The+Most+Dangerous+Game

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: The Most Dangerous Game

Point of View: Third person - omniscient

Protagonist: Rainsford

What type of character is the Protagonist? He is round because he is very developed and we know a lot about his personality. He is dynamic because he changes a lot. At first, he said that he was the hunter, and in the end, he called himself a beast.

Antagonist: General Zaroff

Describe the setting: The place where the story takes place is on an island, in the Caribbean Sea. The time period it is in is around the 1930’s. The reason why I think that is because in the story, Rainsford mentioned that he just fought in WWI, which ended in 1918, but he had enough time to write a few books, which would take awhile.

Type of Conflict: Man vs. Man

Describe the main conflict: The main conflict is when Rainsford goes into the forrest and plays the game with General Zaroff, to win his way back to freedom.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is when the general finds Rainsford in the tree, but doesn’t kill him. Instead he smiles, and walks away. The turning point of the story is when Rainsford really starts feeling fear, and decides to put all he has into winning the game.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? He changes a lot in the story. At first, Rainsford has no respect for his game, and in the end, he finds new respect for himself, and for the game.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The theme is that the hunter can always be caught in a situation where he is the hunted. It is also, kind of about power, and the abuse of it. General Zaroff wants to hunt humans, not only because he is bored from hunting animals, it is because the sense of power that he got from looking at all the animal heads on his wall was overwhelming to him, and he wanted to take advantage if it. The title is related to the theme because the most dangerous game means that the game is human, which was Rainford when, before, he was the hunter.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict really helps illustrates the theme because it is basically the hunter being hunted, which proves and helps the reader get a better picture of the theme.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax illustrates the theme because, it’s when Rainsford realizes that he is really in danger, and that is related to the theme of the hunter (Rainsford) being hunted.

Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

Simile: “The Sea was as flat as a plate-glass window.”

Metaphor: “…evil is a tangible thing…” “… as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea…”

Personification: “…through the dank tropical night that was palpable as it pressed its thick warm blackness in upon the yacht.”

Symbol: “Where there are pistol shots, there are men.” The shots that he heard, represented that humans were on the island

Foreshadowing (give both elements): “The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are hunters. “ This foreshadows that Rainsford might become the huntee, which does end up happening.

Irony: “… but he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. A simple fellow, but, I’m afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage.” “Is he Russian?” “He is a Cossack,” said the general, and his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth. “So am I.” This is verbal irony because he just basically called himself savage, and simple-minded.

Imagery: ”Jagged crags appeared to jut into the opaqueness; he forced himself upward, hand over hangd. Gasping, his hands raw, he reached a flat place at the top. Dense jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs. What perils that tangle of trees and under-brush might hold for him did not concern Rainsford just then.”

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. The class theme is choices, and the theme of the story is that the hunter, who does not suspect anything, might become the huntee. Choices and the theme of the story are related because choices sometimes effect the situation that the hunter is in, to make him the huntee. For example: in the story, General Zaroff might not have made him the huntee, if he had kept his opinions and disgust to himself. By choosing to not think about how big of a situation he is in, he chose to not think, and express his opinions, which qualified him, in General Zaroff’s mind to be an equal and challenging huntee.

 Completion 5/5  Effort 4.5/5  Content 4.5/5  total 14/15

QUESTIONS: Answer the following questions. /32

1. What is meant by “He lived a year in a minute”? 1/2 It means that the minute felt like a year to him. It can also mean that he did many things in that minute.

2. What is meant by “I am still a beast at bay”? 2/2 The phrase “A beast at bay” is sometimes used to describe an animal that is being hunted, but not yet cornered or faced with death. When he says that, in the story, he means that the game is still not over yet, which indicates him wanting to fight to the death.

3. In which sea has Connell set Ship-Trap island? 1/1 The Caribbean Sea

4. How is Zaroff able to finance his life style? /2/2 He invested heavily in American securities. He also had a lot of power because he was a general.

5. If Rainsford wins the hunt, what does Zaroff promise him? 1/ Zarroff said that he would “cheerfully acknowledge himself defeated” and promised Rainsford that he would be placed on a mainland, near town.

6. What happened to Lazarus?2 /2 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">General Zarroff was telling Rainsford the story of when one guy got stuck in the quicksand, but his hound, Lazarus followed, and died too.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">7. Where does Rainsford spend the first night of his hunt? 1/1 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">In a tree.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">8. How many acres did Zaroff’s father have in the Crimea? 1/1 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">A quarter of a million acres.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">9. Why does Zarroff suggest Rainsford wear moccasins? 1/1 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">He recommends him to wear moccasins because they leave a less detectable trail.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">10. What caused Rainsford to believe Zaroff knew he was hiding in the tree? Do you think he was right? Give reasons. 3/3 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">Studied the ground for a long time, and then smiled and left. I do think that Rainsford’s guess was right. One reason that I do is because Zaroff wanted to prolong the game. He also left just to scare Rainsford and make him realize how much danger he is in. Another reason why he knows that Rainsford is int the tree is because it said in the story that he looked everywhere around him, but actually at him, like he was avoiding him on purpose.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">11. How does Zaroff stock his island with “game”? 1/2 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">He traps sailor <span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">s form <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"> sea and keeps them in his cellar, well fed and prepared until their game begins.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">12. What happened to General Zaroff at the end of the story? 1/2 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">The author implies that Rainsford kills him.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">13. Inspite of being hurt, Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on his “Malay mancatcher,” why? 2/2 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">He does because he is genuinely impressed, and also to show that he is not scared or intimidated in any way.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">14. How do we know Rainsford is an exceptionally fit man? 2/2 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">He climbed the tree at the beginning, built 3 traps, and swam all the way to Zaroff’s house.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">15. Discuss the state of mind of Rainsford before he lands on the island versus that after he meets the General. What is different? (Especially about how he perceives animal feelings.)5/5 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">Before he landed on the island, Rainsford had no respect for the animals he hunted, and said: “Who cares how a jaguar feels?” He also doesn’t believe that the animal that he is hunting feels fear of pain or death. In the beginning, he called himself the hunter. During the game, when he is the hunted, he realized the true meaning of fear for pain and death, that he never would have realized, if he was not in a situation like that one. In the end of the story, he called himself a beast, which is very ironic because in the beginning, he called himself the hunter. Rainsford changed his whole outlook on the hunters and the hunted.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">16. How does Connell inspire fear without obvious bloodshed/grotesqueness. 3/3 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">During the game, he did not describe the scenes where someone got killed, he only hinted about it, and kind of left the reader to interpret the meaning of the words. Also, there isn’t a scene where the two actually had physical contact, even during the whole game, and Connell uses a lot of vivid description when he was talking about Rainsford’s feelings, which made the reader feel those too. In the end, Connell leaves us as readers to interpret that however we want without a real definite ending.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">total 29/32 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"> by lindsay manmeet emily