The+Most+Dangerous+Game

**Short Stories - Literary Devises**

**Title:** The Most Dangerous Game

**Point of View:** Third Person, Limited Omniscient

**Protagonist:** Rainsford

**What type of character is the protagonist?** He is round and dynamic.

**Antagonist:** Zaroff

**Describe the setting:** This story takes place in the early 1900's as Zaroff talks about gaining money from the Russian Revolution. The story starts off on a yacht, then to in the ocean, and finally on a small island. Ship-Trap island in located in the Caribbean Sea, and is full of jungle animals, plants, and Zaroff and his prey. The mood and atmosphere starts off suspenseful as Rainsford tries to get to shore. When he arrives on the island, the mood turns curious, and during the hunt it is full of fear and anxiety.

**Type of Conflict:** The type of conflict is Man VS. Man.

**Describe the main conflict:** The main conflict is that Rainsford wants to get off of Ship-Trap island, but the only way to do that is to win General Zaroff's hunting game. Zaroff is an experienced hunter, and has never lost a hunt before, so Rainsford has the conflict of figuring out the way to escape.

**Describe the Climax of the Story:** The climax of the story is when Rainsford jumps out from behind the curtains of the bed and kills Zaroff. The climax is basically the last part of the story.

**How does the protagonist change over the course of the story?** Over the course of the story, Rainsford goes from being relaxed, to anxious, to completely scared. In the beginning he seems quite relaxed, then becomes scared and tired on his journey through the sea. On the island he seems frightened of the new surroundings, but when he finds Zaroff he is relieved. As he talks to Zaroff he starts to get more and more nervous, and then finally during the hunt he is in constant fear.

**Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.** The theme is that the hunter and the hunted both fear and react in dangerous situations. The Most Dangerous Game is about mesauring the value of life, whether you are an animal or a human. The title 'The Most Dangerous Game' relates to the theme by stating that the hunt is very dangerous because it is unpredictable and causes both of its players to fear.

**How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?** The main conflict helps to illustrate the theme by making Rainsford the huntee instead of the hunter and helps him realize what it's like to be someone else's prey. Zaroff has never lost the game before, so Rainsford has to decide whether he should value Zaroff's life or not. By that I mean that he could've waited for the three days to be up, and then win, but instead he decided to kill Zaroff to win.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The climax helps to illustrate the theme by showing how far Rainsford goes to win the game and not be Zaroff's prey anymore.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):**

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Simile:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//"It's like moist black velvet."// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"He strained his eyes in the direction from which the reports had come, but //it was like trying to see through a blanket//." <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"//The sea was as flat as a plate-glass window."// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"//An apprehensive night crawled slowly by like a wounded snake//." <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"..//like some huge prehistoric beaver,// he began to dig."

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Metaphor:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"//The lights of the yacht became faint and evervanishing fireflies//..." <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"//He lived a year in a minute//."

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Personification:** "//An apprehensive night crawled slowly by// like a wounded snake." "...trying to peer through the //dank tropical night that was palpable as it pressed its thick warm blackness in upon the yacht//." <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//"The sensuous drowsiness of the night was on him."// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//"For a seemingly endless time he fought the sea..."// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//"...the muttering and growling of the sea breaking on a rocky shore."// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> "//Bleak darkness was blacking out the sea and jungle//..." <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"..//cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips// in the shadows."

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**S****ymbol:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The island is called Ship-Trap not only because it traps ships, but because it traps animals and people and makes them become prey.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//"The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse."// This symbolizes that Zaroff was the hunter and that Rainsford was the huntee. Zaroff plays with Rainsford like a cat playing with a mouse that is trying to scare, catch, and then kill it.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rainsford is a symbol for a trapped animal that wants to escape the island and win the game so he can be free.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Foreshadowing (give both elements):** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"For a moment the general did not reply; //he was smiling his curious red-lipped smile//." and "//I hunt more dangerous game//." foreshadow that Zaroff is talking about using humans as prey.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//"A trace of anger was in the general's black eyes, but it was there for but a second//..." foreshadows that the general really only sees Rainsford as prey. He gets angered easily by his prey and hates it when people call him a murderer for hunting humans.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"//If anyone should try to get into my house - or out of it - something extremely regrettable would occur to him//." foreshadows that if Rainsford tries to escape or break into Zaroff's house to hurt him, Zaroff will kill him.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Irony:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">It's ironic that Zaroff thinks its a shame that Lacarus died, but he doesn't care about the man that died with him, even though the man is a human like Zaroff himself.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">When Ivan dies, Zaroff isn't sad but instead thinks of it as an unconvience, even though Ivan was a human and hunter just like him.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Zaroff says that Rainsford is lucky he's a hunter, just like himself, but then Rainsford becomes the prey anyways.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Imagery:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//"He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very bright. He had high cheek bones, a sharp-cut nose, a spare, dark face, the face of a man used to giving orders, the face of an aristocrat."//

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Most Dangerous Game shows us that everything fears, whether it's the hunter or the huntee. It's natural for humans to fear, as it is for all living things. A big part of humanity is understanding what scares you, and learning how to face your fears. The Most Dangerous Game is a perfect example of why we need to put ourselves into other people's shoes and understand why they are scared of that certain something. In this case, it's putting yourself into the shoes of an animal, or the prey. Humans aren't supposed to be hunted, because we go by reason, not instinct. If we understood how our prey thinks, we would always win the game. If Zaroff had understood how Rainsford thought, he could've won. Rainsford figured out what Zaroff's strategy was, and ended up outwitting him. If prey in real life could comprehend how humans think, we would never catch any prey. We might not even be alive if animals went by reason. That's why it's so important that us humans must think differently from our prey, just like the hunter from the huntee.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**1. What is meant by “He lived a year in a minute”?** "He lived a year in a minute" means that Rainsford crouched waiting for Zaroff to fall into the pit for what seemed like a year, but it was only a minute. This is a hyperbole that suggests to Rainsford it felt like he was there for a while because of fear.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**2. What is meant by “I am still a beast at bay”?** "I am still a beast at bay" means that Rainsford is still playing the game. It is a metaphor that refers to Rainsford as an animal being hunted, and that he is still feeling trapped and needs to win the game.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**3. In which sea has Connell set Ship-Trap island?** Ship-Trap island is set in the Caribbean Sea.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**4. How is Zaroff able to finance his life style?** Zaroff is able to finance his lifestyle ever since he had invested heavily in American securities when many noble Russians lost everything after the revolution in Russia. His father was also very wealthy.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**5. If Rainsford wins the hunt, what does Zaroff promise him?** If Rainsford wins the hunt, Zaroff promises him to acknowledge himself (Zaroff) defeated and to get his sloop to place Rainsford on a mainland near town.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**6. What happened to Lazarus?** Lazarus, the finest hound in Zaroff's pack of dogs, died at Death Swamp. He tried to follow a man there, but died in the quicksand along with the fellow.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**7. Where does Rainsford spend the first night of his hunt?** Rainsford spent the first night of his hunt in the crotch of a giant tree on a broad limb.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**8. How many acres did Zaroff’s father have in the Crimea?** Zaroff's father had a quarter of a million acres in Crimea.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**9. Why does Zarroff suggest Rainsford wear moccasins?** Zaroff suggests that Rainsford should wear moccasins because they leave a poorer trail.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**10. What caused Rainsford to believe Zaroff knew he was hiding in the tree? Do you think he was right? Give reasons.** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rainsford believed Zaroff knew he was hiding in the tree because Zaroff was crawling upon the ground following his tracks and stopped at the tree. He searched the tree for quite some time, and then stopped a branch below Rainsford, smiled and left as though he was enjoying the game. I think Rainsford was right, as Zaroff smiled smugly because he knew he had found his prey.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**11. How does Zaroff stock his island with “game”?** Zaroff stocks his island with prey by giving out a fake signal to sea. This signal lures ships into a fake channel which is really full of giant rocks with razor edges that crush ships easily. He then captures people from the shipwrecks.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**12. What happened to General Zaroff at the end of the story?** At the end of the story, General Zaroff gets killed by Rainsford. Zaroff assumed the game was over and that Rainsford had won, but Rainsford was still 'a beast at bay,' and the only way for him to be satisified was to kill General Zaroff.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**13. Inspite of being hurt, Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on his “Malay mancatcher,” why?** Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on his 'Malay Mancatcher' because not many men know how to make one. Rainsford is proving interesting to Zaroff because he is prey that is actually hard to catch, and he gives Zaroff a challenge and thrill. Rainsford is not boring prey, but is instead an exciting person to catch.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**14. How do we know Rainsford is an exceptionally fit man?** We know Rainsford is an exceptionally fit man because he swam very far to get to shore after falling off the ship. He also has the stamina to run around the island and climb tall trees to stay away from Zaroff.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**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.)** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Before Rainsford lands on the island he talks about how humans are the hunters, and how animals are the hunted. He doesn't know what it feels liked to be hunted, so he doesn't feel any pity for the jaguars they talk about hunting with their new jaguar guns. He believes that animals have no understanding, and that there are two classes: the hunters and huntees. After Rainsford meets the General, he starts to understand what it's like to be hunted and realizes that humans are also the huntees. He can now relate to the animals that are hunted because he knows what its like to live in constant fear. He realizes that animals have to have some sort of understanding, because they need to focus on survival.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**16. How does Connell inspire fear without obvious bloodshed/grotesqueness.** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Connell inspires fear without obvious bloodshed and grostesqueness by building suspense. The author uses similes, metaphors, hyperboles, and imagery to support each situation. Connell actually leaves the gruesome parts out of the story and leads you to believe that violent things did happen, such as when the author never directly said Zaroff was killed, but we knew he was.

Completion 5/5

Effort 5/5

Content 5/5

Questions 32/32

total 47/47