The+Most+Dangerous+Game

//__** Short Stories - Literary Devises **__// //__** Title: The Most Dangerous Game **__// // By Ana and Brianna //

**Point of View:** 3rd person, limited. **Protagonist:** Stanger Rainsford **What type of character is the Protagonist?** Round and Dynamic **Antagonist:** General Zaroff **Describe the setting:** PLACE: Ship-Trap Island in the Caribbean sea. TIME: It HAS to be some time between 1918 (on page 33, at the bottom of that page it says that the general hummed a song from a theatre built in 1918) and 1924 (because that's when it was published). ATMOSPHERE: Very tense all the way through. At the beginning it is happier because he has hope that Zaroff is not evil, but as soon as he discovers what Zaroff does, Rainsford becomes increasingly fearful almost to the point of insanity. **Type of Conflict:** Man V.S. Man **Describe the main conflict:** The main conflict, Man V.S. Man, is that the general is a vicious hunter who wants to kill humans and is hunting the protagonist, Rainsford. **Describe the Climax of the Story:** We think the climax was the very end when Rainsford implied that he finally killed General Zaroff. **How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?** He always thought that animals could not feel fear, but when he was being hunted by General Zaroff he changed his point of view and felt like an animal being tracked. **Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.** We think the theme is survival. The title, The Most Dangerous Game, is talking about the game Zaroff plays with the people who were shipwrecked on the island. All the shipwrecked people really need to survive. **How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?** The main conflict illustrates the theme really well, because General Zaroff is trying to hunt Rainsford, and he is trying to survive. **How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?** The climax, when Connell implies that Rainsford killed General Zaroff, illustrates the theme, which is survival, by showing what lengths Rainsford went to survive this island. Rainsford knew that the only way he was going to get off this island was to kill Zaroff, to survive.

"It's like moist black velvet." (Page 24) "The sea was as flat as a plate glass window ." (Page 25) "...a mental chill..." (Page 25) "...the night would be my eyelids." (page 25) "He live a year in a minute." "...trying to peer through the dank tropical night that was palpable as it pressed its thick warm blackness upon the yacht." (Page 24) Its giving the night human movement by saying that it's pressing against the yacht. "...where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows." (Page 27) The island is a symbol for a trap- the dangerous rocks trap shipwrecked humans. "The old charts call it 'Ship-Trap' Island," Whitney replied. "A suggestive name, isn't it?" This foreshadows that someone will get trapped on the island and something bad might happen to them. It is also foreshadowing that something terrible might happen to Rainsford when he gets onto the island, and hears the gunshots and the screams, but he doesn't know what animal it is. It was ironic that the general was always hunting people, and then at the end it was his turned to be hunted. "He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was vivd white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military moustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come." (Page 28)
 * __ Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes): __**
 * Simile: **
 * Metaphor: **
 * Personification: **
 * Symbol: **
 * Foreshadowing (give both elements): **
 * Irony: **
 * Imagery: **

The class theme, power, relates to The Most Dangerous Game because General Zaroff strived for power over everything, he showed how he had power over all the people he hunted, he decided their fates. Rainsford also had power over animals, he could easily hunt them, but he also showed that he had power over General Zaroff because he had killed him in the end.
 * Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. **

He was so anxious and tense that waiting for the general to fall into the pit felt like forever. He means that he is still ready to fight the general, and that he is still a beast (maybe from the war) lying low about to strike. The island is in the Caribbean Sea. He invested heavily in American securities. Zaroff promises to take Rainsford to the mainland near a town if he wins. Lazarus was one of the general's best hounds who fell into the quicksand in a past hunt. Rainsford spent the first night of the hunt up high on a tree branch. His father had a quarter of a million acres. He suggests he wears moccasins because they leave a poorer trail. General Zaroff was paying "...upmost concentration on the ground before him. He paused, almost beneath the tree, dropped to his knees and studied the ground." Rainford thought that Zaroff knew he was hiding in the tree because General Zaroff smiled at him before he carelessly walked away. If Zaroff thought that Rainsford wasn't there, he would have been angry at being tricked. Rainsford was right in believing that Zaroff knew he was there- Zaroff was just playing with him. His island is called 'Ship-Trap'. There are many dangerous rocks near the island causing lots of people to become shipwrecked. When the shipwrecked people come to his house asking for food and shelter, he lures them in and pretty much forces them to participate in his hunt. General Zaroff was killed by Rainsford. He was congratulatory because he was happy that he finally had a worthy opponent to hunt. He is very fit because he hunts, and he was also in the army. Before he becomes shipwrecked, he didn't really care about animals feelings at all. After he meets the general, he was put in the same situation as the animals, so he understood the fear they felt. Before he landed on the island, he was also much more relaxed and carefree, but once he is in the hunt with the general he becomes fearful and tense. After finally killing the general, he is probably a very different person because of the effects the hunt would have on him. Connell inspires fear because of the intensity of the story, you don't necessarily need bloodshed to show fear, you can tell by the way Connell wrote this story that it had a high tension level which usually relates to fear. When things are tense and suspenceful you start to get a little anxious and nervous for the charactor.
 * 1. What is meant by “He lived a year in a minute”? /2 **
 * 2. What is meant by “I am still a beast at bay”? /2 **
 * 3. In which sea has Connell set Ship-Trap island? /1 **
 * 4. How is Zaroff able to finance his life style? /2 **
 * 5. If Rainsford wins the hunt, what does Zaroff promise him? /1 **
 * 6. What happened to Lazarus? /2 **
 * 7. Where does Rainsford spend the first night of his hunt? /1 **
 * 8. How many acres did Zaroff’s father have in the Crimea? /1 **
 * 9. Why does Zarroff suggest Rainsford wear moccasins? /1 **
 * 10. What caused Rainsford to believe Zaroff knew he was hiding in the tree? Do you think he was right? Give reasons. /3 **
 * 11. How does Zaroff stock his island with “game”? /2 **
 * 12. What happened to General Zaroff at the end of the story? /2 **
 * 13. Inspite of being hurt, Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on his “Malay mancatcher,” why? /2 **
 * 14. How do we know Rainsford is an exceptionally fit man? /2 **
 * 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 **
 * 16. How does Connell inspire fear without obvious bloodshed/grotesqueness. /3 **