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The Most Dangerous Game

by Richard Edward Connell

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"The Most Dangerous Game" Title Significance and Impact

Summary:

The title "The Most Dangerous Game" cleverly plays on the dual meanings of the word "game." It refers both to a deadly contest between hunter and prey and to the prey itself. In Richard Connell's story, General Zaroff hunts humans, considering them the most challenging prey due to their ability to reason, making the hunt a high-stakes game. This duality adds depth to the narrative, exploring themes of power, morality, and human nature, contributing to its wide appeal across cultures and generations.

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How does the title "The Most Dangerous Game" play on the word "game"?

Already established in the other responses to this question are the differences between using the word "game" when referring to a contest and using the word "game" when referring to something or someone hunted, as when a predator goes in search of prey.

This play on words has literary power when considering the juxtaposition of the two separate meanings of the words within the title of the short story. When someone suggests playing a game, often the game involves the innocent and pleasurable passing of time for the participants. Add the notion of danger to the game, and the meaning of this pastime changes from something innocent to something potentially harmful. Add the notion of prey, and the pastime no longer has anything to do with pleasure for at least one of the participants involved in the game.

Because juxtaposition involves the placement of two contrasting things next to one...

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another for dramatic effect, it can be an effective, attention-grabbing method of hooking a reader. By placing the thought of a pleasurable pastime next to the thought of violence and death, Richard Connell inspires curiosity within potential readers at the earliest moments of their reading experience, just as they engage with the title of the short story.

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A game is something that you play or compete in.  You can play a board game, a sports game, and/or a video game.  It's a contest of sorts, and that is one of the ways that the author uses the word "game" in this story.  In a way, Rainsford and Zaroff are playing a game; however, their game is a rather sadistic and twisted game.  Like most games, there will be a winner and a loser between Rainsford and Zaroff.  In this case, the winner gets to live and the loser dies.  

The other meaning of the word "game" is how a hunter would use the word.  A hunter hunts game.  In this use, the word game is synonymous with "prey."  In the game that Zaroff is playing, Rainsford is Zaroff's game.  

What's a great twist on the title is that the reader can assume the most dangerous game is the game that both men are playing because either could wind up dead.  But the title of the story also means that the most dangerous game is always the prey being hunted, which is exactly what Zaroff learns right before he dies. 

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What does the word "game" mean in "The Most Dangerous Game" and how does it affect the story?

In the story The Most Dangerous Game, the word game has several meanings.  When the big hunter Rainsford lands on the island, he is assuming the word game means the big animals he has always hunted.  The discussion with his host shows the reader the attitude of both men toward the game of following prey and outwitting the prey in order to kill it.  The trophies they take show how successful the hunters are in tracking and killing a trophy animal.  It is only when Rainsford realizes that this time, he is the trophy animal being hunted, that the true meaning of the term "most dangerous game" becomes clear because he can think and plan.  This factor makes him more dangerous to the hunter which is what his host is looking for--the thrill of a hunt where the target can think.  The reader now realizes  the horror where a human being hunts other human beings just for the thrill of it.

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Why does "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell have wide appeal?

In order to figure out why this story has such a wide appeal you must investigate the themes of the story. The story examines the issues of hunting, human morality, the worth of human life vs. the worth of an animal's life. The story deals with the effects of war on those who fight in them, and the issues of human arrogance. These are all issues that appeal to a large number of people across many cultures and generations. The story deals with human cruelty, revenge, and is an action packed thriller of a story that contains a great deal of violence. 

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Why is "The Most Dangerous Game" the perfect title for Richard Connell's story?

The Most Dangerous Game works on two levels and its title can be appreciated at both of those levels. The most obvious level is the physical: life or death. The most dangerous game is hunting which can cost you your life, as did the character in the story. On another level, is the prejudices and misconceptions that each of us carry around in our minds everyday. The main character in the story had a nonchalant attitude about hunting until he became the prey himself. In our everyday lives the attitudes and prejudices that we carry around in our minds severely limit the fulfillment we experience in our daily lives. This is a dangerous game too.

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The title of Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" is important for two reasons. First, the title refers to the things which General Zaroff considers to be "the most dangerous game," meaning prey. Zaroff mentions to Rainsford that he hunts the most dangerous game: men. Men are the most dangerous game because they can reason. No other animal on earth possesses the ability to reason. 

The second reason the title is important lies in the game (hunt) itself. For both Rainsford and Zaroff, the game proves to be most dangerous because either man can be killed by the other. 

Therefore, the title's importance lies in the dual meaning: the danger of the prey and the danger of the game. 

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