The Most Dangerous Game
On Your Desk: Notebook/Binder for English 9
Writing utensil
Open your notes and label the top: Short Story Unit
Below, label DSW, read the directions below and begin working
Daily Spark Work: Pull out your binder or notebook and begin writing. (5pts)
You should have ½ - 1 full page of creative writing.
Create the foundation and directions for a game. The name of your game is “The Most
Dangerous Game.” Think about the following –
How do you play?
What are the rules?
What materials do you need to play?
Your task is to create a game that would have the title – “The Most Dangerous Game”
You may begin.
Short Story Unit
 “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
 The oldest of all our stories are about conflicts between
people and the monsters– real and imaginary– that
threaten them… Floods, bullies at the corner, clashes
with friends, viruses…anger, prejudice, selfishness, fear.
Why is it that so many of our stories deal with conflict?
“The Most Dangerous Game”
 In your notes, brainstorm a list of all of the conflicts
you face in your life. List the big and the small–
from the paper cuts to the broken bones. Write
freely. You are creating a list of struggles, conflicts,
and monsters that you face.
 We will be returning to this list later on
Elements of Fiction
 Characterization
 Characters
 Suspense
 Life-or-Death Conflict
 Irony
Glossary of Literary Terms
 Highlight or underline the following terms
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Characterization
Figurative Language – Simile and Metaphor
Foreshadowing
Imagery
Irony
Point of View
Short Story
Conflict
Antagonist
Protagonist
Double Entry Journal
 As we read the short story aloud, create a double entry
journal in your notes
 Be sure to label this section clearly: Double Entry
Journal
 Column 1 (pg. #)
Column 2:
Quotes from the Story
Questions?
An element of fiction or literary
Device working in the story
Vocabulary Word
Elaborate or express your opinion
Connection to the Text
Define
Example
 “The Most Dangerous
Game” pg. 13
The title of this story creates an
element of suspense for me.
What type of “game” is this
going to be?
Daily Spark - 4
In your notes, label Daily Spark Work
After reading the first few paragraphs of “The Most
Dangerous Game,” draw a picture to depict what you
know about the story or how you feel. It may be a
literal drawing of the scene you have read or an
abstract piece dealing with evil, instinct, hunting, or
characters such as Whitney or Rainsford.
Pop Quiz
 Pull out a piece of loose leaf paper
 “I don’t have any…” Borrow from a friend
 First and Last Name Period _____ . _____
1. Define characterization
2. Simile
a. comparison of two things using words “like” or
“as”
b. Comparison of two things essentially different but
with some commonalities; does not use “Like” or
“as”
3. __________________________: Important hints that
an author drops to prepare the reader for what is to
come, and help the reader anticipate the outcome.
4. __________________ always involves a contrast or
discrepancy between one thing and another.
(There are three kinds: Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic)
5. Define Theme:
6. Tone
a. Central idea
b. A person, object, image, word that evokes a range of
additional meanings
c. Author’s implicit attitude toward the reader, subject,
people in a work (May be sad or happy, serious or
ironic…)
7. Another name for the main character in a story –
often good or heroic type: ______________________
8. The person or force working against the hero:
____________________________ (The Bad Guy)
9. Shorter than a novel, read in one sitting, few
characters, and focuses on one conflict. Which literary
form is being described:
a. Comedy
b. Disney
c. Short Story
d. Full-Length novel
Question 10
 “Sometimes I think evil is a tangible thing– with
wavelengths, just as sound and light have. An evil
place can, so to speak, broadcast vibrations of
evil…” Whitney
 Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why
or why not? ( 1-2 sentences)
Tuesday, August 26
On Your Desk:
1. Notebooks open, label DSW “Check Yourself”
2. Writing Utensil
3. Big Blue Book below your desk
Cast “The Most Dangerous
Game”
 If you could cast the characters in the story, who would you cast in
today’s society? Why? Respond to the questions in your NOTES.
Provide reasoning for your responses.
 Whitney
 Sanger Rainsford
 General Zaroff
 Ivan
 Now, choose ONE song to serve as the movie’s theme song. Why?
How does that song connect to the major theme of the story?
Discussion Questions
 “Who cares how a jaguar feels?”
“perhaps the jaguar does…”
 “They’ve no understanding.”
Even so, I rather think they understand one thing –
fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death.”
Do you agree or disagree with Whitney?
 Why or why not?
Irony
 Rainsford’s first impression was that the man was
singularly handsome; his second was that there was an
original, almost bizarre quality about the general’s face.
He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a
vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military
moustache were as black as the night from which
Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very
bright. He had high cheekbones, a sharp cut nose, a spare,
dark face, the face of a man used to giving orders, the face
of an aristocrat…
 How did the author characterize General Zaroff?
How would you characterize him? What do you
think about his ability to hide his true colors?
Characterization, Irony
Define the term Civilized
 Is General Zaroff civilized?
 Can individuals become uncivilized?
 Throughout the story, what did Rainsford and
General Zaroff rely on more –instinct or ability to
reason?
 Use specific references from the text to support your
claim.
 Instinct versus Reason
Theme
The Ending
WHAT HAPPENED?!