The Most Dangerous Game
The Most Dangerous Game is the popular short story originally published in 1924 which was written by Richard Connell. This is the story of a big game hunter who is trapped on an island with a fellow hunter, who is uninterested in hunting stereotypical prey, and instead decides that the only prey worthy of his skills is other humans. This title is often required reading in ...more
Paperback, 48 pages
Published
October 25th 2006
by Kessinger Publishing
(first published 1924)
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Stephen
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Shelves:
thriller,
ebooks,
audiobook,
literature,
classics-americas,
classics,
survival,
1900-1929,
short-fiction
A Goodreads Pop Quiz:
QUESTION: What do Gilligan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Homer Simpson and this Star Trek alien** have in common?
ANSWER (select the one that best applies):
1. None of them could act their way out of a puff of smoke.
2. They all starred in adaptations of Richard Connell’s famous short story “The Most Dangerous Game.”
3. They are all very happy NOT to be Jan Michael Vincent.
4. All of the above.
...more
QUESTION: What do Gilligan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Homer Simpson and this Star Trek alien** have in common?
ANSWER (select the one that best applies):
1. None of them could act their way out of a puff of smoke.
2. They all starred in adaptations of Richard Connell’s famous short story “The Most Dangerous Game.”
3. They are all very happy NOT to be Jan Michael Vincent.
4. All of the above.
...more
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Karla (Mossy Love Grotto)
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Recommended to Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) by:
Stephen
It's been awhile since I've seen the 1930s movie version with Joel McCrea, but I think I like the story better by virtue of the lack of padding that was done to make it a feature film. The story itself is a lean and mean little tale of terror, with a simple moral of hunter becoming the hunted and a final sentence that caps it off brilliantly.
I read this in college, in a "Lit" class. It was one of those exercises where the Professor gives you two stories and your supposed to compare them "qualitatively". I don't remember what the second story was, I found this one vastly superior...and really "ticked off" the prof. You see, I was 30 when I went back to school to get a degree and apparently didn't have the "proper deference" for the professor's....position. The man was an elitist snob who was im...more
I read this short story in an English class, and it had the desired effect of chilling me to the bone.
If you're reading this for pleasure, beware: it is more of a horror story than an adventure. For that reason it's also hard to enjoy, much less read again. The very nature of it - humans hunting each other for pleasure - defies humanity. Like The Hunger Games, I don't think I could recommend this book to anyone without regretting it.
But despite the insanity, I appreciated...more
If you're reading this for pleasure, beware: it is more of a horror story than an adventure. For that reason it's also hard to enjoy, much less read again. The very nature of it - humans hunting each other for pleasure - defies humanity. Like The Hunger Games, I don't think I could recommend this book to anyone without regretting it.
But despite the insanity, I appreciated...more
I recently saw the 1932 film version of this story, and I really enjoyed it. Leslie Banks, who plays Zaroff, the eccentric Russian gentleman who hunts humans for sport on his own private island, gives a wonderfully hammy performance, Fay Wray is gorgeous, and Joel McCrea is a total stud. It was great, so I thought I'd check out the story it was based on.
Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" is a great read. It actually has fewer characters than the movie, and moves mo...more
Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" is a great read. It actually has fewer characters than the movie, and moves mo...more
Oddly enough, this morning my husband and I were watching a show on Robert Hanson, the serial killer that hunted and murdered women in Alaska as if they were prey. That led to a discussion about a book that he remembered reading (I use that term loosely, since he is not a big reader, but more of a skimmer) back in high school. He couldn't remember the name of the book, but he swore it had something to do with games (he even suggested The Hunger Games at one point - lol) and there was a picture o...more
An excellent short story of about 8000 words that I read every decade or so & still get a thrill out of. It should be well known by everyone after all the movies, acknowledgements, & outright rip-offs of the plot. If you don't know it, it is a must-read & is available for free here:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Most_D...
There is a scary amount of realism to the story, especially in the time that it was written. Best - or possibly worst - is how easy it is for me to unders...more
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Most_D...
There is a scary amount of realism to the story, especially in the time that it was written. Best - or possibly worst - is how easy it is for me to unders...more
I recently revisited this short story by Connell with my L.A. class. Funny, my memory of the story was much different than the actual read. I had recalled being overwhelmed with suspense, captivated by the hunt. When in all reality, the writing of the hunt was good, but not great.
Connell does a nice job at developing an unsettling mood. The fall from the boat and large home on the island all add to a level of creepy that moves the story the forward. The characterization of the antagon...more
Connell does a nice job at developing an unsettling mood. The fall from the boat and large home on the island all add to a level of creepy that moves the story the forward. The characterization of the antagon...more
"The Most Dangerous Game" features as its main character a big-game hunter from New York, who falls off a yacht and swims to an isolated island in the Caribbean, and is hunted by a Russian aristocrat. The story is an inversion of the big-game hunting safaris in Africa and South America that were fashionable among wealthy Americans in the 1920s.
Sanger Rainsford and his hunting companion Whitney are traveling to the Amazon forest to hunt the fabled big cat of that region, the...more
Sanger Rainsford and his hunting companion Whitney are traveling to the Amazon forest to hunt the fabled big cat of that region, the...more
When a hunter is about to press the trigger and end the life of his target, is it really possible for the hunted to feel the fear of pain and death? According to this short-story, animals do have emotions of fear when placed near the cliff of death. Rainsford, the main character of the story,first perceived this statement to be false. However, after falling off his ship and incidentally drifting off to an island of mystery, everything changes for him. In the island, he meets a hunter like...more
This is clearly a short-story that has fallen out of the mainstream as of late and from my understanding it is not on many 'required reading' lists for students anymore as it used to be. I spoke to two different English teachers that I know, and both had not just never read it, but also never heard of it. I guess stranger things can happen.
Like falling out of a boat, swimming to shore and meeting a socially isolated ego-maniacal psychopath. But was Zaroff really a psychopath i...more
Hunting as an epicurean art, and the hunting of man, by man, its pinnacle. The much-vaunted human quality, reason, as opposed to mere animal instinct, is what makes people both noble and dangerous. That's the premise of this famous tale, an enjoyable, lightning fast nail-biter suspense story that trades gravitas for brevity and narrative economy. Connell pulls out everything one expects from the bag of gothica: gnarled branches and fog and gargoyle door knockers. (In case you didn't catch it, th...more
I really loved this short story. Ransford was the protagonist and changed many times throughout the story. He started the story out by being a courageous hunter acting like the animals have no feelings. After being thrown over the ship into the icy water, I believe just that made him a little bit softer. After meeting the general he learns about the hunted men. He considers this murder, as do I, and next thing he knows he is one of the men being hunted. As he set out to hide while the hunter pre...more
This short story is one of the most influential stories during my high school career. This book talks about the morals of violence. The protagonist, Rainsford, is a man who disfavors violence. He trapped in a "game" and has to either kill General Zarroff, the antagonist, or find a way to escape. Rainsford is a strategic man, and ends up killing Zarroff's subordinate, Ivan. At the end of the story, Rainsford outsmarts the general, and defeats him in a duel, leaving the Zarroff the be to...more
Ok, first I have to brag that I got a kindle as an early birthday present from my parents. Second, I have to brag that my husband (a non-reader) told me to read this book because he really liked it. So I downloaded it while lying in bed one morning, handed my Kindle to my husband, and he read it. So for days now he's been asking if I've read it so we can talk about it.
This book takes place during the 1920's soon after WWI. Sangor Rainsford is an avid hunter on his way to Rio to h...more
This book takes place during the 1920's soon after WWI. Sangor Rainsford is an avid hunter on his way to Rio to h...more
Love this story. My first exposure to it was on the Selected Shorts compilation Timeless Classics, which is a 5-star collection if there ever was one. Seriously. Go buy it. The Most Dangerous Game is a story that is really elevated by an amazing performance, such as the one on this disc.
I actually had it on in the car one day while giving a friend a ride home and as we pulled up to his house he asked me pleadingly if we couldn't just sit for a minute and finish it up. So for 10 m...more
I actually had it on in the car one day while giving a friend a ride home and as we pulled up to his house he asked me pleadingly if we couldn't just sit for a minute and finish it up. So for 10 m...more
I had to read this book because we're having a quiz on it. I gave four stars to it because when I think of hunting, I think of humans hunting an animal, but in this story, man to man hunts! I would've gave it 5 stars but it left me a few questions. One is, what happened in the end? I really did not understand it. Did Rainsford wanted to continue the game? and also what happened to his friend Whitney?
*Okay, after reading in Wikipedia, I now understand my first question- which was WHAT...more
*Okay, after reading in Wikipedia, I now understand my first question- which was WHAT...more
Amber Holmes
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
100-books-to-read-in-this-lifetime
This is Representative of Short Story Selections:
The Most Dangerous Game - Joseph Conrad
A Jury of Her Peers - Susan Glaspell
Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allen Poe
A Rose For Emily - William Faulkner
Araby - James Joyce
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
To Build a Fire - Jack London
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Mark Twain
The Reconciliation - Lafcadio Hearn
PS:
A&P - John Updike
The Yellow Wall...more
The Most Dangerous Game - Joseph Conrad
A Jury of Her Peers - Susan Glaspell
Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allen Poe
A Rose For Emily - William Faulkner
Araby - James Joyce
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
To Build a Fire - Jack London
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Mark Twain
The Reconciliation - Lafcadio Hearn
PS:
A&P - John Updike
The Yellow Wall...more
- This book is about an exploer name whintey who was on a lepeord hunt in the jungle near the bermuda triangle.Late that night whintey had heard a gun shot and fell in the water and was stranded on an island>Hope to find resuce whintey see's smoke and hope it a hicker or men camping by instead he finds a house at the top of a hill and finds the most strangest people living there a giant an and old solider name general ransford.Ransford quickly takes whintey in bt as the days go by he finds ou...more
Wow! What a great read. This by far beats out any movie adaptation I’ve seen to date. This short story can be read in less than 30 minutes or so (depending on how you pace yourself). It is well written and you could give added depth if you read it aloud. I can still feel the humidity from the swamp, feel the bits of the insects, here the barking of the pack of dogs. Without giving away the story, Zaroff and Rainsford make for a pair. A test like this either brings out the best in you … or the w...more
I can't believe I have never read this before. It is so short, but filled will so much BANG! Ha, Ha! I listened to it and the reader really made the story come alive. I loved how the hunted turns things around and gets his own. I feel that we all can either be the victim or take control of our lives and change our circumstances. I liked how in the end he said that he had never slept in a better bed. Isn't that true?- When we work hard to overcome our own weaknesses, trials, or adversaries...more
A very good story. I love the way it shows a hunter who thinks animals don't feel scared in a hunt that when the tables are turned and man hunts man, he gets the expierience of the animals he has killed.
The ending was strange because there really was no ending.
I read this book only because it was given to me for school (I'm in eighth grade) and I'm glad it was because otherwise I would have missed out!
I read lots of YA fiction and this book reminded me of the hunger games by Suz...more
The ending was strange because there really was no ending.
I read this book only because it was given to me for school (I'm in eighth grade) and I'm glad it was because otherwise I would have missed out!
I read lots of YA fiction and this book reminded me of the hunger games by Suz...more
I don't often read things in one sitting, but this was an excellent half hour. The classic story that has been done to death since it's publication in 1925, but it still packs a powerful punch. Very clean, sparse prose with nothing wasted. Apparently this is popular required reading in middle school (according to Wiki, anyway) which is odd considering the subject matter even though it isn't violent in the slightest. My public library cataloged this as a children's book, so I was somewhat confuzz...more
Kristina
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who enjoy suspenseful and adventrous books.
Recommended to Kristina by:
My teacher made us read it for class
wow is all i can say.
I had to read this short story for my english honors class in school. I am used to reading boring stuff in school but my teacher this year is nuts. Yes nice, but nuts. I really liked it. It was totally sick. Zaroff is a physco who kills humans because he finds it more interesting. He believes that life is meant for the stong and the weak are useless. I was in shock. I had volunteered to read it outloud for the class to listen and my teacher laughed at me. SHe said "...more
I had to read this short story for my english honors class in school. I am used to reading boring stuff in school but my teacher this year is nuts. Yes nice, but nuts. I really liked it. It was totally sick. Zaroff is a physco who kills humans because he finds it more interesting. He believes that life is meant for the stong and the weak are useless. I was in shock. I had volunteered to read it outloud for the class to listen and my teacher laughed at me. SHe said "...more
The Most Dangerous Games is an amazing short story that shows how all short stories should be written. It sets up early theme beauty of hunting and the idea that only humans have reason. The story just takes off each paragraph and has heart just pounding. This story will your change notion of hunting forever. Richard Connell ends the book with one of those perfect ending that gives you just information to leave you satisfied and keeps thinking about what the ending means.
~FROM A HUNTER TO A HUNTEE~
Wonderful reversal of roles which hopefully resulted in the reversal in the way the main character treats hunting: we were not told about it. He could either drop hunting all together or become vindictive due to all the psychological trauma he endured.
I read this short story online in the course of studying "The Secret DNA of Analyzing Short Stories" ebook by William Drew.
Victoria Evangelina
Pretty classic short story. Really interesting and simple concept about a hunter who has become bored with normal game so he hunts humans. It was a pretty interesting read and was moderately suspenseful and had a good ending. I actually thought that this story could have been a bit longer and flushed out some of the traps during the hunt. I think it really would have taken the suspense to another level without being a full novel.
Sanger Rainsford is tied with the Edmond Dantes for my favorite character in a book.
You can easily finish this short story within an hour, but it is absolutely spellbinding. The cat-and-mouse game between Rainsford and Zaroff is one of the most riveting accounts I've ever read. Also, I would recommend it to any potential hunters; definitely gives you a new sense of perspective (and made me question the time I went hunting).
You can easily finish this short story within an hour, but it is absolutely spellbinding. The cat-and-mouse game between Rainsford and Zaroff is one of the most riveting accounts I've ever read. Also, I would recommend it to any potential hunters; definitely gives you a new sense of perspective (and made me question the time I went hunting).
A história só peca por ser demasiado curta.
Poderia, claramente, ter sido transformada num romance, apresentando as personagens e contextualizando-as, criando suspense em vez de revelar em duas ou três páginas o segredo da ilha de Ship Trap. Parece escrito a correr, como se o autor tivesse medo de esquecer o conceito se não o colocasse rapidamente no papel.
Ainda assim, e com apenas 3 ou 4 pinceladas, o General Zaroff revela-se uma personagem deliciosa.
Um ideia genial que, infel...more
Poderia, claramente, ter sido transformada num romance, apresentando as personagens e contextualizando-as, criando suspense em vez de revelar em duas ou três páginas o segredo da ilha de Ship Trap. Parece escrito a correr, como se o autor tivesse medo de esquecer o conceito se não o colocasse rapidamente no papel.
Ainda assim, e com apenas 3 ou 4 pinceladas, o General Zaroff revela-se uma personagem deliciosa.
Um ideia genial que, infel...more
this story talks about a man who gets lured to an stealthy island only to meet a maniac. the general agrees to free him from the island only if he wins a competition, its a matter of life and death, if he loses, he dies, if he wins, he escapes. to no surprise, he wins and takes over the throne. this instance shows that subjugation is the key to success. it also undermines darwins theory of that the strongest survive.
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| Classic Horror Lo...: The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell *Spoilers* | 2 | 11 | Oct 16, 2011 09:17am |
Richard Edward Connell, Jr. was an American author and journalist, best known for his short story "The Most Dangerous Game." Connell was one of the best-known American short story writers of his time and his stories appeared in the Saturday Evening Post and Collier's Weekly. Connell had equal success as a journalist and screenwriter. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1942 for best...more
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“There is no greater bore than perfection.”
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“Sometimes I think evil is a tangible thing - with wave lengths, just as sound and light have.”
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