Literary Analysis: The Most Dangerous game

1. Literary Analysis: The Most Dangerous game By: Sydney Goertzen

2. “But as he forged along, he saw to his great astonishment that all the lights were in one enormous building- a lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward in the gloom. His eyes made out the shadowy outlines of a palatial château; it was set on a high bluff, and on three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows.” The setting of the story leaves a very intense, dark, and mysterious feeling in the readers mind. When Rainsford approaches the castle it tells the reader that he is a very brave protagonist. The creepy setting in the story leads to the unusual conversation between Rainsford and General Zaroff about becoming bored with animal hunting and evolving to human hunting. Overall, the setting of the mysterious château contributes to many exchanges of odd occurrences during the story.

3. “On a ridge Rainsford climbed a tree. Down a watercourse, not a quarter of a mile away, he could see the bush moving, straining his eyes, he saw the lean figure of General Zaroff.” The setting in this scene of the story leads the reader to be rushed and to have a worried feeling among them due to the intense scenery just described. This scene’s setting in particular causes the protagonist, Rainsford, to hurry an order to outsmart the clever General Zaroff. It is in this setting that Rainsford tricks the general, saves his own life, and advances on to kill the General himself. Lastly, this setting is a vital part in the story because it was warned to him in the beginning of thee game and a man had died there before him, showing he was in great danger because he was near the quicksand. All in all, this setting could have completely reversed roles in the end of the story.

4. “A big tree with a thick trunk and outspread branches was nearby, and taking care to leave not the slightest mark, he climbed up into the crotch and stretching out on one of the broad limbs, after a fashion, rested.” The setting in this area of the story reflects a sneaky and sly feeling over a reader. It also says many things about the protagonist, Rainsford. Some of these things include showing how clever Rainsford is because he makes sure not to leave a trail for the hunter, General Zaroff, to see. Also, this shows that Rainsford is scared and is going into hiding JUST like an animal being hunted. This scenery leads to the event where General Zaroff “almost” spots Rainsford and shoots him down. A setting like this, in this context, could play many roles into the story, but I feel the main role it played in this story was to prove Rainsford wrong on how animals don’t have feelings when being hunted because he feels himself what it is really like.