Richard Connell's Argumentative Essay: The Most Dangerous Game
Chandler Fennell
Longfellow
English 102
August 5, 2015
Argumentative Essay
“The Most Dangerous Game”
General Zaroff’s overconfidence and his underestimation of Rainsford prove fatal in Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”. When the hunter becomes the hunted, Rainsford’s opinion of murder changes. He becomes determined to survive. There are several times in the story when survival becomes murder. The attempts from Rainsford to survive are cold, calculated killing.
In the beginning of “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford is an avid hunter, feeling man is superior to animals, that his prey has no feelings, and that hunting in general is just a game. He thinks that the world is divided between the hunter and the hunted. Rainsford is an American hunter of world renown, and is immediately recognized by General Zaroff as an author of a book on hunting Snow Leopards in Tibet. (Connell, 7) While they both share an interest in hunting, Rainsford believes Zaroff’s newly defined sport to be brutal and Zaroff himself to be a murderer in the beginning of the story. Even with his service in the military, he is unable to consider what Zaroff is doing …show more content…
This opinion makes him innocent because his actions were technically self-defense against a true killer. Rainsford calmly handles any challenge, whether it is falling overboard in the middle of the night or having to swim several miles to reach the shore. He’s survived near-death experiences, from fighting during World War I to hunting dangerous animals in some of the world’s most exotic areas. All these experiences and his demeanor, could be an argument that Rainsford was the same person from beginning to end, he was just adapting to the situation. To certain extent, someone of this opinion would be correct. It is uncertain what any of us would do if put in a similar
Longfellow
English 102
August 5, 2015
Argumentative Essay
“The Most Dangerous Game”
General Zaroff’s overconfidence and his underestimation of Rainsford prove fatal in Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”. When the hunter becomes the hunted, Rainsford’s opinion of murder changes. He becomes determined to survive. There are several times in the story when survival becomes murder. The attempts from Rainsford to survive are cold, calculated killing.
In the beginning of “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford is an avid hunter, feeling man is superior to animals, that his prey has no feelings, and that hunting in general is just a game. He thinks that the world is divided between the hunter and the hunted. Rainsford is an American hunter of world renown, and is immediately recognized by General Zaroff as an author of a book on hunting Snow Leopards in Tibet. (Connell, 7) While they both share an interest in hunting, Rainsford believes Zaroff’s newly defined sport to be brutal and Zaroff himself to be a murderer in the beginning of the story. Even with his service in the military, he is unable to consider what Zaroff is doing …show more content…
This opinion makes him innocent because his actions were technically self-defense against a true killer. Rainsford calmly handles any challenge, whether it is falling overboard in the middle of the night or having to swim several miles to reach the shore. He’s survived near-death experiences, from fighting during World War I to hunting dangerous animals in some of the world’s most exotic areas. All these experiences and his demeanor, could be an argument that Rainsford was the same person from beginning to end, he was just adapting to the situation. To certain extent, someone of this opinion would be correct. It is uncertain what any of us would do if put in a similar