Marxism In The Most Dangerous Game

General Zaroff’s attractive and handsome presence hides his evilness from Rainsford as he enjoys the general’s assistance and attention. The general makes

Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff. During the time Rainsford is in Zaroff’s house they have a conversation about hunting. Zaroff tells Rainsford about him hunting humans. Rainsford says, “I can’t believe you are serious, General Zaroff. This is a grisly joke...........

Here Connell implies that Rainsford has no empathy for the being that is being hunted. This is not only ironic because soon he is the one being hunted, but it shows Rainford has character flaws despite being the protagonist. Regardless of his flaws, overall Rainsford has a strong moral compass. When General Zaroff reveals his hobby of hunting and murdering people, Rainsford immediately rejects the invitation to join in the hunt. “‘Thank you, I'm a hunter, not a murderer.’”

The Most Dangerous Game While reading the short story, “The most Dangerous Game”,Rainsford killed General Zaroff Others might say it was okay for Rainsford to kill General Zaroff but however he was not justified in killing Zaroff. During “The Most Dangerous Game” The Author says “It must have courage, cunning, and, all of the above. It must be able to reason.”

‘I am still a beast at bay,’ he said, in a low, hoarse voice. ‘Get ready, General Zaroff,’” (Connell 232). After making it back to the chateau, or Zaroff’s castle-like House, Rainsford waits to confront the general and challenge him to one final game. After winning, he sleeps victoriously in Zaroff’s bed, fully solidifying his recently gained freedom.

His first thought is to get as far away as he can, ‘His first idea was to put as distance between himself and General Zaroff.’ But as he calms down and starts thinking rationally, he realizes he needs to try to survive and outsmart Zaroff and play along with his game. As the days go by he starts losing his morals and tries to kill Zaroff, first by dropping a log on him, ‘The dead tree, delicately adjusted to rest on the cut living one crashed down and struck the general.’ Rainsford has started losing his morals and getting more in touch with his beast.

One would think the general is talking about hunting animals with Rainsford when he is actually talking hunting Rainsford himself. It is also ironic when General Zaroff is described as “civilized”. In a way, he is civilized— his fancy clothes,nice home, and spares no expense. Although he is civilized in that way, he enjoys to kill other humans

Rainsford deals with the problem by using his experience and knowledge to defeat the general’s game in which he has to survive for three nights while being hunted. Instead of running away from the problems and trying to hide, Rainsford uses his skill to ultimately beat Zaroff in his own game. Rainsford’s ability to reason is seen when “he got a grip on himself, stopped, and [took] stock of himself and the situation. He saw that straight flight was futile; inevitably it would bring him face to face with the sea. ”(Connell)

“Following the trail with the sureness of a bloodhound came General Zaroff. Nothing escaped those searching black eyes, no crushed blade of grass, no bent twig, no mark, no matter how faint, in the moss” (Connell 20). Calling Rainsford’s pursuer a seasoned hunter is an understatement. Connell describes General Zaroff’s character so vivid that it makes the hunt more exciting. “The baying of the hounds stopped abruptly, and Rainsford’s heart stopped too.

Also, General Zaroff is an extreme hunter and doesn’t find pleasure in hunting regular animals. Zaroff says the most dangerous game is humans because they have the ability to reason. Rainsford is going to be hunted and is given a certain amount of time to survive. Moreover, while Rainsford is being hunted Zaroff

Rainsford changes for the worse from a hunter to a murder following in Zaroff's

In the beginning, he supported the notion that hunting is acceptable. However, after being put in the position of the hunted Rainsford learns what it’s like to have to run for his life, bringing up the idea of whether or not it is acceptable to kill. After trying to simply hide from his pursuer, it becomes unclear whether or not Rainsford will fight back. He could either give up or kill Zaroff to save his life. The building tensions to his decision creates suspense which directly affects the theme.

Firstly, in the story The Most Dangerous Game, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff because on the island the only way to live is if the stranded people hunt or the stranded will in contrast become the ones being hunted. In the beginning of the story Rainsford is talking to Whitney about jaguars. Whitney is stating that the jaguars must feel some sort of feeling like fear or terror but in contrast Rainsford states that the jaguars have no understanding of feelings. Then Rainsford is put on a island where he symbolically represents the jaguar and General Zaroff would symbolically represent the hunter.

Throughout the story the reader sees how Zaroff “plays” with Rainsford as he hunts him and not once does Zaroff think he will lose to Rainsford. This is a clear example of the theme to never underestimate your opponent skills or the underdog may overtake you. Connell illustrates this theme through foreshadowing, irony, and, man vs. man. To help us visualize, foreshadowing shows how Rainsford, being the underdog, will overtake Zaroff who underestimates Rainsford. Although Rainsford is not seen as being the weaker link, Rainsford showed he did not pity those below him: “‘Who cares how a jaguar feels all they understand is fear.’

In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” Sanger Rainsford is forced to test his survival skills while he is intensely hunted by an experienced war general named General Zaroff. In this story, Rainsford exhibits some very helpful characteristics like his resourcefulness, his strategic planning, and his ability to reason. As a result of Rainsford’s questioning the validity of General Zaroff’s hunting methods, he ended up playing in the game. Although I believe Rainsford is a very helpful, interesting, and dynamic character, at the end of the story, he must give up his own personal morals to win the game.