silhouette of a man with one eye open hiding in the jungle

The Most Dangerous Game

by Richard Edward Connell

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Ideas for Reports and Papers

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1. Imagine that Rainsford stumbles upon Zaroff's diary and decides to write a final entry. What might he say?

2. How do the laws regulating the hunting of animals for sport vary across the globe? Compare and contrast hunting regulations across different continents. Why do you think these differences exist?

3. Compare and contrast laws concerning the killing of human beings worldwide. Murder is a socially constructed concept and is perceived differently by different cultures. Investigate laws that sanction legal killing, such as in cases of self-defense, euthanasia, and governmental executions. Under what circumstances is a soldier or police officer permitted to kill another person?

4. How have moral constraints against killing human beings evolved over time? In which cultures have these changes been most pronounced?

5. Rainsford served in WWI. What led the United States to join the war, and what was the experience like for the soldiers who fought in it?

6. The Cossacks defended the Russian Czar during the social unrest that preceded the Russian Revolution. Both General Zaroff and Ivan were Cossacks. Why might they have chosen to leave Russia when they did?

7. Zaroff claimed that "Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if need be, taken by the strong," to justify his actions. Explain the Darwinian theory this alludes to. Did Zaroff misinterpret it? How did Charles Darwin develop his theory?

8. Richard Connell started his career as a newspaper reporter. Write a newspaper article based on an interview with Rainsford, recounting the entire, incredible ordeal from his perspective. Use the standard newspaper "inverted pyramid" format, addressing who, what, when, where, and why in the first sentence of the story.

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