Sunday, August 16, 2009

What is the double meaning of the word "game" in "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell?

In Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" two hunters accidentally meet when Mr. Rainsford falls off a boat and ends up on an island where a man named General Zaroff lives. Rainsford is an avid hunter always looking for the next best kill. General Zaroff is also an avid hunter, but he has become bored with hunting the usual kind of animal and has set his sight on what he considers the most dangerous of all animals--man.


The word "game" in the title of the story has a double meaning. First of all, game is what a hunted animal is called, and secondly game is an activity people play. Zaroff hunts for his game, but at the same time, he is playing a game much like "Cat and Mouse" with his subjects. Rainsford is forced to be both a player in the game, and if he is killed, he will become the game (the dead animal) itself. 

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