Hunters in the Snow vs. the Most Dangerous Game Essay

In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, the protagonist character, Sander Rainsford is an adventurous and fearless big game hunter. Rainsford has no remorse for his prey. Over the course of the story Rainsford experiences a sudden change of heart when he finds himself where “The world is made up of two classes—the hunters and the huntees.”

“The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees.” In the short story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ which was written by Richard Connell there are two main characters, Rainsford and General Zaroff. Rainsford thought that General Zaroff wanted to hunt with him when in all reality General Zaroff wanted to hunt him(Rainsford) himself. Richard Connell uses irony, theme and characterization to develop the plot and characters. The use of these literary devices suggests that Connell wanted to make the story more interesting and suspenseful so the reader can enjoy reading it.

“ The world is made up of two classes--the hunters and the huntees,” stated Rainsford in the famous short story, The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell. Connell’s story is a fictional story about man hunting man. His piece of literature was made into a movie later on, and in the movie Rainsford made a very similar statement. However, there were changes made between the short story and movie. The similarities and differences become clear in both the plot and resolution. Although the the literary work and motion picture have much in common, they are also quite different.

In both short stories, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and ‘The Interlopers’ by Saki, two men have a conflict between each other. In ‘The Interlopers’ the enemies are two neighbor heirs, Ulrich won Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym, who feud for the land of the Carpathian's, while in ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ these are two hunters, and one of them becomes a prey of another. These characters intrude into a natural environment, which is not human zone, what caused the consequences in “The Interlopers”.  Both authors reach similar endings without a real resolution to intrigue the readers with various options. Ominous and suspenseful mood of these stories help the readers to imagine upcoming mystery of their plots. However, there is a contrast

In both stories the theme is really obvious but they both have some similar parts of theme and they both have some parts that are different. In The Most Dangerous Game the theme is so cliche because it is Hunters Vs. The Hunted. In the beginning of the story Zaroff and Rainsford are as equals and they both are big-game hunters. In the Hunters In The Snow the theme revolves around Deception because there are three main characters in the Hunters in the Snow and they go on a hunting trip and before they can deceive anyone they would have to fool themselves before they could do so. In both stories they are already so similar because they both involve murder and hunting. In The Most Dangerous Game Zaroff was hunting people who came to Ship Trap Island and hunted them and was committing murder and in The Hunters in the Snow Tub shot Kenny and at the end of the story they took the wrong turn to the hospital and Frank and Tub let Kenny die. Frank and Tub would be suspects of Kenny’s murder.

Richard Connell’s short story, The Most Dangerous Game, tells the story of a famous hunter named Rainsford, who falls off of a yacht and swims to an island called Ship-Trap Island. While on Ship Trap Island, Rainsford encounters a man named General Zaroff, who began hunting humans on the island after becoming bored of hunting animals. One night, Zaroff announces to Rainsford that he will be the next victim in his hunting game. Zaroff informs Rainsford that if he manages to survive for three days without being killed, then he can leave the island. Throughout the plot of this short story, there is a consistent theme of the world being composed of two classes of people: the hunters and the hunted. General Zaroff and Rainsford both find themselves to be divided into this class system, at various times during the hunting game. In this short story, Connell uses foreshadowing to portray the idea that there are two classes of people in the world: the hunters and the hunted, in relation to Rainsford and Zaroff.

Presumption of one’s character, lifestyle, or troubles in life is taken from looking at that person and assuming you know all about them. In order to fully understand someone’s pain, you must endure it in their shoes. This is the theme for the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” written by Richard Connell. As Rainsford, the main character of the short story, tries to survive in the wild from a psychotic general who hunts humans as game, the reader sees his change in perspective on what it feels to be hunted. This demonstrates the theme of the short-story through the use of situational irony, man vs. man conflict, and internal conflict.

The short story Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff depicts three men that go on a hunting trip that changes the course of their lives. Each character lies to himself to accept his actions in his life. Kenny, Frank, and Tub need to successfully fool themselves before they can deceive anyone else. Each of the men are immature and selfish. They don't realize how their decisions impact other people's lives. They justify their lies with their own insecurities about their lifestyles. Their lies impact the situations they encounter and change their lives forever.

As I read the short story Hunters in the Snow, I was very intrigued in finding out what was going to happen next. One thing I didn’t understand was why Tobias Wolff did not provide information as to how the three men met. It kind of throws off the story in the beginning because we don’t know any information about any of the men. I was very disappointed in the ending of the story because the author didn’t let readers know whether or not Kenny made it to the hospital. Tobias Wolff’s Hunters in the Snow was surprisingly a very compelling story, I also love the outdoors and hunting is one of my hobbies so it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Although, the only way Zaroff allowed was to take part in his game or get turned over to Ivan. Rainsford prepares for the hunt and on the following day they set out into the jungle. During the hunt, he makes many traps such as false trails, a Malayan mancatcher, a covered pit of wooden stakes, and a knife tied to a sapling. Throughout the hunt, Rainsford becomes creative of using his resources and figures out how to trick the mind of others. For the trail, Zaroff found Rainsford pretty quickly but wanted to enjoy the hunt so he lets him go. The Malay mancatcher only injures Zaroff’s shoulder but usually kills, which made the hunt harder. The wooden stakes trap kills one of Zaroff's best dogs, impressing Zaroff of Rainsford’s skills but makes sure he needs to improve ending Rainsford because that dog was really important to him. The knife tied to the sapling kills Ivan however, Zaroff’s has little to no care of losing his guard rather than losing his best hunting tool. During the hunt, Rainsford and Zaroff trade places of who is the hunter and the huntees. Rainsford fully experiences the fear of being hunted when being held at the edge of the cliff by dogs. He pants ”Nerve, nerve, nerve” ( Connell 14 par. 7) struggling trying not to get killed. Rainsford finally jumps off the cliff and swims around the island to get back to the chateau because it was quicker than walking through. When Zaroff

Imagine a world where people hunt other people as a sport and the hunters become the prey in a fight to survive. In the short story, “The most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell there is a rich hunter named Sanger Rainsford and he is on his yacht in the middle of the Caribbean. After hearing a gunshot he leans over the side of the yacht and he swims to a strange island. On that Island he meets General Zaroff. During a dinner Zaroff tells Rainsford about the hunts he likes to go on and after much convincing Rainsford reluctantly agrees to go on the hunt. Rainsford spends the next few days in a fight for his survival and ends up winning “the game.” In “The Most Dangerous Game” Richard Connell creates suspense by using two elements: foreshadowing and dangerous action.

Imagine you, a well known hunter, are stranded on a humid, tropical island with no wildlife other than a psychotic man. This psychopath is a fellow hunter, but desires to poach even greater and smarter game with extremely high intelligence, and is the smartest animal of all -- humans. Throughout the story, the author creates a suspenseful mood through several conflicts the main character encounters, while struggling to survive the “most dangerous game.” In Richard Connell’s short adventure story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford, a hunter, travels to South America on a hunting expedition, when he carelessly falls off his yacht and into the Caribbean Sea. Struggling to find a place to rest, he swims to an island off in the distance. Upon reaching the island, he comes across a large building where he is warmly welcomed by the owner of the establishment, also a renowned hunter, named General Zaroff, only to find that he is a lunatic. After learning of General Zaroff’s sins, Rainsford is challenged by the general in a game of life and death, and their specialty, hunting. From beginning to end, the author of this short survival story creates a suspenseful mood through the three main conflicts the main character encounters.

Sometimes pride can be a fatal game. “The Most Dangerous Game” is a short story where two men battle with egotism. Each one believes that he is the prime hunter and that nothing could stop either one of them. The protagonist, Rainsford, and antagonist, General Zaroff, are active huntsmen who use their vigorous and intelligent mind to each survive the dangers of Ship-Trap Island and be a successful hunter. Richard Connell's story of the deadly game evokes the theme of competent, prideful men who detach from morality.

Sometimes two stories with similar themes can be different types of fiction. “Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wolff makes the statement that when someone wants something desperately, like validation from others, they will manipulate others and lose their humanity in the process. “Hunters in the Snow” is about three hunters who are in a power struggle. They go out on a hunting trip, where the hunter on the bottom of the food chain, Tub, shoots the one at the top, Kenny, causing the power structure to flip, and the death of Kenny. “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell has a theme that states that through a person’s experiences, they will lose their humanity and morals. The story is about an experienced hunter, Rainsford, who washes ashore

Tobias Wolff is a writer known for his memoirs and realistic short stories. “Hunters in the Snow” is a story about three friends, Tub, Frank, and Kenny, who go hunting in the snow. Wolff writes about humanity through the friendship of the three friends and the events they go through.