Richard Connell

Title  Refers to “man” being the most dangerous animal that could possibly be hunted  Refers to the “game” that is “played” by Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff

Creating an Atmosphere  “as if the air about us was actually poisonous- Connell creates horrifying atmosphere.  Rainsford talks about hunting jaguars “the best sport in the world”. Whitney responds with how jaguars must feel, “the fear of pain and the fear of death”. Rainsford belittles Whitney’s idea.

How is the world seen?  “The world is made up of 2 classes—the hunters and the hunted. Luckily, you and I are hunters.”  If the world is divided into classes; rich and poor for example: does the class with the advantage have any obligation to consider the viewpoint of the class that is at their mercy? Is the ability to show empathy and feel compassion a weakness that has to be present in order for one to be considered an adequate human being?

Egotism  There is a certain amount of egotism in Rainsford’s attitude. He made the assumption that he would never have to trade places with the animals he hunted.  He was in for quite a surprise!

Connell’s Description  A rope struck Ransford’s pipe and when he tried to retrieve it he fell overboard into the “blood warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.”

Hunting  Rainsford associated hunting with all things good. He swam toward the island with vigor of a man who sensed that a place where he would thrive and fit in was not far away. Rainsford did not care what type of animal was being hunted. It made no difference to him. After all hunting is hunting. Is the death of one animal that different from the death of another? Later in the story the type of animal being hunted would make a great deal of a difference to him.

The Castle  As night fell he found himself moving toward a LARGE chateau built on a cliff surrounded on three sides by the sea. In horror stories imposing edifices seem to shape the characters of the people that live within their walls. And now in the midst of a wild jungle we have a castle where there should be no castle. It sits on the highest point of the island indicating that this must be the home of the island’s master, the lord of all that is beneath him- “A lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward into the gloom.” Is the owner aspiring to be God?

The Welcoming Committee  Spiked iron fence  On the door was “a leering gargoyle for a knocker”. “It creaked up stiffly, as if it had never before been used.”

Ivan  Huge  Black beard  Pistol  Wearing a black uniform trimmed with astrakhan  Russian  A bit of a savage  Mute

Zaroff  Tells Rainsfor that he displays all of the signs of being highly civilized, but hints that he is really a savage himself.  “Face of an aristocrat”- This is interesting because remember earlier with the two classes? The hunters and the hunted. Zaroff and Rainsford both consider themselves a hunter- member of the superior class. In many ways this is the meeting of two kindred spirits.

Food  Dinner consisted of : champagne, borscht, and filet mignon.  Champagne- associated with celebrating joyous events  Borscht- beet soup so it’s RED like blood  Filet Mignon- a small choice cut of beef- prized animal  Suits the story quite well

Cape Buffalo  Rainsford thought - the most dangerous game  Threw Zaroff against a tree & fractured his skull….does this lay the ground work for the theory that the man might be mentally unbalanced?  The truth is when Zaroff shot prized turkeys. His father’s message told him that being a great hunter is far more important than the life of any animal!

Two Things To Note:  First: The headache. It indicates that the Cape buffalo may have damaged Zaroff’s brain and caused him to go mad. OR  Rainsford, at the start of the story was on his way to the Amazon to hunt jaguars. So perhaps Rainsford’s life was following exactly the same path that Zaroff’s had. Perhaps Rainford saw in Zaroff the man that he would eventually become….

Hunting For or Against?  “Hunting had ceased to be what you call a sporting proposition. It had become too easy.” This is one of the main arguments that those who oppose hunting use to try to ban the practice- that the animal has no chance to win and that the outcome is certain before the “game” ever begins.  The only animal that has the ability to reason is “man”.

War vs. Hunting  Rainsford told Zaroff that his “game” was not hunting it was cold blooded murder.  Zaroff disagrees- after all he was in the military during the war.  Rainsford feels that war is different than hunting down men and killing them.  Is there a difference?

War vs. Hunting  Fighting in a war might be considered a matter of self- defense but is it possible for those on both sides to consider it a matter of self defense? One side must be the aggressor. The question of which side unjustly attacked the other is generally decided after the war is over and the victor writes the history of the affair.  Something to think about: General Zaroff was no longer in the military. The Communist Revolution got rid of its aristocrats. Therefore this man, who was used to a life of rank and privilege found himself in a world that was being filled with democracy and equality. There was no place for him in the real world anymore so he found it necessary to build a world of his own where he was the supreme ruler, and the inhabitants were his serfs and his sport!

Justified?  There is a war between Rainsford and Zaroff. Zaroff is definitely the one to provoked it, but in many ways all he is doing is living by the principles that Rainsford himself claims to believe in.  Rainsford clearly states that the greates joy in his life is hunting animals and killing them. As long as the animal is some creature that is nothing like a human, it’s all ok with Rainsford. Once it is him….he has moral objections to the idea!

Only the Strong Survive  Zaroff belittles Rainford’s objections and states that the weak only exist for the pleasure of the strong.  “I hunt the scum of the earth: sailors from tramp ships-lassars, black, Chinese, whites, mongrels  Zaroff rationalizes the killing of these people by classifying them as creatures that are inferior to him