The+Most+Dangerous+Game

QUESTIONS: Answer the following questions. /32

1. What is meant by “He lived a year in a minute”? /2 This is a methaphor meaning that time seemed to be going by slowly because he wanted it to happen more quickly. He was so scared that it seemed like a year had passed when it had only been about a minute. He was waiting for General Zaroff and it felt like he was moving so slowly when it was just as quick as usual; he was waiting for Zaroff and it felt like a whole year had passed although it had only been a minute.

2. What is meant by “I am still a beast at bay”? /2 This is a metaphor about the game of survival that Zaroff and Rainsford play. Zaroff is hunting Rainsford like a wild animal or like a beast. Zaroff congratulates Rainsford for winning the game but Rainsford will not quit the game until it is truly finished and one of them dies. So, Rainsford says that he is a beast at bay meaning that he is still being hunted and the game is not over if Zaroff didn't finish the hunt. Rainsford meant that he was still a wild animal being hunted.

3. In which sea has Connell set Ship-Trap island? /1 The Caribbean Sea is where Ship-Trap island is.

4. How is Zaroff able to finance his life style? /2 Zaroff's father was a very rich man; he was a nobleman. Zaroff had invested heavily in Americain securities during his time in the army so that he never had to take a job that he didn't enjoy.

5. If Rainsford wins the hunt, what does Zaroff promise him? /1 He promises that his sloop will place Rainsford on the mainland near a city or town.

6. What happened to Lazarus? /2 Lazarus followed a foolish man into "Death Swamp" where there is quicksand. Lazarus is Zaroff's finest hound and he was hunting the man.

7. Where does Rainsford spend the first night of his hunt? /1 On the first night Rainsford spends it resting in a big tree on a broad limb.

8. How many acres did Zaroff’s father have in the Crimea? /1 Zaroff's father owned a quarter of a million acres in the Crimea.

9. Why does Zarroff suggest Rainsford wear moccasins? /1 Moccasins leave a poorer trail on the ground for Zaroff to follow.

10. What caused Rainsford to believe Zaroff knew he was hiding in the tree? Do you think he was right? Give reasons. /3 Rainsford believed that General Zaroff was playing with him and knew that he was in the tree because of how he paused at the bottom of the tree and moved his eyes up tree. Zaroff blew a smoke ring into the air so that it would reach Rainsford. He smiled and without worry walked away. Zaroff wanted to mess with Rainsford's head and that was the reason he simply smiled and walked away instead of letting his eyes travel over Rainsford; he wanted to play with him and save him for another day's hunt. He stopped himself from finding Rainsford that day so as to not be tempted to win right then so that he could save him for more fun. I think he was right because of all of the reasons above.

11. How does Zaroff stock his island with “game”? /2 Sometimes a storm brings them to the island but when it doesn't, he uses his electricity to produce the flash of lights which indicates a channel when there isn't one there and giant rocks with razor edges crush the ships attempting to go down a fake channel.

12. What happened to General Zaroff at the end of the story? /2 At the end of the story,General Zaroff duels with Rainsford and then "furnishes a repast for his hounds," or in other words is killed by Rainsford. Zaroff loses the game by surprise.

13. Inspite of being hurt, Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on his “Malay mancatcher,” why? /2 He congratulates him because the trick worked and not much can get past the general. Zaroff also finds it interesting that Rainsford is fighting back and that he is a lively opponent. The general knows that not many people can create a Malay man-catcher therefore he is impressed by how much danger his foe presents.

14. How do we know Rainsford is an exceptionally fit man? /2 We know that Rainsford is exceptionally fit because he is a big- game hunter and you need exceptional stamina to be able to hunt big game. He is fit because he is able to swim to the island which is so far away from the yacht he fell off of and he swam around the island all the way to the general's house. He also created traps and used his head throughout three days of fleeing his foe. It takes immense stamina to be able to fight and flee for three whole days and then to swim around an island right after.

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 Before Rainsford comes across the island he believes that an animal is simply the huntee if the situation and has no understanding or feeling whatsoever of the situation. He thinks that there are two classes in the world where humans are the hunters and animals are the huntees but his opinion changes when he becomes the huntee for General Zaroff and he is feeling true terror and he could be killed at any moment. He understands how an animal would feel as he hunts them now because he is now being hunted. He is different because he does not underestimate how an animal would feel fear in the case of near death. He no longer feels that the weaker opponent is the huntee and they are meant to be hunted, he understands the nature of fear.

16. How does Connell inspire fear without obvious bloodshed/grotesqueness. /3 The author creates fear with his rising action as the endeavors become more and more desperate and he creates it with his descriptive language. He uses isolation and the fact that there is no way out of the game to create fear. He creates huge suspense as Rainsford waits for Zaroff. He uses people's fear of death to create a realistic nightmare for everyone reading.

Short Stories - Literary Devises

Title:The Most Dangerous Game

Point of View: Third Person

Protagonist: Sanger Rainsford What type of character is the Protagonist? The protagonist is round and dynamic.

Antagonist:General Zaroff, his instincts

Describe the setting The setting is on a yacht and then an island called Ship-Trap Island on the Caribbean sea over the course of four days; one night on the yacht and then four days on the island. The mood is calm and peaceful at the beginning but a bit nervous and changes to horror stricken and fearful throughout the story to finally finish with a mood of determination.

Type of Conflict: man vs. man, man vs. self.

Describe the main conflict: The main conflict is of the battle of life and death between Rainsford and Zaroff. Zaroff is hunting Rainsford while Rainsford is just fighting to stay alive for three days or trying to kill Zaroff so that he will never harm another man. Zaroff wants to play with Rainsford before he kills him or as he thinks of it "hunts him." Zaroff wants to amuse himself with hunting an amusing foe which happens to be man and Rainsford is the man he is hunting at the time. Rainsford is fighting for survival leaving traps for Zaroff so as to stall his hunt and his game. Rainsford doesn't want to lose the game or his life.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is at the point in time when Zaroff finds out that Rainsford has been hiding in his bedroom waiting for him and instead of acknowledging that he won the game he decides that the game will not be over until one of them is killed. One of them will be for the hounds and one will sleep in the comfortable bed. The climax is when the men duel right before Rainsford wins.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? In the beginning, Rainsford does not understand the feelings of a wild animal, and doesn't care about how the animal feels because to him, the animal is meant to be hunted and has no understanding of what is happening. He thinks that they are the huntees and therefore they are meant to be hunted. Later however, when he is being hunted by Zaroff, he does not think or feel the same way and he realizes that the huntees do feel fear. He feels instinct and he knows what it is like to feel true terror and to be a huntee. He changes from ruthless hunter to fearful huntee.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The theme is about hunter becoming huntee. The title "The most Dangerous game" relates to it because hunting to some people is a game or a sport and in this story it most certainly is a game. In the story this game is the most dangerous game in the world because it is about life or death and surviving in the wilderness. Rainsford becomes the huntee after thinking that he was the hunter in this sport to later find out that he becomes the huntee in a hunt/game that is most dangerous in all the world. So hunting becomes "the most dangerous game" when the hunter becomes the huntee.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict is about the battle of life and death between Zaroff and Rainsford. The battle of life and death is related to hunter becoming huntee because it was because of this game that the battle began and it was because of this game that Rainsford became huntee instead of hunter. Both the conflict and the theme were created because of this game of "hunt" that the general Zaroff had created. The main conflict illustrates the theme by how the battle created by Zaroff, is how and why the hunter became a huntee.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax of the duel between Zaroff and Rainsford helps illustrate how hunter became huntee because Rainsford would not be dueling Zaroff if he had not come to hate him and had a need to finish the game after all that Zaroff had done to him. Zaroff had made a hunter feel the experience of being a huntee and so Rainsford decided that he would continue to be the huntee until one of them was dead and that was displayed by his words "I'm still a beast at bay."

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

Simile: "but it was like trying to see through a blanket"

Metaphor: "there was a fragment of sallow moon"

Personification:"an apprehensive night crawled slowly"

Symbol: The heads (animal and human) - the heads throughout the general's house are symbols of how hunting has dominated his life and it doesn't matter whether something is human, if it is an exciting hunt then he will take it's life and put it's head on his wall.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): when Zaroff talks about hunting the most dangerous creature on his island and he hunts a creature that is very exciting and can reason, he foreshadows that he hunts humans and no just any animal.

Irony: It is ironic that Raisnford talks about how the huntee is meant to be hunted and has no understanding and that they are the hunters when later he becomes the huntee and he finally understands how the huntee feels.

Imagery: " when a dingy gray was varnishing the sky"

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. Humanity and hunter becoming huntee are related because humanity doesn't regularly experience being the huntee and they are nearly always hunter so usually don't understand how the huntee feels in this situation. Zaroff lost his humanity and he was a hunter but he was a hunter of his own species, which caused him to lose sight that he was more than a hunter but a human being as well. When a person is feeling low and scared (which is an aspect of humanity) they feel as if they have become the huntee of their humanity. When Rainsford didn't care for the animals he killed as hunter and then understood the huntee when becoming huntee he reclaimed some of his humanity and compassion. Humanity is all about how one`s emotions can change from hunter to huntee at any point in time.

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