The Most Dangerous
Game
Vocabulary
Palpable
Indolently
Bizarre
Naïve
Page 17
Scruples
Blandly
Grotesque
Futile
Richard Connell (1893-1949)
►He
was born October
17,1893, in a New York state
community
►Connell was a sports reporter
at the age of 10
►He started his writing career
early, working as a reporter
►By
the age of 16 Connell was
editing his father’s newspaper
►Attended Harvard University
where he was an editor for the
Daily Crimson
►Reported
on wartime events
during WWI
►“The Most Dangerous Game
was published in 1924
Background
►Big
game hunting (Lions, bears,
etc.)
►Famous example of a big game
hunter was President Theodore
Roosevelt, but was also a great
advocate for conservation
►He went on African safaris, where
he once killed 9 lions, 8 elephants,
and 13 rhinos
What is this story all about?
►Name
some games you have
played that involve “The Chase”
►Are
human beings really civilized?
 Zaroff = highly cultured
tastes, but savage human hunting
 Rainsford = Horrified at the
thought of human hunting/
civilized?
Literary Analysis
►Suspense
is the reader’s
feeling of curiosity,
uncertainty, or even anxiety
about the outcome of events
in a story. Writers can create
suspense by putting
characters into tense or risky
situations
Literary Analysis
►Conflict
plays a key role in
creating suspense. A conflict is
a struggle between opposing
forces, setting one character
against another character, a
character against nature, or a
character against himself or
herself.
Setting/characters
►Ship-Trap
Island = Island
where ships have gone down
►This island is feared and
dreaded by the sailors, it is seen
as god forsaken
►Characters = Whitney,
Rainsford, Zaroff and Ivan
►What happens?
Which details of Rainsford’s
struggle build suspense?
►Falling
off the ship
►A difficult swim to an
unknown shore
►A desperate climb and a
plunge into dense jungle
►His hunger
What conflict faces
Rainsford?
►He
has a conflict with nature.
►He is now in a jungle with no
resources beyond his own
strength, intelligence and
instincts.
►Later on his conflict is with Zaroff
and their ideas on hunting.
Suspense
►A
gun shot on a “deserted”
island
►Who lives in the huge house
on the island?
►Ivan, the servant (How?)
►General Zaroff (How?)
Suspense
►The
discussion about the
biggest game, without telling
what the hunted is
►(page 26) –specific example
of how the author creates
suspense – Animal = man
The Game
►Choice:
To submit to
torture, or to “hunt” with him
►Zaroff gives each man a
knife, food and three hours
►If the man hasn’t been
caught in 3 days he is free
How does the conflict
between Rainsford and
Zaroff resolve?
►Rainsford
swims to the
house, hides in Zaroff’s
bedroom and wins the
game.
Activities
► Review
and Assess (page 36)
► Survival manual (page 39)
► Follow up questions
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/shortstories/UBooks/MosDan.shtml
► Good review worksheet
http://www.argo217.k12.il.us/departs/englis
h/blettiere/most%20dangerous%20game.d
oc