Essay About Dangerous Game And Powerful Force

The Most Dangerous Game
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Fears in The Most Dangerous Game
Zaroff, is sick, demented , and mentally unstable . Any one who
chooses to read Richard Connells “The Most dangerous Game”, will
agree with this conclusion. Hunting animals is one thing, but to hunt
humans? Still, one would expect that he wouldnt be as successful
against humans as animals. Humans are clearly not as powerful as some
game, but their ability to think, to reason, and to strategize, more
than over comes this trivial factor. Then why has no one been able to
defeat this old general? The answer is clear: fear. Fear is such a
powerful force, that no amount of intellect or strength can supersede
it. It blinded the others Zaroff had hunted, causing them to panic and
not think straight, making it easier for Zaroff to hunt him down. It
even blinded the animals. One might think, how can animals fear? As
Rainsford says, ” Theyve no understanding.” Whitney counter with,
“”Even so, I rather think they understand one thing–fear. The fear of
pain and the fear of death.” That is how Zaroff is able to win. Zaroff
is able to imbed to types of fear in to those he hunts. The fear of
the known and the fear of the unknown. He takes these two types fears,
and manipulates them so that they appease his sick and twisted hobby,
hunting man.
In the beginning of the short story, when Rainsford talks with his
hunting companion Whitney, the first type of fear is introduced; the
fear of the unknown. Whitney tells Rainsford that the island has an
“evil name among seafaring men”. When asked by Whitney if he feels
anything, Rainsford goes on to say that” What I felt was a–a mental
chill; a sort of sudden dread”. Why the dread? It is a result of the
fear of the unknown. It is late at night, quite dark outside, and the
two friends stumble upon the subject of a mysterious island during
their conversation, which sailors seemingly dread. In addition, the
mystery surrounding this island intrigues Rainsford, but at the same
time makes him a bit fearful of it. As he said, it was “a mental
chill”, all inside his head. Then he lands on that very island, and
meets General Zaroff. This leads to his finding out that Zaroff hunts
men, and ends up being hunted by the general.Rainsford, after trekking
his way through the jungle, is resting on a tree, when he hears a
rustling sound. It is Zaroff. But it was “only by the merest chance”
that he was not spotted by the general, who with a smile turned
around, and went in another direction. This bothers Rainsford.” It
sent a shudder of cold horror through his whole being. Why had the
general smiled? Why had he turned back?”. Hes in the dark when it
comes to knowing anything about Zaroffs intentions. Knowing his is a
sly and devious hunter, he is horrified for he knows not what to
expect