remains required reading in many high school and college courses facilitated its movement to the more “serious” category of literary fiction. As noted, however, its superficial characterizations, writing style and rapid pacing place it squarely in the category of commercial fiction.

"The Most Dangerous Game" is a perfect example of a story written as commercial fiction that has gained the status of literary or classic fiction through age, notability, and influence. The story has been copied and used as inspiration many time, and is considered an archetypal example of suspense fiction. The story is often derided as a common piece of exploitation, with no merits other than an appeal to baser parts of human nature. It is also criticised for containing no overt or intentional symbolism or allegory; the story is usually interpreted as exactly what it is: a thrilling story about a man who hunts other men. While the direct literary qualities of the story are debatable, one can argue that the story avoids purple prose or unnecessary exposition by presenting the story in clear, plain terms, without the typical trappings of literary fiction. In fact, the story shows very powerful themes of conflict, including Man versus Man (Rainsford and Zaroff) and Man versus Society (Zaroff and the outside world), and through the action and adventure the two main characters are developed through their deeds, not through explanation or reputation.

That the story is still taught in schools shows how it has become accepted as a classic piece of fiction, if not a literary one. Overall, opinion comes down to whether the story is personally enjoyable or not. To summarize, it started out as commercial fiction with a broad appeal to a broad audience but has become a short story classic, which redefines it as literary fiction.

I would consider this story as literary fiction. The characters are very well developed and Rainsford changes at the end. It has a valid theme. At the beginning , Rainsford has a ruthless attitude toward the animals he hunts. Look at his conversation with Whitne on the yacht reveals his feelings:

Whitney: Great sport, hunting.
Rainsford: The best sport in the world.
Whitney: For the hunter, not the jaguar.
Rainsford: Don't talk rot, Whitney. You're a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels.
Whitney: Perhaps the jaguar does.
Rainsford: Bah! They’ve no understanding.
Whitney: Even so—I rather think they understand one thing—fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death
Rainsford: Nonsense. This hot weather is making you soft, Whitney. Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes—the hunters and the huntees.

........After Rainsford falls overboard and swims to General Zaroff’s island, Zaroff shows a ruthless side as well, toward his favorite prey. But Zaroff's prey are humans. Shipwrecks are caused by Zaroff and  provide him a supply of "game." Rainsford is shocked and is morally indignat at the general’s killing as sport. Zaroff says Rainsford will change his mind when he engages in a hunt. But what Rainsford does not realize is that he will be the prey.
........After Zaroff releases Rainsford into the jungle the next day, Rainsford becomes like the animals he hunts, mere game, and no doubt begins to appreciate what Whitney had told him aboard the ship about the inhumanity of hunting frightened animals.
........After Rainsford sets traps that kill one of Zaroff’s tracking dogs and Zaroff’s gigantic sidekick, Ivan, he escapes his pursuers by jumping into the ocean from a high cliff. That evening when Zaroff goes to bed, Rainsford comes from behind a curtain and confronts the general, saying, “I am still a beast at bay.” And the beast then kills the hunter and sleeps soundly in his bed.
........Rainsford has graduated to killing a human. The question is: Is Rainsford just like Zaroff?

In this story the main character is transformed, which is a component of literary fiction.

Originally published in Collier's in 1924, Richard Connell's short story "The Most Dangerous Game" achieved both commercial and literary success. It spawned a number of radio and motion picture adaptations as well as being widely anthologized in high school and college literature textbooks. Although now it is certainly considered a great literary achievement, it also has several elements that originally made it highly commercial. Popular author and writing instructor William Bernhardt has qualified those factors which make a story a commercial success.

First, it must have "readability," and "The Most Dangerous Game" is certainly a page turner. Connell grips his reader from the opening reference to the mysterious "Ship-Trap Island" through the nerve wracking hunt between Zaroff and Rainsford. Second, there must be "strangeness" to the story. This element is revealed early on in when Rainsford happens upon the strange chateau in the middle of a deserted island. The appearance of the deaf and mute Ivan at the door of the chateau adds to this "strangeness." Third, the story should provide controversy. In Connell's work the controversy surrounds the ethicality of big game hunting. The character Whitney introduces the controversy early in the story by suggesting that animals experience fear and pain.

Fourth is what Bernhardt calls "big actions with big consequences." By calling Zaroff a cold blooded killer and refusing to hunt with him, Rainsford's actions lay the ground work for the coming hunt and suspenseful action which dominates the second half of the story. Fifth, the story must have, what Bernhardt labels a "nuanced uniqueness." By this, he means the story must be well within a particular genre of stories, yet it should be slightly different. "The Most Dangerous Game" qualifies because, while it is an adventure story set in an exotic locale like so many other adventure stories, the element of man hunting man makes it different from other stories in the same category.

Sixth, the story must have "extreme situations." What could be more extreme than a man hiding in a jungle attempting to save himself from a maniacal sociopath? Rainsford himself creates these extreme situations when he lays various traps for Zaroff such as the "Malay man-catcher" and the "Burmese tiger pit." Finally, the author must give the reader a reason to care about the story. While this is certainly a subjective category it seems likely that most readers are reasonably interested in the well being of Rainsford, especially after his harrowing swim after falling from the yacht. Because of the black and white nature of the hunt, the reader is most certainly rooting for Rainsford to escape the diabolical General Zaroff.