“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell * p. 214:
Get ready to take part in a shocking hunt. “The Most Dangerous
Game” is a short story full of suspense and surprises that will
keep you on the edge of your seat.
“It is not hard to state what Poe meant by a good short story: it is a piece of fiction, dealing with a
single incident, material or spiritual, that can be read at a sitting; it is original, it must sparkle, excite or
impress; and it must have a unity of effect or impression.” from “Credo of a Storyteller” ~ W. Somerset Maugham
The plot of a story is a series of related events. These events take place as one or more characters take steps
to resolve a conflict, or problem of some kind. Some events are hinted at through the use of foreshadowing.
• Each event in this story will make you curious about what will happen next. That curiosity is called
suspense.
• As you read, look for examples of foreshadowing that hint at what might happen later in the plot.
Characters:
Whitney
Sanger Rainsford
General Zaroff
Ivan
Vocabulary in context: Put a check, star or circle by these words from the story.
__ Know
___ palpable: adj. able to be felt; easily perceived (p. 215).
When the teacher distributed a pop quiz, the tension was palpable.
__ Kind of know
___ indolently: adv. Lazily, idly (p. 217)
Don’t know
The sleepy cat yawned indolently.
___ naïve: adj. unsophisticated (p. 225)
How naïve you are to trust everyone you meet!
___ scruples: n. misgivings about something one feels is wrong (p. 225)
Her scruples prevented her from lying.
___ grotesque: adj. having a strange, bizarre design; shocking or offensive (p. 227)
The disease can cause grotesque lumps under the skin.
___ futile: adj. useless, hopeless (p. 230)
My futile attempt to catch the mouse simply exhausted me.
Vocabulary development: Determine the related forms of these vocabulary words found in the text.
Noun
Verb
-------------------------------
Adjective
palpable
---------------------
grotesque
futile
Adverb
indolently
naive
scruples
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Literary terms and examples
Foreshadowing: use of clues to suggest events that have yet to occur
Example:
Indirect characterization: author provides clues about character by what he says/does, or by what others
say about him
Example:
Inference: an idea or conclusion that is drawn
from evidence and reasoning. When you
make an inference, you are reading between
the lines, or just looking carefully at the facts
and coming to conclusions. We make inferences all of
the time! When the sky is full of gray clouds, we infer
that it’s going to rain. Some inferences are poorly
supported by available evidence, like when someone
spends $100 on the lottery because she feels really
lucky and infers that she is going to win.
Example: What inferences could you make about
Whitney (p. 215-216)?
Conflict: (man vs. self, man vs. man, man vs. nature,
man vs. society)
Example:
Imagery: use of words or phrases that appeal to the
senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste or smell)
Example:
How do you know the writer meant this?
Authors don’t expect readers to create inferences
out of nothing. Authors provide information
(external text); readers use that information
in a variety of ways to create their internal
text. When authors are not providing literal
information, then they are implying something.
Authors imply; therefore, readers have to infer.
To help make inferences:
1. Look for pronouns and figure out how to
connect them.
2. Determine explanations for events.
3. Think about the setting, and see what details
you can add.
4. Think about something that you know about
the topic and see how that fits with what’s in
the text.
5. After you read this section, see if you can
explain why the character acts this way.
6. Look at how the character said (insert a
specific quote). How would you have
interpreted what that character said if he had
said (change how it was said or stress
different words)?
7. Look for words that you don’t know, and see
if any of the other words in the sentence or
surrounding sentences can give you an idea
for what those unknown words mean.
8. As you read this section, look for clues that
would tell you how the author might feel
about (insert a topic or character’s name).
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Conflict:
Example:
Irony: Difference between what is, and what’s expected
Example:
Inference, p. 219
Example:
History connection, p. 221: Ivan and Zaroff are Cossacks, members of a people from southern Russia
who also made up a special Russian military unit. As a group, Cossacks were famous for their
fierceness, and the soldiers enjoyed a privileged status. Because of their elite positions, these soldiers
were also fiercely independent. When the czar, the ruler of Russia, was overthrown in the Russian
Revolution of 1917, Cossacks like Zaroff were executed or forced into exile. As a Cossack, Zaroff is
unwilling to acknowledge that the rules of ordinary people apply to him.
Irony
Example:
Direct characterization: character directly described by the author, the narrator or by other characters
Example:
Foreshadowing
Example:
Internal conflict
Example:
Inference, p. 226
Example:
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Inference, p. 227
Example:
Imagery
Example:
External conflict
Example:
Inference, p. 228:
Example:
Metaphor: Direct comparison, not using like or as: p. 229 (“My love is a red, red rose,”)
Example:
Indirect characterization
Example:
Words that build conflict, p. 230-231: The author uses words to enhance the conflict and convey tension.
What words on these pages indicate a struggle, a physical or mental strain, fear, doubt or danger? List three:
Inference, p. 231
Example:
Metaphor
Example
Personification: A figure of speech where animals, ideas or inorganic objects are given human characteristics
Example:
Conflict
Example
Metaphor
Example
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