Sanger Rainsford In The Most Dangerous Game By Richard Connell

The harsh truth of island life reveals that Zaroff’s idea of civilization includes personal pleasure derived from murder .Zaroff explains his “game.” Zaroff has become bored with hunting because the animals do not provide a challenge for him, so hunts the only animal that can think and reason—man (Connell 74).He believes that he deserves the challenge, so it is morally right to hunt men. This is not civilized behavior. It is murder. He tries explains why it is right. “‘If I wish to hunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of the earth—[…]’”(Connell 75).Zaroff believes that his social status and wealth give him the right to kill those in lower classes. This

In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” written Richard Connell, the protagonist Sanger Rainsford is in a manhunt against General Zaroff. While in the hunt Rainsford outsmarts Zaroff three times. The first time he sets up a Malay Mancatcher trap and injured Zaroff. The second time he made a Burmese tiger pit and killed Zaroff’s best dog. He then also set up a trap that killed Zaroff’s soldier Ivan.

In the short story, Sanger Rainsford is a very brave since he accepted the challenge that Zaroff gave him, and if he failed he would be killed. Besides being brave, he is also quite smart and clever. In the story it states, “ He executed a series of intricate loops; he doubled on his trail again and again recalling all the lore of the fox hunt, and all the dodges of the fox” (Connell 18). In this section it describes how Rainsford is going to survive his first night. He is making a very tangled and confusing trail that has a lot of loops, and learned this from hunting a fox.

When contrasting to “The Most Dangerous Game”, General Zaroff hunts men like Rainsford for pleasure, not for revenge. Another conflict is how the main characters started out in the stories. “He lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too far and had lost his balance” (Connell 5). This citation was when Rainsford heard gunshots from afar. His curiosity got the better of him, so he went to check it out.

He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford said. The next morning the thought of killing someone kept on going through his head. Rainsford picked up Zaroff’s bloody body and dragged it outside. As he’s dragging it Rainsford takes it to the hounds and feeds the body to the hounds. Rainsford just stands still watching the hounds eat the body piece by piece All that's left is Zaroff’s mangled up body and Rainsford walks away like nothing happened.

General Zaroff is similar to Rainsford because they are both intelligent, and Zaroff shows this in the story because of his up-bringing and past experiences. This is seen in the story when it says “I, luckily, have invested in American Securities, so I shall never have to open a Tea room in Monte Carlo, or drive a taxi in Paris.” (Connel 48) This proves Zaroff is intelligent because he foresaw the downfall of the Russian economy, and heavily invested in said American Securities. However, Zaroff is different than Rainsford because he is powerful, which he shows when he explains his quarry to Rainsford. An example of this is seen in the story, which states “To date, I have not lost” … “The most elementary sort of problem” (Connel 50.)This proves Zaroff is powerful, because he fears nothing during the hunt. If anything, he thinks it gets quite boring. Zaroff is also different since he can be described as serious, because of his history with the hunt. In the text, this shown when it says “Hunting was beginning to get boring! And hunting, remember had been my life. I have heard that in America, business men often go to pieces…” (Connel ?) This proves Zaroff is about the hunt because it has sparked a new, welcoming,

Being lost in an island, hungry, and tired is not an everyday thing. So Rainsford being in that situation, had no other choice than except Zaroff’s generosity. Zaroff gave Rainsford clothes, food and, a place to sleep. Zaroff tells Rainsford to join him for dinner, and Rainsford went to the dinner room as told. Sitting down eating there meal. The two men’s starts a conversation and starts to talk about their lives. Zaroff learns a lot of things about Rainsford and so does Rainsford. Rainsford learns that Zaroff is a smart man and a hunter just like him, but Zaroff him hunting people is part of things that he hunts for. Zaroff on another hand learns that Rainsford is a pretty smart, educated man and lastly a hunter.4

Throughout this journal, Zaroff can be characterized as mysterious and evil. First off, Zaroff is mysterious. One way he is mysterious is that he knows Rainsford’s name and he read Rainsford’s hunting book. In the book it says, “I’ve read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet…” (Connell 3). This quote shows that Zaroff is interested in hunting dangerous animals and knows that Rainsford is good at hunting

Underestimation and cruel actions lead to many things. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” author Richard Connell reveals a conflict between the main characters, General Zaroff and Rainsford. Rainsford was to play the most dangerous game created by Zaroff, because the only way to survive, is to win it, otherwise death is the only other option. As demonstrated through the use of personification, symbolism, and repetition in the story, it conveys that one should understand to never underestimate another person and remember that there will always be a consequence for the wicked things that one has done.

Rainsford answers, “Yes, that’s so” (85). Rainsford could have taken a stand. Of course, it is not his place, but he was calm and composed to sit back and let Zaroff open up. ‘“Don’t be alarmed, I’m Sanger Rainsford” (47). Rainsford has a pistol pointed at his heart and he is telling this huge creation of a man that he is hungry. As much as he has been through in the past twenty-four hours, this did not alarm Rainsford. He presented himself as lost and from New York.

Rainsford woke up to the booming sinfony of dozens of hungry hunting hounds and a satisfied look soon materialized on his face. With a prolonged yawn, he rose sleepily from the luxurious bed to find the body of General Zaroff staring blankly at the ceiling. He was the hunter, his hunter, that he had just murdered. Rainsford realised he had finally and truly won the most dangerous game. He remembered what the Cossack had said before their fight, “One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed.” Rainsford silently walked over to the window and gazed down towards the dogs below. As if know what Rainsford was thinking, the hounds barked viciously at him, salivating at their mouths. He ceremoniously picked up the still body of General Zaroff and threw him out the window with a crash! He put a fresh pair of clothes on while listening to the now satisfied canines eat their meal. determined he needed to get

“The name is Sanger Rainsford. I was held captive by your father until I beat him at his own game. I’ve been stuck here ever since.” said Rainsford.

No family or friends of Zaroff are mentioned, and the only emotion he shows in the story is when his doorkeeper, Ivan, is killed by Rainsford. This seems to indicate that Zaroff has no emotional ties to anyone, and puts himself first (Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game).

In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” the author, Richard Connell, does an outstanding job of portraying the bizarre adventure of an insane, however experienced hunter, General Zaroff. The protagonist, Rainsford, another experienced hunter from New York City, appears on General Zaroff’s island, explores, and eventually encounters with Zaroff. They introduce themselves, settle down, and begin to talk. During the talk with the general, Rainsford soon learns that the General was not only a hunter; but a murderer as well. Zaroff has lured and ceased many sailors to his island to play a game. Although, they did not hunt with the General, the General hunted them! Zaroff claimed that hunting “had become too easy”, therefore, hunting began

The perplexing character seems like just an extreme hunter but figure out an alarming fact that he clearly is proud of, and doesn’t regret pursuing. General Zaroff redefines hunting when he restocks his island with a new type of life. The character General Zaroff, the disturbed antagonist from The Most Dangerous Game, portrays some prominent traits including an arrogance/cockiness, skillful, and insanity.