The Most Dangerous Game

I read this short story in my high school English class years ago and always thought it was interesting, which is what lead me to reread it all these years later. The story is about a man who is stranded on an island and meets a man who hunts humans for sport. Richard Connell uses a life or death conflict, an ominous setting, and suspenseful tone to reveal the theme that, sometimes you have to go against your morals in order to survive. I always loved that moral of this story, even when I read it as a teenager, because it’s an incredibly important lesson to learn. Killing is never easy but sometimes it is the only way out. I think it’s also interesting that another idea briefly explored in this story is the idea of chasing pleasures and thrills, and how if you find yourself constantly in pursuit of the next great chase, you’ll constantly be crossing moral lines until you go so far that you can never come back from it. The choice to never actually show the final fight between the two characters was done well here. I always loved the references to this story in other stories and media. There is also a possible reference to The Most Dangerous Game in letters that the Zodiac Killer wrote to newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area in his three-part cipher: "Man is the most dangerous animal of all to kill", though he may have come up with the idea independently. Very few short stories flesh out their characters in a way that feel satisfying but this one did, and it also gave the protagonist an interesting arc. Easily one of the best short stories that I’ve ever read.

“‘Off there to the right—somewhere—is a large island,’ said Whitney. ‘It's rather a mystery ? ‘What island is it?’ Rainsford asked. ‘The old charts call it “Ship-Trap Island,” Whitney replied. ‘A suggestive name, isn't it? Sailors have a curious dread of the place. I don't know why. Some superstition’ awesome !

In one of the most popular short stories of all time, Connell imagines a big-game hunter who’s become bored with his prey. So, on his private island, he stocks a different kind of game—the most cunning and dangerous animal of all. That’s right: General Zaroff hunts people. He’ll give them a head start and toy around for a bit before finally dispatching them. But then Sanger Rainsford, a big-game hunter himself, washes ashore after accidentally falling off his boat. At first, him and Zaroff hit it off. The General reveals his secret, though, and asks his guest to hunt with him. Sanger has different plans, but the General isn’t so keen on letting him get off the island and spill the beans about what’s really going on. And the hunt ensues. I enjoyed this classic story and truly didn’t know which direction the ending would take until I got there. If you need a quick-hit Halloween read, “The Most Dangerous Game” is perfect; then you can watch any number of movies which are either loosely or directly based on Connell’s plot.

Read it for English class and it was… something