LogFAQs > #912050160

18. The Most Dangerous Game (Short story) (25 points)
Nominated by: trdl23 (1/5 remaining)
https://archive.org/stream/TheMostDangerousGame_129/danger.txt

Importance: 9.5
Fear: 6.5
Snake: 9

Like many I'm sure, I first read this great short story in high school, even though it was not part of the class. I remember the story captivating me, as both a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse and as a thought piece of the natures of man. The story starts out simply, on a ship, as two hunters, Rainsford and Whitney, pass by an island with a bad reputation. The two discuss the merits and philosophies of hunting; Rainsford is notably uncaring towards his prey, and suggests they feel nothing while they are being hunted. Whitney however think the prey does indeed feel one thing: fear. This conversation colors the story early on, as the meat of the story quickly gets underway. Rainsford falls overboard after hearing pistol shots, and swims to the cursed island, where he meats General Zaroff, a surprising fan of Rainsford and one loves one thing and one thing only: the hunt. As an aside, I love the way Zaroff's smile is described here: "...showed red lips and pointed teeth", very sinister and deliberately animal-like. Over dinner, the two get to chatting about the biggest game; Rainsford suggests it's the Cape buffalo, but Zaroff plays coy and keeps implying there's a game bigger than the buffalo. After avoiding the answer long enough, Rainsford is able to deduce what Zaroff really means. Rainsford compares the hunting of humans to murder, which he sees as different to the hunting of animals. I'm sure many readers would equate hunting and murder as one and the same, and of course, there's where a lot of the thoughtful discussion comes into play here. Both men are intricate contradictions. Zaroff comes off as a gentlemen and extremely civilized man on an untamed island complete separate from society, which is the only place he's able to fulfill his base desires. Rainsford on the other hand, feels the fear in being the hunted for once in his life, for which he once so carelessly tossed aside as a silly notion. Zaroff and Rainsford each reveal new things about the other in a circular pattern. Zaroff is proven to be inferior due to Rainsford beating him despite the general's limitless resources, but it's Rainsford who has no choice but to play into Zaroff's game to secure his survival and learn a few things about the nature of hunting in the process. In the end, "the most dangerous game" is a rather unwinnable game, but it's also one where we learn a lot about ourselves in the process, and that type of discovery is always invaluable.
---

If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will!
http://tinyurl.com/zqwzc9a - https://i.imgtc.com/3qwvxhc.jpg