Sam Dean
8th Grade Fitz English
12/7/18
The Most Dangerous Game
The Thrill Of Hunting
“Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, Both sides should know they’re in the game.”
-Paul Rodriguez
Hunting is very suspenseful, you can never know exactly what will happen, especially when what you are hunting is a human. in the story, The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell, I was filled with curiosity and captivated by suspenseful moments. The author included many moments which made me hold my breath because of the suspense and in many cases, I was curious of what was going to happen next. The main character, Rainsford, was being hunted by General Zaroff on the Generals private island. He had to hide from the hunter for three days in order to live, but no one had ever escaped the General.
“Rainsford's second thought was even more terrible. It sent a shudder of
cold horror through his whole being. Why had the general smiled? Why had
he turned back”
The author kept me interested and curious which that stood out to me about the story. There is always something new and exciting that happens and makes the story even harder to stop reading.
The main character, only known by the name of Rainsford, is out on the ocean in a yacht. He is sitting on one of the decks smoking a cigar when he hears three gunshots. He is not sure where exactly they are coming from because of the very dark night, so he stands of the rail of the boat to hopefully find the source of the gunshots. While scanning the area in front of him, Rainsford loses balance and falls over the edge of the boat.
He struggled up to the surface and tried to cry out, but the wash from the speeding yacht slapped him in the face and the salt water in his open mouth made him gag and strangle. Desperately he struck out with strong strokes after the receding lights of the yacht, but he stopped before he had swum fifty feet. A certain coolheadedness had come to him; it was not the first time he had been in a tight place. There was a chance that his cries could be heard by someone aboard the yacht, but that chance was slender and grew more slender as the yacht raced on.
Rainsford, thinking quickly, swims as hard as he can, fighting the ocean current, toward where he heard the gunshots. He sighs in relief when he touches the sand of an island. Rainsford later finds out that a very rich man named General Zaroff owns the island. After introducing himself to the General Zaroff and his friend/bodyguard Ivan, a man with the body structure of a bear, Rainsford is given good food and drinks. He soon learns that the General loves to hunt, but not for animals, for they are too easy and boring, but for men. Eventually, Rainsford is set out on a life or death hunt situation in which he has to survive three days on the island without being caught and killed by the General, who carries a shiny, silver gun. The General is a very experienced hunter, and no one has ever beat him, but Rainsford has Good hunting experience. His survival and hiding skills are really tested in this game and he has to use all of his knowledge in hunting, in order to win, the most dangerous game.
It is hard to process the message of the story. It was not really clear what the authors message was. I feel that the story brought me chills and a great adventure with thrill and suspense, but what was the message? Was it to be careful of who you trust? Although I am not sure of the message, I finished the story acknowledging how the author captured me with intense moments which can go wrong in every way. I felt like I was there in the moment and almost as if I had to hold my breath in the most suspenseful moments. The loved reading this story, the author did a great job of making me want to read more, he made a clear picture of each scene with good description and detail. I think this book was definitely worth reading and I would recommend it to any reader looking for suspense and thrill.