The Most Dangerous Game
By Richard Connell
*Power Notes*
Directions: Fill in the blanks to the questions by viewing the Power Notes power
point presentation in class.
1.) Setting: ________________ - ________________ Island
2.) Word that describes the island: ___________________________
3.) Foreshadowingthe use of ______________________ that hint at later __________________ in the story.
+ creates _____________________________________
+ makes reader ________________________________
4.) Predictiona type of _________________________ based on __________________________
Predictions may be based on: + _______________________________
+ _______________________________
+ _______________________________
+ _______________________________
5.) Vocabulary:
receding (v. used as adj.) - _____________________________________________
disarming (adj.) - ____________________________________________________
prolonged (v. used as adj.) - ____________________________________________
imprudent (adj.) - ____________________________________________________
surmounted (v.) - _____________________________________________________
unruffled (adj.) - _____________________________________________________
invariably (adv.) - ____________________________________________________
diverting (adj.) - ______________________________________________________
impulse (n.) - ________________________________________________________
protruding (v. used as adj.) - _____________________________________________
The Most Dangerous Game
By Richard Connell
Study Guide
Name: ___________________________________ Due Date: ______________ Period: _____
A. PLOT ANALYSIS
1. What information did the reader learn in the EXPOSITION about the following:
A. Rains ford -
B. General Zaroff -
C. Ivan -
D. Ship-Trap Island -
E. The Game -
2. What is the NARRATIVE HOOK?
3. What are the major events of the RISING ACTION?
4. What is the CLIMAX?
5. What is the FALLING ACTION?
6. What is the RESOLUTION?
B. CHARACTER ANALYSIS
7. What causes Rainsford to change in the story?
8. Is Rainsford flat or round? Why?
9. Is Rainsford dynamic or static? Why?
10. Is Zaroff flat or round? Why?
11. Is Zaroff dynamic or static? Why?
12. Does Connell use direct or indirect characterization?
C. LITERARY DEVICES
13. Give 3 examples of irony in the story.
A.
B.
C.
14. Give 3 examples of foreshadowing in the story.
A.
B.
C.
15. Give 2 examples of man vs. man conflict.
A.
B.
16. Give 1 example of man vs. nature conflict.
17. Give 1 example of man vs. society conflict.
18. Give 1 example of man vs. himself conflict.
D. STORY DETAILS
19. Give details supporting Zaroff’s claim that he lives a “civilized” life.
20. List the traps Rainsford set for Zaroff.
21. What is the significance of the conversation between Rainsford and Whitney
about the feelings of the jaguar?
Story Elements & Character Analysis
Notes:
Story Questions:
1. Foreshadowing: What might the sailors dread? (pg. 17 column 1)
2. Do you agree with Whitney or Rainsford? Why? (pg. 18 col. 1)
3. The island has an evil reputation. What role do you think it will play in the story? (pg. 18 col. 2)
4. Plot device: What seems unusual about Rainsford standing on the rail to see better? (pg. 19 col. 1)
5. Foreshadowing: The sea is referred to as “blood-warm”. What might this foreshadow? (pg. 19 col. 1)
6. What do you learn about Rainsford in this passage? (pg. 19 col. 1)
7. To what earlier part of the story does this passage refer? (pg. 19 col. 2)
8. Foreshadowing: The phrase “snarled and ragged jungle” suggests an area that has not been
cultivated(civilized). What kind of men might Rainsford find in such a place? (pg. 20 col. 1)
9. This passage generates suspense by leaving questions unanswered. What questions do you have? (pg. 20
para. 4 & 5)
10. What is your reaction to the man carrying a revolver? What type of person might he be? (pg. 20 col. 2)
11. How does this confrontation heighten the suspense? (pg. 21 col. 1)
12. What do Gen. Zaroff’s remarks about Cossacks suggest about how he will behave later in the story? (remark
about his teeth) (pg. 21 col. 2)
13. Foreshadowing: Rainsford is uncomfortable with the general’s appraising, or judging, him. What does the
general’s inspection of Rainsford hint at? (pg. 22 col. 1)
14. What do you predict the most dangerous game will be? (pg. 22 col. 2)
15. Zaroff is making an assumption about what is a fair contest between an animal and a human. Do you agree
with his assessment that jaguars cannot outwit a hunter with a high-powered rifle? (pg. 24. col. 1)
16. What do you think the General is leading up to? (pg. 24 col. 1)
17. How does the author create suspense, or anticipation, here? (pg. 24 col. 2)
18. Foreshadowing: What hints did the writer use to foreshadow this development? (pg. 25 col. 1)
19. What is the conflict between Rainsford and Zaroff about? (pg. 25 col. 2)
20. Predicting: Think about the information presented at the beginning of the story. How might Zaroff find
men to hunt? (pg. 26 col. 1)
21. Draw a sketch showing how the General might trap ships. (pg. 26 col. 2)
22. In what ways is this “game” an unequal contest? (pg. 28 col. 1)
23. Making Inferences: What kind of heads do you suppose are in the general’s new collection? (pg. 28 col. 2)
24. Foreshadowing: Rainsford is locked in his room, high up in a tower. What future event do these
circumstances hint at? (pg. 29 col. 1)
25. Who do you think will prevail in this conflict? How might it be resolved? (pg. 29 col. 2)
26. Foreshadowing: What hints did the writer provide earlier that Zaroff would force Rainsford into a contest?
(pg. 29 col. 2)
27. What does Rainsford’s response to Zaroff’s demand for silence tell you about Rainsford’s character? (pg. 30
col. 1)
28. What does this statement reveal about Zaroff’s character? (pg. 30 para. 3)
29. Will Zaroff spot Rainsford in the tree? (pg. 30 col. 2)
30. The writer heightens the suspense in this passage by leaving crucial questions unanswered. What questions
do you have at the beginning of the passage? What questions at the end? (pg. 31 col. 1)
31. What idiom is the writer referring to? Why does this idiom present an effective image at this point in the
story? (pg. 31 col. 2)
32. Why is the narrator’s comparison of Rainsford to a beaver appropriate here? (pg. 32 col .1)
For Your Information…
*History: WWI- The reference to Rainsford’s digging himself in France means that he is a veteran
of the trench warfare of WWI. Soldiers dug trenches in which they lived and battled, sometimes
for weeks or months at a time. Trench warfare was dirty and dangerous, so the reference to it as a
“placid pastime” is meant to show the depth of Rainsford’s present panic. (pg. 32 col. 2)
33. Given what the General told Rainsford earlier about using dogs, what do you conclude the General has
decided? (pg. 33 col 1)
34. Trapped between his deadly pursuer and the sea, Rainsford jumps. Is the “game” over? Who has won? (pg.
34 col. 1)
35. What effect does the “game” seem to have had on Rainsford? (pg. 34 col. 2)
Enrichment and Critical Thinking:
1. Explain the mood at the beginning of the story using a quote from the story.
2. Explain the significance of the 22 shell Rainsford found at the beginning of the story.
3. Provide reasoning of Ivan’s loyalty to General Zaroff.
4. Explain the significance(irony) of General Zaroff’s quote at dinner: “We do our best to preserve the
amenities of civilization here.” (First, what does the word amenities mean?) *Irony
5. Discuss Rainsford’s escape from Zaroff by jumping into the water: Did Rainsford act out of fear or did he
plan this as his fourth trap?