Review #17: "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell

Favorite Quote:

"'Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes--the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are hunters."

"Whenever he looked up from his plate he found the general studying him, appraising him narrowly."

"'God makes some men poets. Some He makes kings, some beggars. Me He made a hunter.'"

"'There is no greater bore than perfection.'"

"'I have electricity. We try to be civilized here.'"

"'Hunting at night is so much more exciting than by day, don't you think?'"

"like some prehistoric beaver, he began to dig."

About the Main Character:

Sanger Rainsford is an experienced hunter from New York City who revels the sport. He is on a boat headed for the Amazon to hunt jaguars when he accidentally falls overboard and is stranded on a mysterious island. His hunting and reasoning skills serve him well as he tries to survive all that awaits him there.

Another Character to Note:

General Zaroff is the millionaire who owns and resides on the mysterious island Rainsford happens upon. He, too, is an exceptional hunter who became so great at hunting that he got bored of such primitive prey. He decided to go after a more dangerous opponent...no matter the moral cost {and let's be real...he doesn't seem to notice any immorality issues!}

Plot Breakdown:

With this being a short story, it's hard not to give away the entire plot when summarizing it. Essentially Rainsford is faced with a dilemma on the island that changes some of his major perspectives in life. It's about right and wrong and how the line can be blurred by simple disregard for anyone else's well-being but your own. This story is face-paced and charged with action which keeps you reading until you're done and then starting over again because you can't quite believe what happened!

Something Interesting to Note:

Connell writes with a very clear and calculated plan. General Zaroff is deeply intrigued by Rainsford cunning ability to reason. So as Connell introduces us to Rainsford he tells us that he can tell time by the position of the sun; Rainsford's happy that he heard a pistol fired because that means there are men with food on the mysterious island; he can tell what kind of gun was shot by simply looking at the cartridge; and he can pick up a trail easily by finding hunting boot tracks. 

These skills will serve him well while on the island and Connell made his experience more believable because he included these details early on in the story.

Should you read "The Most Dangerous Game" before you die?

At first, I wrote a paragraph as to why I didn't think this was a must read, but my reasons didn't out-weigh the fact that this is simply entertaining, engaging, and well-written....so it's a yes!!