22 pages • 44 minutes read
Richard ConnellThe Most Dangerous Game
Fiction | Short Story | YA | Published in 1924A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Sanger Rainsford
Sanger Rainsford, the story’s protagonist, is an experienced big game hunter from New York City. At the beginning of the story, he exhibits pride and self-importance in his conversation with Whitney, interrupting his companion more than once to share his opinion. He scoffs at the sailors’ superstitions surrounding Ship-Trap Island, but ironically, he comes to understand firsthand the horrors hidden on the island. When Rainsford discusses hunting with Whitney, he makes clear that he has no sympathy for the prey he hunts. He claims the world is divided into two classes: the hunters and the huntees. Little does Rainsford know that although he has enjoyed status as a hunter throughout his life, that status is about to change.
Rainsford exhibits quick wits and cool-headedness in dangerous situations. He uses logic and thinks creatively under pressure, such as when he falls overboard and when General Zaroff pursues him. Rainsford seems to pride himself on his ability to reason well and is surprised when his logic fails him, such as when he believes the chateau to be a mirage before finding it to be real.
Rainsford shows appropriate shock upon learning Zaroff’s hobby of hunting men and could be considered admirable for refusing to hunt alongside Zaroff and for making an effort to leave the island. However, despite his initial disgust at Zaroff’s hobby, Rainsford proves to have a vicious side. Although Zaroff congratulates Rainsford on winning the game, Rainsford chooses to fight him to the death. Now that the game is over, his actions are no longer in self-defense. Being hunted brings out Rainsford’s basest instincts, turning him into another animal created by Zaroff. By the story’s end, Rainsford has experienced both roles he spoke of on the ship: the hunter and the hunted.
General Zaroff
General Zaroff, the story’s antagonist, plays both a hospitable host and a despicable villain. His cultivated manners and sharp, handsome features suggest wealth and power. Despite his outward charm, Zaroff’s red lips and pointy teeth hint at the evil that lies within. Although Rainsford is impressed by Zaroff’s rich food and tasteful décor, he also recognizes Zaroff as someone unused to being challenged.
Zaroff reveals that hunting is more than a hobby to him—it is part of his identity. He is an excellent and highly experienced hunter. He spent some time as a commander in the Cossack cavalry but primarily spent his life hunting. Despite his horrific practice of hunting people, Zaroff shows no sense of guilt or remorse. His evil is further punctuated by his refined manners and seemingly civilized lifestyle. One would expect wealth, education, and good taste to accompany high moral standards, yet Zaroff shatters this notion. His character confronts the expectation that conforming to norms of politeness corresponds with conforming to norms of moral behavior.
Zaroff has no value for human life; he equates modern thinking with a lack of concern for human life. He sees humans as nothing more than animals with the capacity to reason. Zaroff’s lack of remorse for the countless murders he committed is chillingly juxtaposed with his repeated refrain that he is “civilized.”
Whitney
Whitney is Rainsford’s traveling companion and fellow hunter and serves as a foil for Rainsford’s character. Whitney is sensitive to others’ feelings, shown when he notices the ship crew’s jumpiness and superstitions. Rather than dismissing their beliefs without thought, as Rainsford does, Whitney acknowledges that evil can sometimes be a tangible force. He proves to be humbler than Rainsford in his willingness to acknowledge forces beyond his control.
Whitney also shows sympathy and sensitivity in his conversation with Rainsford about hunting. Whereas Rainsford feels no compassion for the animals he hunts, Whitney recognizes the perspective of the prey and the universal feeling that unites men and animals: fear. Although Whitney only briefly appears in the novel, his character sharpens the reader’s recognition of Rainsford’s proud, dogmatic opinions and lack of consideration for the prey he hunts.
Ivan
Ivan is the muscle behind Zaroff’s evil practices. He is a large man with a long black beard and cannot speak or hear. To Zaroff, Ivan is nothing more than a brute, evidenced when he calls him “a bit of a savage” (4) and when he laments Ivan’s death, not because he cared for him, but because it will be difficult to replace him. Seemingly for qualities beyond his control, such as his muscular build and hearing and speech impairment, Ivan has been made a servant to follow Zaroff’s commands. Zaroff reveals that Ivan carried out whippings for the Great White Czar, which indicates that Ivan has done the bidding of powerful men in the past. Ivan’s character adds to Zaroff’s depiction as a man of power, and Zaroff’s treatment of Ivan adds to the reader’s impression of Zaroff as a heartless and callous man. Ironically, Ivan’s large build and brutish ways give the impression that he is the story’s villain. Yet, the true villain is Zaroff, with all his refinement and cultivation.
