Author's Message in Richard Connell’s "The Most Dangerous Game" Presentation by: Michelle Rodriguez & Gabriel Ramirez

Direct Characterization – Direct characterization is how an author tells his or her reader about a character. Direct characterization occurs when the author specifically reveals traits about the character in a direct, straightforward manner. Direct characterization is also important in showing the character's motivation. – Example of direct characterization: – Page 97: "bizarre quality about the general’s face. He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very bright. He had high cheek bones, a sharp-cut nose, a spare, dark face, the face of a man used to giving orders, the face of an aristocrat." – This is an example of direct characterization because the author, Connell, describes traits about a character in the reading, and the passage above describes General Zaroff’s physical attributes.

Indirect Characterization – Indirect characterization is when the narrator shows the reader something about the character through the character's actions, things the character says, or things other characters say. – Example of indirect characterization: – Page 102: “ ‘Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if need be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of the earth—sailors from tramp ships-lascars, 10 blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels—a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them.’" – This is an example of indirect characterization because the author has the character above, Zaroff, speak his mind, and this provides the reader with the opportunity to formulate his/her own opinion of him. Our opinion of him is…

Setting – It’s the location and time period in which the plot takes place. It could also be the type of society in which the character resides. Moreover, it could have something to do with the atmosphere or environment. – Example of setting: – Page 97: “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.” – This is an example of setting because the author is describing Zaroff’s palace, in particular one of the palace’s bedrooms. From the above excerpt, one gets the impression that Zaroff lives like a king and that his life is quite organized.

Theme – Theme is an abstract idea (such as ambition, duty, fear, freedom, jealousy, love or truth) that dominates a literary work. – One of the themes in "The Most Dangerous Game" is don't judge a book by its cover. At the beginning of the story, Rainsford describes General Zaroff as an aristocrat. When he first meets him, Rainsford thinks that Zaroff is a well- educated, civilized person because of the grandeur that surrounds him. But later on, Rainsford discovers that Zaroff is just the opposite. What civilized person would enjoy to hunt man? A lunatic like Zaroff, that’s who. That’s why we should never judge a book by its cover.

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