Most Dangerous Game

Most Dangerous Game

Background Information: 

Stoicism: to bear everything in life with indifference. You are indifferent to both pain and pleasure.

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution: all living organisms have evolved from lower life forms. Darwin came up with the phrase “Survival of the Fittest” which means that only the best survive or excel. Some misguided people from the 19^th Century and early 20^th Century believed that this could be applied to people. Rich people thought that because they were rich and successful they were smarter and better than other people and therefore were deserving of special privileges. This paved the way to “eugenics” and to Nazi experiments during World War ll. This misapplication of Darwin’s theory is called Social Darwinism.

Czar and Czarina: Russian for the words King and Queen

The Russian monarchy was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in 1917 and a communist system of government was put in place.

The Czarist government was unfair in its treatment of people, giving preferential treatment to the aristocracy or the rich.

Aristocrats: a member of the upper class. An aristocrat has a title: countess, duke, count, duchess, king, prince, princess, viscount, queen, etc. Many of them live in palaces and castles, have a lot of money and do not work. Many of them inherit their money from their far distant ancestors. Prince Henry and Prince William are examples of the British aristocracy.

Colonialism: from the word to colonize. European countries colonized the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and India. The colonists many times did not value the culture of the country they had colonized, and believed that the colonized people were inferior to their own. This attitude is reflected in General Zaroff's comments about the quality of the sailors he hunts and kills.

The Setting:

The beginning of the story is set on a yacht (pronounced "yaut" or "yawt"), which is a large, luxurious boat that is well appointed enough for someone to comfortably live on.

The yacht is speeding its way through the Caribbean to Rio de Janeiro in South America.  The night is described as dark and heavy as velvet, so dark that one could sleep with one's eyes open.  To heighten the mood of unease, Whitney and Rainsford, two world class hunters, are discussing an island somewhere near by in the dark with an unsavory reputation - "Ship-Trap Island".  The island's reputation is so ghastly that even seasoned sailors (like the old Swede who is the captain of the yacht) blanch and refuse to speak about it.  There is a veil of secrecy shrouding the island as impenetrable as the black velvet night they are sailing through.

Exposition: The set up for the story, the back story, events which occur before the beginning of the play or off stage. 

Rainsford and Whitney are on a yacht sailing to Brazil to hunt jaguars.

Information is revealed about "Ship-Trap Island" being a very frightening and mysterious place where strange things occur.

Sailors have a good sense of danger and the captain, an old Swede who wouldn't be afraid to spit in the eye of the devil, is unusually quiet and tense while sailing past "Ship-Trap Island".

Whitney's comment about how good Rainsford's eyes are and what an expert hunter he is sets up the drama which unfolds later.

The two men are discussing what is essentially the theme of the story.  "The world is divided into two groups, the hunter and the hunted." Fortunately for them, they belong to the category of hunters.  When Whitney expresses some sympathy for the hunted, the jaguars they hope to kill on their hunt in South America, Rainsford responds with,"Who cares what a jaguar feels?"  This exchange reveals that both men are hunters and it reveals their attitude towards the prey they hunt.  It also sets up the primary question in the story - whether the world is divided into the hunter and the hunted, the strong and the weak - and it sets up a situation where Rainsford will soon find himself in the strange, uncomfortable position of being the hunted.

Whitney excuses himself and goes to bed.  Alone on the deck of the boat smoking his pipe, Rainsford hears a gunshot coming from the direction of the island.  Straining to see through the black velvet of the night, Rainsford stands on the railing; however, a rope on a sail knocks his beloved brier pipe from his mouth into the murky depths below. Straining to reach it, he loses his balance and falls overboard with the thick velvety waters closing overhead. Coming up for air, he sees the yacht speeding beyond him into the darkness, with his yells, unheard, unheeded,  swallowed up immediately by the dark velvet air. 

MOOD:

When Whitney is speaking to Rainford, he says that this place has a reputation - a bad reputation. Rainsford wonders if the island has cannibals.

The imagery contributes to the  mood of the story which is creepy!  The night is dark, impenetrably dark like black velvet.

As the yacht draws near the island, Rainsford reports a "mental chill, a sort of sudden dread....." and "...sometimes I think sailors have a special sense of danger...."

And then there is of course, the gun shot...

The mood of the story is also set by the imagery used to describe the island: "the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows", "the leering gargoyle knocker".

CHARACTER:

Character is revealed by the use of dehumanizing diction (word choice) to describe Ivan: "the door opens to reveal a gigantic creature" and "out of the snarl of beard two small eyes regarded Rainsford." Ivan is initially referred to not as a man but rather as a creature and his eyes, usually regarded as the "windows to the soul" are divorced from the man as separate entities.

General Zaroff is described as having red lips and pointed teeth which paints a rather vampiric portrait of the general. He tells Rainsford that Ivan is a cossack, a fierce tribe of men known for their cruelty and untrustworthiness.  He then casually  informs Rainsford that he too is a cossack, and smilingly reveals his pointed teeth. All through out the story, Zaroff reveals shocking details yet continually reassures Rainsford that he can be trusted. Do you agree?

PLOT POINTS in the RISING ACTION:

The plot points are the complications which can occur either during or after  the exposition and before the climax.  It is the twists that drives  the protagonist from towards or away from her/his goal.

The following events occur just after the exposition and before the climax:

Rainsford hears the gun shot which seems to come from the island. 

Rainsford falls off the boat

Rainsford is in the middle of the Caribbean screaming at the departing yacht.

Rainsford sees the blood on the grass and a small caliber bullet


Rainsford is greeted at the open door of a luxurious chateau (improbably placed in the middle of a Caribbean island) by a huge creature  pointing a gun at Rainsford's chest. 

Zaroff  tells Rainsford about his storied past as an adventurer and hunter is both exposition and rising action because it is background information but it also complicates the plot. 


Zaroff tells Rainsford that he is bored with hunting animals. 

Zaroff tells Rainsford that he hunts humans and he keeps his cellar well stocked with luckless sailors whose ships have foundered on his traps set right off his island. 

There is no way off the island: the dogs will eat anyone who tries to escape and Ivan will beat to death anyone who fails to cooperate in the hunt.  

After dinner Rainsford finds out he is locked in his room.

Zaroff tells Rainsford that they are going to go hunting together! 

Zaroff says to Rainsford, "You want to see my heads?

Rainsford hides in the tree, after laying down a very complicated trail,  but Zaroff easily finds him anyway!  Zaroff stops underneath the tree, and allows his gaze to drift up to the point right underneath the branch that Rainsford is lying on.  Zaroff then smiles,  takes a puff, blows a smoke ring and walks away.  This has a particularly chilling effect on Rainsford for he gets an inkling as to just what kind of an opponent he is up against. 

Next, Rainsford lays The Malay Man Catcher. He discovers a dead tree perilously leaning on a live tree. Rainsford fashions a bough (a large tree branch) into a "trigger" which, when touched, will cause the dead tree to come crashing down.  Unfortunately, the tree only gives a glancing blow to Zaroff, causing him only to stagger a little. 

The Burmese Tiger Pit, which kills Lazarus, Zaroff's  best and most beloved dog. The Burmese Tiger Pit is a pit dug into the soft ground with sharp pointed stakes placed in the bottom of the pit.  The pit is then covered over with leaves to camouflage it. However, it is not Zaroff who falls into the pit but it is his favorite dog, Lazurus, who falls into the pit and is impaled by the stakes.

Allusion: Lazurus is a biblical allusion.  He is the man who was raised from the dead by Christ.

Allusion: is a reference to a piece of literature such as the Bible, and/or Shakespeare and to another piece of art.

Rainsford then ties his  only weapon to a branch of a young sapling and ties it back with some vines.  When someone brushes past it, the vine will release the springy sapling, causing the knife to come hurtling forward, presumably to stab Zaroff in the heart. However, it only serves to kill Ivan, Zaroff's butler. 

Then when you think things can't get any worse,  Rainsford hears Zaroff's pack of dogs baying for his blood.  And they are getting close! 

Rainsford makes a mad run through the jungle to the edge of the island's cliff and jumps into the ocean.  Presumably to his death. 

Climax: the most exciting part of the story; it is the turning point of the story, when the hero’s or heroine’s or the antagonist’s fate changes for the better or for the worse.

There is a great deal of debate about when the climx occurs in "The Most Dangerous Game". 

Some state that the climax occurs when Zaroff tells Rainsford that they will hunt together. 

Others believe the climax occurs when Rainsford jumps off the cliff. 

And still others maintain the climax occurs when Zaroff turns on his bedroom light and discovers he has company - Rainsford hiding in the curtains! 

Which do you think it is and why? 

Falling Action: it is the actions which occur after the climax.

There are some stories where there is little or no falling action.

Resolution: when all the plot points are resolved. Another word for this is denouement, which is a French word meaning the unraveling of the plot points.  English speakers call it the tying up of loose ends.

Do you think Rainsford will ever hunt again? Why or why not? 

TO FIND THE THEME: 

Take the characteristics of the main characters:

Zaroff is a psychopath.  He is totally devoid of sympathy or compassion for others.

An adjective to describe Zaroff is cruel.  (It can also be used as a noun)

A description of Rainsford is he is strong but blind to the suffering he inflicts on others.

The characteristic of Rainsford is that he is strong but he’s ignorant to the plight of the animals he kills.

What is the action which takes place in the story, or what is the situation of the story?

Rainsford is a man who is trapped in a bubble of ignorance. It is not until he is put in the same situation as his victims, does he learn compassion.

He is put in jeopardy by an adversary who is his equal in ability but lacking in compassion (Zaroff).

What is the conclusion of the story?

Rainsford doesn’t truly win until he has gone through the nightmare of experiencing what it is like to be hunted.

So one possible theme could be:  The strong cannot truly be strong until they know what it is to be weak.

Another possible theme could be:

Cruelty is a form of weakness and the cruel will eventually be destroyed by their excesses.

Zaroff is cruel and by his excessive cruelty he is ultimately destroyed.

Quick question for you: Do you think Zaroff plays fair?

Do you think it’s fair that he has a gun, his body guard, Ivan, who is a psychopathic killer, and a pack of ferocious dogs who go against a lone man with a knife who doesn’t know the island?

Isn’t stacking the deck so much in one’s favor, not playing fair, a form of weakness?

Or another possible theme:

By one’s intelligence and mental strength one may overcome cruelty.

Who is displaying  intelligence and mental strength during the three day ordeal on the island?

Who eventually wins and how? Rainsford, by using his intelligence and mental strength.

Who is cruel? Zaroff.  And how is he vanquished in the end?  He couldn’t win fairly, using just his bare hands and his intelligence.  When he fought Rainsford without the dogs, the guns and Ivan, he was killed.  He could only win when he had everything stacked in his favor: the guns, the dogs, Ivan and his knowledge of the island’s terrain.

His prey were terrified sailors threatened with death by beating if they didn't cooperate. They only had a knife and they did not know the island 

And of course, another possible theme is posed as a statement in the beginning of the story: The world is divided into two categories: the strong and the weak, and the weak are there for the amusement of the strong.  Smart readers will recognize this as the theme and know that this point will be tested in the story. 

This question is posed at the beginning of the story and is tested by the events of the story.  Does Richard Connell prove this theme to be right or wrong?