mood brings the

“... A hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too far and lost his balance … he struggled up to the surface and cried out, but the wash from the speeding yacht slapped him in the face.”What did you feel there. Were you scared as he fell off the boat into the water? You may have felt this way because of the mood. In the story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the mood changes a lot. It goes from a pitch black night falling off a yacht, to a sunny afternoon walk on the beach, then after that a whole other mess of things. All these things make you feel different because of mood. Mood sets the tone through characters, the places they go, and the things they experience.

Have you ever been hunted down by a psychopath war general, rabid pack of dogs, and a giant mute knouter named Ivan, and escaped? “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell, is about a man named Rainsford who gets stranded on an island with an insane head honcho on a small, isolated island in the Caribbean sea. Behind every work of literature, are literary elements that make it successful. “The Most Dangerous Game” is successful due to descriptive imagery, suspenseful plot, and ability to get to the point.

For example, “They were out in the field as soon as breakfast was over, and southern Illinois at that hour was pink with sunrise and swelling redbud and clusters of bloom over the apple orchard across the road”(7). As the setting is described it creates a warm feeling that makes the readers feel enchanted and lighthearted. The author also allows the readers to feel peaceful and content. Mood is also used to enhance the story by creating an atmosphere that allows readers to feel different emotions and feelings. “If someone had asked Jethro to name a time when he left childhood behind him, he might have named that last week of March in 1862”(92). This gives the readers feelings of sorrow and anger. The atmosphere is used to bring the reader into the novel by allowing them to feel powerful and remorse for the characters. As a result, the mood creates a flood of emotions that helps bring the story to life through the setting and

For example, the author narrates, “He moped through the whole day at school. He couldn’t answer any questions nor read any words. He couldn’t even tell anyone the pony was sick, for that might make him sicker. And when school was finally out he started home in dread” (26). This demonstrates how helpless Jody felt during his pony’s sickness. Also, the text implies that the tone is meant to be depressing since the author uses pessimistic writing while describing Jody’s day at school. Furthermore, Steinbeck narrates, “Below, in one of the little clearings in the brush lay the red pony. In the distance, Jody could see the legs moving slowly and compulsively. And in a circle around him stood the buzzards, waiting for the moment of death they know so well” (35). This shows the suspenseful moment when Jody spots the pony just as it is about to die. Also, the reader can predict the emotions that are stirring inside Jody at the moment as he witnesses his first pony succumb. To sum up, the suspenseful and depressing tones contribute to making the story more enjoyable as well as much more

Connell utilizes the strength of the story by combining the setting with mood to observe the reaction of the characters when the environment around them changes. For example, as the "poisonous [air]'; engulfs the yacht, it gives Whitney "a mental chill; a sort of sudden dread'; as Rainsford and him sail precariously towards the island (62). Whitney, frightened by the grim nature around him, feels like a wounded bird fighting for its life among the hungry predators hiding in the unknown. The shroud of darkness completely surrounds not only Whitney, but the entire yacht which leaves him in a state of anxiety because of what lies in cover amid the dreadful island. Furthermore, as the eyes of Zaroff scatter over the island, searching for Rainsford, "Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed'; afraid that the eyes will see (73). With shelter high above in the trees, away from Zaroff, Rainsford awaits for the perfect moment where he will jump down from among the sky and pounce on Zaroff like a leopard killing its prey. Consequently, while Rainsford keeps repeating the moment of victory inside his mind; the self-confidence, overflowing out of his veins, develops into uncertainty. Since Zaroff possesses the island and with his military expertise, scouts the island for any advantages in hunt; Rainsford fears that Zaroff will counter the surprise attack and kill him, making the hunter become the prey. When Connell interweaves setting into mood, the method he uses touches

In “The Most Dangerous Game”, author Richard Connell uses a variety of literary device to depict the theme. He uses the main character, Rainsford, to be the character which unfolds the theme as he goes through the experience of being treated like a wild animal and becoming the prey of another human for sport. Connell uses three literary devices frequently including foreshadowing, irony and symbolism in order to support the main theme, put yourself in the shoes of the animals you hunt.

In the short story Connell writes that “‘sailors have a curious dread about the place”’ (Connell, 39). This shows foreshadowing because if the name did not already show it, even the sailors were scared of the island. It also stated that everything was “‘ like moist black velvet”’ (Connell, 40). Showing that whatever happened to the character, he would have never been able to make out anything since it was pitch dark outside, foretelling that when something happens to the character he will not be able to get back to the boat.