The Most Dangerous Game Written by Richard Connell

Deciding whether to swim towards a “…it came out of the darkness, a high screaming sound, the sound of an animal in an extremity of anguish and terror”(Connell 218), might have been Rainsford’s most horrific and biggest regret in his life. In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” written by Richard Connell, the protagonist, Rainsford is on yacht headed to Rio de Janeiro for a big-game hunting trip. While on the yacht, Whitney, one of his big- game hunting friends, has a dialogue with Rainsford about Ship-Trap Island, a place where sailors call a living hell, and another conversation about whether their prey truly feels trepidation. As the night goes on, Rainsford then chooses to smoke a cigar, and abruptly he hears three-gun shots out in the distance. Trying to investigate more, he then leans at the end of the yacht railing. Suddenly, Rainsford drops his cigar, loses his balance, in attempting to grab it, falls overboard. Now that the yacht sped away, Rainsford made the biggest mistake of his life, swimming to Ship-Trap Island. When he arrives, he follows a hunter’s foot prints, and he first meets Ivan, General Zaroff’s body guard, and General Zaroff, the antagonist. General Zaroff then has dinner with him, reminisces on his hunting background and introduces Rainsford to a new type of game, humans. Now, General Zaroff will supply him with food and housing in the next few days and expects Rainsford to participate in the hunt, or else he can’t leave. When Rainsford hears gunshots, screams that don’t seem animalistic, and when General Zaroff reveals that he found a new game that could that has courage, cunning, and reason all demonstrate foreshadowing, which add suspense.

One example of foreshadowing that adds suspense is when Rainsford hears gunshots. Rainsford heads o a yacht to the Amazon River with his friend, Whitney, to hunt jaguars. Meanwhile, on the yacht, they talk about a cryptic island, about whether prey experience fear. As it gets darker, Rainsford go enjoys his cigar at night on the yacht, attempting to be prepared for his big hunt for jaguars with his friend Whitney. However, while on the yacht, Rainsford notices “Somewhere, off in the blackness, someone had fire a gun three times”(Connell 217). This exactly exhibits foreshadowing and connects suspense. According to literarydevices.net, “Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.’’ Since the reader has no concept what is yet to come by the gunshots randomly occurring during the night, this exactly illustrates what foreshadowing is because later in the plot the reader is going to figure out that the gunshots were simply General Zaroff killing humans. Also, literarydevices.net mentions, “Suspense is a literary device that authors use to keep their readers interest alive throughout the work. It is a feeling of anticipation that something risky or dangerous is about to happen.” When Rainsford falls off the yacht, recalls hearing gunshots on the Island, and decides to go there, the reader is very enticed on what is going to ensue. The reader might be wondering whether if Rainsford himself is going to die. This exactly proves this keeps the “readers interest alive,” because the reader cannot predict what is going to occur.

The second example is when Rainsford hears screams that do not sound animalistic. After Rainsford fell overboard on the yacht, he began to recall the shots that had occurred toward the right and decided to swim to the Ship-Trap Island. However, as he swam he hears a distinct sound. The noise appears as if an “animal in an extremity of anguish and terror” (Connell 218), but, “He did not recognize the animal that made the sound…”(Connell 218). Even with his past hunting adventures, Rainsford himself is unable to classify the animal. This shows suspense because again the reader is unable to comprehend the future, and it is uncertain if Rainsford will survive on this island that he hopes to aid him. Also, when it mentions an, “animal in an extremity of anguish and terror,” this indicates that whatever is occurring over there could be an absolute life- saver for Rainsford