The Most Dangerous Game - Short Story Interpretation
Short stories have been around since as long as history can record it. They are interesting pieces of literature, mainly fictional, that usually have an allegory or main theme it’s based off of. These stories range from anywhere from 6 words to over 100 pages. A famous short story I’ve read that stuck with me is called “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. It’s nearly 100 years old, but still a pleasure to read today.
The story starts out with two men, Whitney and Rainsford, on a yacht headed to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Both men are big-game hunters and plan to hunt jaguar. Soon later Rainsford finds himself gone overboard and makes his way ashore on a nearby island. After passing out and waking sometime later, he explores his surroundings to find a mansion on the island with two men present living in it. General Zaroff and his deaf and dumb assistant, Ivan, greet him at the door. Rainsford settles in to this estate and finds out that Zaroff too has a fancy for hunting, but rather for beings that can reason and present a greater challenge.
Rainsford finds himself having trouble sleeping that night and the next day gets news that he is to either be hunted down by Zaroff or be handed over to Ivan. He chooses to take his chances with being hunted and speeds off into the jungle. Rainsford nearly gets caught a few times, but ends up killing Zaroff’s prized dog and Ivan. In the final chase between them, Rainsford escapes by jumping off a cliff into the ocean and the hunter leaves disappointed without his prey. After a hearty meal and much reminiscing of the day's events, Zaroff decides to retire for the evening. Upon entering his bedroom, he is confronted by Rainsford, who has been hiding behind the bed curtains. Zaroff is delighted that he has been defeated. However, Rainsford is not willing to let the game end there. He challenges Zaroff to one final duel. Zaroff accepts and says that...