1. “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
5 paragraph Essay
An analysis of conflict

2. “The Most Dangerous Game”
Essay Do’s
DO include a proper heading in the top left- hand corner of the essay
DO use size 12 font
DO use a plain font, Times New Roman or Ariel
DO double space entire essay
DO include a title in the center of your essay:
“The Most Dangerous Game”

3. Essay DO Not’s DO NOT introduce yourself as the author.
DO NOT begin any sentence or paragraph with “I am going to write to you about…” or “I am going to tell you about…”
DO NOT use slang words such as: till, cuz, u, 2, etc.
DO NOT use the personal “I” in a formal essay
DO NOT use “you” in the essay for example:
Now you know about the conflicts in MDG…
**Exception in the attention getter

4. Introduction Part 1: Attention Getter
Options may include, but are not limited to…
1. Quote: “Perseverance is the fuel for the brave and the bold.”
2. A question: How would it feel to know that someone wants to hunt you for fun?
3. A statement: You have just found out that you have to survive three days in the jungle while being chased by a man with a gun and dogs. Now you have to figure out how to survive and get away with your life.

5. Introduction PART 2: Background information (2-4 sentences)
This provides the reader with basic information without retelling the story.
Title of story (short stories in quotation marks “ ”)
Author’s name
Main characters
Basic plot (what is the story about, briefly?)
Address the idea of conflict in some way

6. Background information example
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, a character named Rainsford finds himself in a predicament after he falls off a yacht into the Caribbean sea. After swimming to a nearby island, he finds himself knocking on the door of a mysterious chateau. Upon meeting the man of the house, General Zaroff, Rainsford learns that he must survive three days on this island while being hunted by the general if he wishes to live.

7. Introduction Part 3: thesis Statement
What is the thesis statement?
Summarizes the main point or claim of an essay.
In essence, it tells the reader what your whole essay will be about. All of your evidence (CDs) should relate back to the thesis.
ONLY ONE SENTENCE- this should be the last sentence in your introduction paragraph! .

8. Examples of thesis statements
Example 1: Rainsford struggles against conflicts with nature, man, but most importantly, himself as he strives to use his cunning, courage, and intellect in this game of survival. Example 2: While “The Most Dangerous Game” is a classic example of man vs. man conflict, Rainsford must endure a variety of conflicts throughout the story, but ultimately he triumphs over each.

9. Format of a body paragraph
Topic Sentence (TS) Concrete Detail 1 (CD1) Commentary 1 (CM1) Concrete Detail 2 (CD2) Commentary 2 (CM2) Concluding sentence w/ transition (CS)

10. Man vs. man Man vs. nature Man vs. self Body paragraphs
Each paragraph will address a different kind of conflict Rainsford faces.
Man vs. man
Man vs. nature
Man vs. self

11. Topic sentence (TS)
Each paragraph focuses on one type of conflict.
State this in your topic sentence (TS) for the reader.
Examples of topic a sentence:
Rainsford is faced with the conflict of man versus nature throughout the story.
2. Rainsford struggles with himself right from the start of the story.

12. These are facts from the text.
Concrete details (cd)
These are facts from the text.
You will include a total of 2 CDs in each paragraph.
CORE -> at least one (1) will be a direct quote with a quote lead the other CD can be paraphrased or a direct quote.
HONORS: must have two (2) direct quotes with a quote lead in each paragraph.
What is a quote lead?

13. Examples of Cds Quote with quote lead
Paraphrased CD (fact) CORE
Rainsford, after falling into the sea, calls the sea his enemy as he struggles to survive in the dark waters.
Quote with quote lead
On their way to the hunting trip of a lifetime, Rainsford turns to Whitney and says, “There are two kinds of people in this world. There are the hunters and the hunted” (p.57).

14. Citing a direct quote (cd) properly
On their way to the hunting trip of a lifetime, Rainsford turns to Whitney and says, “There are two kinds of people in this world. There are the hunters and the hunted” (p.57).
Notice the format used – note where the quotation marks go, the parentheses, and end punctuation.

15. Commentary (CM)
This is you explaining or interpreting the concrete details provided.
You will have a total of 2 CMs in each paragraph.
Commentary needs to answer these questions:
Why is this concrete detail important to the story?
How does this show the reader more about Rainsford or the theme?
How, or what, does this conflict add to the story?

16. Example of commentary
Immediately after Rainsford fell off the yacht and into the ridged water he knew what he needed to do to survive. “…and doggedly he swam in that direction, swimming with slow, deliberate strokes, conserving his strength” (p. 57). Here Rainsford shows his ability to stay calm, cool and collected in a dire situation. Where most people would likely panic and struggle to survive, Rainsford shows he is the opposite. Understanding that the only way to make it out of this alive would require not only stamina, but levelheadedness, Rainsford proves that he is a man who analyzes a situation before reacting to it and by doing so he was able to find his way to the island and survive his first real conflict.

17. Concluding Sentence (CS)
The concluding sentence should:
Always wrap up the purpose of your body paragraph.
Restate the main idea for the reader to use transition words to prepare for the next paragraph.

18. Example of a CS w/ transition
Rainsford was a celebrated hunter who was forced to survive in the wilderness. His uncanny ability to navigate through the jungle amidst all conflicts of nature allowed him to survive the most dangerous game. However, not only did Rainsford survive the conflicts of nature, he also withstood the quarrel with General Zaroff.

19. Sum up main points made in each body paragraph. One sentence each.
Concluding paragraph
Sum up main points made in each body paragraph.
One sentence each.
Restate thesis statement in a different way.
Provide a Zinger (food for thought)
Why does this matter? What does the variety of conflict in this short story show us about Rainsford, about mankind? What's the takeaway?

20. Now…
Using your classifying conflict handout, and/or the textbook, write 5 possible thesis statements (on a separate piece of paper) based on the evidence of conflict you have recorded.
Once you finish, choose the top two.

21. Essay Prompt
Explain the conflicts that Rainsford experiences in “The Most Dangerous Game”.

22. MDG Essay Highlight your attention getter in ORANGE
Highlight your thesis in YELLOW
Highlight your Topic Sentences and Concluding Sentences/Transitions in RED
Underline the “quote-leads” before each Concrete Detail
Highlight your Concrete Details in BLUE
Highlight your Commentary in GREEN

23. Wanna be thesis statements vs. The real deal
Read each thesis and determine which one works best
Literature has conflict
Conflict is important
There are 5 kinds of conflict in literature
Man vs. man conflict is interesting
In “The Most Dangerous Game,” the conflicts of man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs. himself illustrate how Rainsford learns an important lessons of survival.