Mrs. Bodmer-Hoff's LA & Math Blog



ChallengeMany people face challenges. In The Most Dangerous Game, Richard Connell utilizes characterization to suggest that often, people are shaped by challenging situations. In this story, the characters of Zaroff and Rainsford are two people who face challenges which shape who they ultimately become. Challenges can change a person’s perspective or break them so much that they are barely human themselves anymore. Firstly, there is the character of General Zaroff. His greatest challenge is that of the Russian Revolution. Before the Revolution, he is a rich nobleman who enjoys hunting. He feels that he is “made a hunter” by God himself with a hand “made for the trigger.” He has been hunting since he was “only five years old,” on his father’s “quarter of a million acres in the Crimea.” He believes that his “whole life has been one prolonged hunt.” As he gets older, he enters the Russian army as it is “expected of noblemen's sons.” Unfortunately for Zaroff, the Russian Revolution breaks out. He is “an officer of the Czar” and as a result, on the losing side of the war. He would have seen his country torn apart by its own people. During that war, people starved, froze to death and were killed by their own countrymen. It would have been a terrible sight to behold. After losing the battle, Zaroff leaves Russia for it is “imprudent” for him to stay – if he is found to be a sympathizer of the Czar or discovered to be of noble birth, he would be killed as the country is now in the hand of the proletariat. Zaroff is still rich, as he has “invested heavily in American securities,” so he dedicates his life to hunting. After a while, he reaches a terrible conclusion, hunting is becoming boring – how could it not, once a person has seen the horrors that Zaroff would have been witness to during the Revolution, many things that used to be enjoyable would lose their flavour. He fears that he will “go to pieces” without hunting so he decides to hunt a new adversary that must have “courage, cunning, and above all, it must be able to reason.” Zaroff’s new “quarry” is now human beings. He believes that he has “an analytical mind” but clearly it has been fractured by the challenging events of the war in his country, because anyone with a truly analytical mind would realize that what Zaroff is now setting out to do, is murder as well as amoral. He has become a “devil.” On the other hand, there is the character of Sanger Rainsford – an American from “New York City.” He too faces the challenges of a war – World War 1, when he is stationed in France. However, the fact that the war is not in his own country being waged by his own countrymen is not nearly as devastating for him as the Russian Revolution is for General Zaroff. Rainsford is able to go home unscathed. As a result, he is able to continue following his passion for hunting. Rainsford is a skilled hunter who has never once thought of how an animal may “feel” during the hunt. To him, hunting is “the best sport in the world” where “the world is made up of two classes--the hunters and the huntees.” Rainsford has always fallen into the former category until he decides that he does not want to hunt with Zaroff. Zaroff decides that he will hunt Rainsford instead. At first, Rainsford is incredulous but as he realizes that Zaroff is serious, his first reaction is that he will hide out to run out the time. As Rainsford hides in the tree, Zaroff comes upon the hiding place and leaves without having seen Rainsford. Rainsford is relieved at first but then understands that Zaroff is “playing with him” and only “saving him for another day's sport.” With this newfound insight, Rainsford knows that the only way to overcome this challenge is to kill Zaroff. He can finally identify with an animal as he comes to the realization that Zaroff is “the cat” and he is “the mouse.” He now knows that Zaroff is evil and that he must destroy him. His first attempt is with a “Malay mancatcher.” Zaroff is intelligent and has also hunted in “Malacca,” so he is aware of this trap. Rainsford’s second attempt is with a “Burmese tiger pit,” which claims one of Zaroff’s best dogs. This angers the General, and makes him start to question if Rainsford may be a superior foe, so he decides to use his pack of dogs on Rainsford. The next time they meet, Rainsford uses a tree as a spring load for a knife. He does not get the General but succeeds in taking out Ivan. Rainsford makes his way back to the General’s chateau and could easily leave at this point, however the challenge has changed him and he is now “a beast at bay.” He understands how a cornered animal feels and feels that he has to kill Zaroff in order to feel safe, which he does. He is left with a different perception of hunting as well as animals and people.In conclusion, challenging situations can shape a person. Zaroff goes from a Russian nobleman who enjoys hunting to a “devil” capable of “cold-blooded murder” after what he witnessed during the Russian Revolution as a General in the Czar’s army. Rainsford is in a different war which does not affect him the same way. The challenging situation that leads Rainsford to understand what it may be like for a hunted animal, is being hunted by another human himself. This leads him to become a killer with a newfound respect for animals. Challenges are everywhere and can often be unexpected – hopefully the change a person undergoes will leave them recognizable when they come out the other side.PlanningZaroff:Challenging situation: Russian Revolution before that, he was a rich nobleman who enjoyed hunting. Proof: “It was to a huge, beam-ceilinged bedroom with a canopied bed big enough for six men that Rainsford followed the silent giant. Ivan laid out an evening suit, and Rainsford, as he put it on, noticed that it came from a London tailor who ordinarily cut and sewed for none below the rank of duke”The general filled both glasses, and said, "God makes some men poets. Some He makes kings, some beggars. Me He made a hunter. My hand was made for the trigger, my father said. He was a very rich man with a quarter of a million acres in the Crimea, and he was an ardent sportsman. When I was only five years old he gave me a little gun, specially made in Moscow for me, to shoot sparrows with. When I shot some of his prize turkeys with it, he did not punish me; he complimented me on my marksmanship. I killed my first bear in the Caucasus when I was ten. My whole life has been one prolonged hunt. I went into the army--it was expected of noblemen's sons--and for a time commanded a division of Cossack cavalry, but my real interest was always the hunt. I have hunted every kind of game in every land. It would be impossible for me to tell you how many animals I have killed."Fought for the Czar…losing side of the battle. "After the debacle in Russia I left the country, for it was imprudent for an officer of the Czar to stay there. Many noble Russians lost everything. I, luckily, had invested heavily in American securities, so I shall never have to open a tearoom in Monte Carlo or drive a taxi in Paris. Naturally, I continued to hunt--grizzliest in your Rockies, crocodiles in the Ganges, rhinoceroses in East Africa. It was in Africa that the Cape buffalo hit me and laid me up for six months. As soon as I recovered I started for the Amazon to hunt jaguars, for I had heard they were unusually cunning. They weren't." The Cossack sighed. "They were no match at all for a hunter with his wits about him, and a high-powered rifle. I was bitterly disappointed. I was lying in my tent with a splitting headache one night when a terrible thought pushed its way into my mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me! And hunting, remember, had been my life. I have heard that in America businessmen often go to pieces when they give up the business that has been their life."The general smiled. "I had no wish to go to pieces," he said. "I must do something. Now, mine is an analytical mind, Mr. Rainsford. Doubtless that is why I enjoy the problems of the chase.""I wanted the ideal animal to hunt," explained the general. "So I said, `What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?' And the answer was, of course, `It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason."'Saw his own country torn apart by it’s citizens – that alone would cause lasting damage to a psycheIn that war saw that people’s lives were worth nothing – an idea he embraced, perhaps to get through the war but then it stuckAfter the challenge of the war, he was a broken manHe no longer had a country but since he was rich, he was able to set up on the island“He was finding the general a most thoughtful and affable host, a true cosmopolite. But there was one small trait of .the general's that made Rainsford uncomfortable. Whenever he looked up from his plate he found the general studying him, appraising him narrowly.”"Oh, yes," he said, casually, as if in answer to a question, "I have electricity. We try to be civilized here." "Civilized? And you shoot down men?"Intelligent"Perhaps," said General Zaroff, "you were surprised that I recognized your name. You see, I read all books on hunting published in English, French, and Russian. I have but one passion in my life, Mr. Rainsford, and it is the hunt."Rainsford:Challenging situation: being hunted by ZaroffBefore being hunted by ZaroffFelt superior to animalsHunted for the sport of it"It will be light enough in Rio," promised Whitney. "We should make it in a few days. I hope the jaguar guns have come from Purdey's. We should have some good hunting up the Amazon. Great sport, hunting." "The best sport in the world," agreed Rainsford. "For the hunter," amended Whitney. "Not for the jaguar." "Don't talk rot, Whitney," said Rainsford. "You're a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?" "Perhaps the jaguar does," observed Whitney. "Bah! They've no understanding." "Even so, I rather think they understand one thing--fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death." "Nonsense," laughed Rainsford. "This hot weather is making you soft, Whitney. Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes--the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are hunters. Do you think we've passed that island yet?"During the huntKnows the terror of being hunted and knowing that Zaroff sees him in the tree but lets him live because he’s not done with him yet & tries to just hide from himBut perhaps the general was a devilHis need for rest was imperative and he thought, "I have played the fox, now I must play the cat of the fable."Rainsford did not want to believe what his reason told him was true, but the truth was as evident as the sun that had by now pushed through the morning mists. The general was playing with him! The general was saving him for another day's sport! The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror.Until he realizes that the General is EVIL, then he decides to kill himTruly knows how an animal feels and kills Zaroff as a result – makes a Malay mancatcher, Burmese Tiger pit, spring loaded tree knifeNot many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher. Luckily for me I, too, have hunted in Malacca.The job was finished at last, and he threw himself down behind a fallen log a hundred feet away. He did not have to wait long. The cat was coming again to play with the mouse."Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my best dogs. Again you score. I think, Mr. Rainsford, Ill see what you can do against my whole pack. I'm going home for a rest now. Thank you for a most amusing evening."for he saw in the shallow valley that General Zaroff was still on his feet. But Ivan was not. The knife, driven by the recoil of the springing tree, had not wholly failed.After the huntRainsford did not smile. "I am still a beast at bay," he said, in a low, hoarse voice. "Get ready, General Zaroff."Side note – Rainsford was in WW1 in France (find the part about being buried in in France)He faced a similar challenging situation to Zaroff – war Rainsford had dug himself in in France when a second's delay meant deathHowever it did not break him in the same way"Hunting? Great Guns, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder." The general laughed with entire good nature. He regarded Rainsford quizzically. "I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harbors romantic ideas about the value of human life. Surely your experiences in the war--" "Did not make me condone cold-blooded murder," finished Rainsford stiffly.Perhaps it’s because it was not his country – he is from New York City Proof: “My name is Sanger Rainsford of New York City”Europe was torn apart but by different countries – it was not one country torn in two by it’s own peopleConcl:Different challenges affect different people differently ................
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