The+Most+Dangerous+Game

Short Stories - Literary Devises
 * Title: ** __The Most Dangerous Game__


 * Point of View:** Third Person. The narrator does not use I, and he does not know the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.


 * Protagonist:** Sanger Rainsford


 * What type of character is the Protagonist?** Dynamic, Round


 * Antagonist:** General Zaroff


 * Describe the setting:** The story starts on a dark, foggy night on a yacht in the Caribbean Sea. Most of the story takes place on Ship-Trap Island. This island has a rocky shore, and is heavily forested. A part of the island has quicksand, specifically Death Swamp. On the island there is a large castle-like structure with a gargoyle for a knocker. The story takes place over the course under a week. The mood is at first nieve, but quickly becomes scared and suspenseful when Rainsford falls off the yacht and when he becomes game.


 * Type of Conflict:** Man vs. Man


 * Describe the main conflict:** The main conflict is between Rainsford and General Zaroff. General Zaroff hunts humans for the challenge. When Rainsford become stranded on the island Zaroff decides that Rainsford will be the greatest challenge yet because he is a celebrated hunter. When Zaroff reveals to Rainsford that he will be the next huntee, Rainsford is unhappy. The hunt is the main conflict. General Zaroff tries to hunt and kill Rainsford, wile Rainsford tries to kill General Zaroff.


 * Describe the Climax of the Story:** The climax of the story is when Rainsford surprises Zaroff in Zaroff's room. That is the point in the story where all of the suspense has been built. The whole hunt is leading up to this point where Zaroff and Rainsford face off. This part of the story is where the suspense is so intense that you almost //need// to know what happens.


 * How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?** Rainsford changes because at the beginning of the story he doesn't think that animals can feel fear, and he doesn't care about how they feel. Though the course of the story and being hunted himself, he began to understand how the animals felt. He changed his opinions on how the hunted felt. This would greatly impact his life because he had always been the hunter, and now he knew what it felt like to be the hunted.


 * Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.** The theme is that hunters can easily become the hunted. This relates to the title because the game referred to in the title is human, specifically Rainsford. Rainsford used to hunt animals, but when he becomes the game referred to in the title; he becomes the hunted and begins to understand what true fear feels like.


 * How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?** The main conflict helps to illustrate that humans are animals because Rainsford and the general are hunting each other, just like animals hunt each other. When Rainsford first hears that Zaroff hunts humans he calls it murder, but when speaking about hunting animals it's just hunting. Rainsford did not have any respect for the animals that he hunted, but then he became the hunted during the main conflict and he understood true fear.


 * How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?** The climax helps to illustrate that the tables can easily be turned. The climax is the point where Rainsford surprises Zaroff. This is the most suspenseful part of the conflict between Zaroff and Rainsford. This is the part where Rainsford says "I am still a beast at bay". This is where Rainsford acknowledged that he had become the hunted, and where he truly accepted that he has become hunted like an animal.


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


 * Simile:** “…apprehensive night crawled slowly by __like__ a wounded snake…” This is comparing an apprehensive night to a wounded snake. “It’s __like__ moist black velvet.” It’s is referring to the fog. This is comparing the density of the fog to moist black velvet. "...smell __like__ incense..." This is comparing a smell to incense.


 * Metaphor:** “...blood-warm waters of theCaribbean Sea...” This is comparing the temperature of the water of theCaribbean Sea to the warmth of blood. “The lights of the yacht became faint and ever-vanishing fireflies.” This is comparing the disappearing lights of the yacht to ever-vanishing fireflies.


 * Personification:** “…muttering and growling of the sea…” The sea cannot mutter or growl, so this is personification. “…the sea licked greedy lips…” The sea does not have lips, and cannot lick them, which makes this personification.


 * Symbol:** The bed at the end of the story is a symbol for safety. "One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed." The man who ends up sleeping in the bed will be safe and will be the only one left standing.


 * Foreshadowing (give both elements):** "I wanted the ideal animal to hunt." "It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason." This foreshadows that the quarry will be human because the only animal that has all of those qualities is a human. "I hunt the scum of the earth-sailors from tramp ships-lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels..." This quote proves that it is humans that Zaroff is hunting.


 * Irony:** At the beginning of the story Rainsford says "Who cares how the jaguar feels?" Once he is being hunted he thinks "I have played the fox, now I must play the cat of the fable". It is ironic that the hunter becomes the prey.


 * Imagery:** "Jagged crags appeared to jut into the opaqueness..." The majority of the imagery is describing the island, the house and the characters. "...leering gargoyle for a knocker..."


 * Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.** This story makes readers think about how humane they are. The whole story revolves around how humans are not so different from animals. In the story Zaroff hunts humans for fun. When Rainsford finds out he calls it murder. Zaroff only thinks of it as one animal hunting another. He holds himself superior. Like a lion, he hunts his prey, the gazelle. This makes the reader think about whether their really is any difference between animals and humans. Humans are animals, but humans are not cold blooded killers, or are they? Murders happen all the time. This story leads humans to question their own humanity. Connell is one of, as Chris Abani said, "the people that hold up the mirror and make us question our own humanity".


 * QUESTIONS: Answer the following questions. /32**


 * 1. What is meant by “He lived a year in a minute”?** This quote means that a short amount of time felt like it was a very long time. Rainsford "lived a year in a minute" because he was being hunted by Zaroff. Rainsford had set a trap for Zaroff, and he was hoping that the trap would work. He was waiting for Zaroff. At that moment, waiting seemed to take a very long time, even though it was a very short time.


 * 2. What is meant by “I am still a beast at bay”?** Rainsford is implying that he is still being hunted, and that the game is not over. A beast would not stop and shake hands and say good game, the beast would finish Zaroff. This quote is how Rainsford tells Zaroff that the game is not over until one of them is dead. Rainsford will not give up because he feels trapped, and his protective instincts have taken over.


 * 3. In which sea has Connell set** **Ship-Trap** **Island****?** Ship-TrapIsland is in the Caribbean Sea.


 * 4. How is Zaroff able to finance his life style?** He is able to finance his life style because he left Russia when it would have been bad for an officer of the Czar to stay there, and because he invested heavily in American securities.


 * 5. If Rainsford wins the hunt, what does Zaroff promise him?** Zaroff promises him that he will get away from the island and be safely placed near a town on the mainland.


 * 6. What happened to Lazarus?** Lazarus used to be Zaroff's lead dog. During one hunt Lazarus followed the huntee into Death Swamp. From the story we can infer that both Lazarus and the man were killed by the quicksand in Death Swamp.


 * 7. Where does Rainsford spend the first night of his hunt?** He spent the first night up a tree on a branch. That is the first place where he tried to get some sleep.


 * 8. How many acres did Zaroff’s father have in the** **Crimea****?** His father owned a quarter of a million acres in the Crimea.


 * 9. Why does Zaroff suggest Rainsford wear moccasins?** Zaroff suggests Rainsford wear moccasins because they will leave fewer tracks.


 * 10. What caused Rainsford to believe Zaroff knew he was hiding in the tree? Do you think he was right? Give reasons.** Rainsford thought that Zaroff knew that he was in the tree because the general had followed the path that Rainsford had thought was impossible to retrace. Then the general studied the ground underneath the tree that Rainsford was hiding in. Next the general started scanning the tree, but before he could see Rainsford he stopped and Zaroff smiled. Then Zaroff blew a smoke ring directly to where Rainsford was hiding before he walked away. The smile and smoke ring made Rainsford think that the general knew that he was there. I think that the general did know that Rainsford was there. The general's eyes stopped right on the branch that Rainsford was on before he looked away and smiled. I think that Zaroff was having too much fun to end the hunt so quickly. The general walked away so that he could prolong his enjoyment.


 * 11. How does Zaroff stock his island with “game”?** Zaroff stocks the island with humans by taking the humans off of ship wrecks. Sometimes ships accidentally crash into the island, but when they don’t, Zaroff had a plan. Zaroff had rigged some lights to indicate a channel where there was not one. This insured that ships would become wrecked on the island, where Zaroff could hunt the captain and crew.


 * 12. What happened to General Zaroff at the end of the story?** General Zaroff was surprised by Rainsford when he entered his room. The author leads you to believe that the two men get into a fight. As a result, we can infer that, Rainsford ends up killing Zaroff.


 * 13. In spite of being hurt, Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on his “Malay man-catcher,” why?** Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on the contraption that hurts him because Rainsford is becoming a challenge. Zaroff’s whole intention in creatingShip-TrapIsland is to capture humans to hunt for more of a challenge. Rainsford more difficult to capture than anyone else had ever been. Therefore even though he was hurt, Zaroff congratulated Rainsford on the “man-catcher”.


 * 14. How do we know Rainsford is an exceptionally fit man?** We know that Rainsford is very fit because he is an accomplished hunter. He swims from where he fell off a yacht to the island, and to Zaroff’s home. Rainsford also runs and climbs through the forest for a long time when Zaroff is hunting him without having to give up. As well, he does not have to go to Zaroff’s school that prepares people for the physical aspects of the hunt.


 * 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.)** Rainsford changes his state of mind because at the beginning of the story he doesn't think that animals can feel fear, and he doesn't care about how they feel. Though the course of the story and being hunted himself, he began to understand how the animals felt. He changed his opinions on how the hunted felt. This would greatly impact his life because he had always been the hunter, and now he knew what it felt like to be the hunted. At the beginning he said that he and his friend were “lucky that we are hunters”. By the end of the story he had developed sympathy for the hunted.


 * 16. How does Connell inspire fear without obvious bloodshed/grotesqueness?** The author inspires fear without obvious bloodshed or grotesqueness because of everything that the author infers. He tells us that Ivan gets stabbed, but he doesn’t tell us all about the blood, or where the knife struck. Yet, the use of language that the author uses creates such a suspenseful environment that the reader feels the fear. This happens throughout the story, starting with the mystery of the island, and ending with Zaroff’s death. The author creates a mood of suspense that inspires fear, without have to describe anything gruesome.

Completion 5/5 Effort 5/5 Content 5/5 Questions 32/32 Total 47/47