“The Most Dangerous Game”

Foreshadowing

Clues that hint at events that will come later in the story.

Foreshadowing is a way the author adds SUSPENSE to the story.

As you read “The Most Dangerous Game”, look for hints as to what will happen in the story.

Setting

The setting can be used to set the mood of the story.

Mood is the atmosphere or feeling of a story or scene.

What is the setting of “The Most Dangerous Game” and what type of mood does it create?

Summary of 1st Half

Rainsford, an excellent hunter, falls off his ship and swims to Ship-Trap Island, a place known for its evil.

Rainsford meets General Zarroff, another excellent hunter who has created a home on the island.

General Zarroff tells Rainsford how he bought the island and imports what he considers the “most dangerous” game to hunt (because he grew bored of hunting animals that can not reason)

Zarroff hunts humans!

Summary #2

General Zarroff explains that he gives each human he hunts a head start and supplies them with a knife. We can see that he is not truthful about having them on

an equal playing field. He has a gun, knows the forest, and can rest.

Rainsford realizes that Zarroff has him as a prisoner and will be hunting against him. If he survives three days, he wins.

Zarroff follows the first trail Rainsford takes and finds him, but lets him live. Zarroff is winning at this point

Summary #2 Continued

Rainsford begins to develop traps. The first one injures Zarroff when a tree falls on him, the second one kills a dog when he falls into a pit, and the third kills Ivan, when he runs into the knife.

Zarroff chases after Rainsford and Rainsford jumps into the sea. Zarroff assumes he killed himself rather than playing the games.

That night, Zarroff has a nice dinner and goes to bed. Rainsford is waiting on him in his room and kills him.

Rainsford sleeps in General Zarroff’s bed that night. Rainsford wins.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two things without using “like” or “as”.

The night is my eyelids.

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as”

The night was like moist, black velvet.

Personification

A figure of speech in which animals, ideas, things, etc. are represented as having human qualities.

A sharp hunger was picking at him.

Imagery

Using vivid, colorful, descriptive language that paints a mental picture in the reader’s mind.

The dank, tropical forest loomed.

Theme

The message or point an author wants to make to readers of their text.

Themes are universal ideas, meaning they can apply to anyone, anywhere, and can hold true over many generations.

Themes are also not specific to a text. When writing a thematic idea, you would not mention and specifics from the story, because then it is not a generalization that can apply to all readers.

Symbolism

DEFINE IT! <3

Motif

Repeating idea in a piece of literature that adds more meaning to the text through it’s use.

Character Motivation

Why does the character act the way they do?

What drives their behavior, actions, and changes over the course of the text?

What does the author accomplish by using specific character motivation through their writing?