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Text: "The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell"
Plot description: This short story tells about a shipwreck survivor who miraculously lands on an island and is saved. However, when he meets the island’s sole free inhabitant, he realizes that his savior might actually be his new demise. The Count Zaroff enjoys hunting; however, his most prized hunt is one that involves not animals, but man. Bob Rainsford is forced to fight for his life, and use his hunting mastery to gain victory over his brutal captor.
Theme description: This story’s theme focuses on reason, intellect, instinct, and the effects of war. It discusses the idea that although man is higher than animal due to his intellect, fear can cause a person to plunge into more animal-like behaviors which in turn causes a loss of intellect, even if only temporary. Another theme of the story discusses how soldiers can be affected by the trauma of war, and can cause either mental instability or cleverness and cunning, depending on each unique individual.
Reason for appropriateness: This story relates to students as first, the content will be intriguing to attract their attention, and second, will be a way to discuss the concept of change and how it transforms our view of the world as our essential question. The changes covered in the story are many, including changes in Rainsford’s life by becoming a shipwreck survivor and then hunted victim, change for the Count after his wartime experiences, and the change that will inevitably haunt Rainsford in his life after the event. Students will be able to discuss war veterans specifically, and how the ravages of war affect them in their personal lives and as part of a community. It is also appropriate for our understanding of privilege in that the Count is obviously privileged enough to purchase his own island, but students could be asked how that privilege caused him to view other human beings. They could retell the story from the perspective of the slaves he uses to hunt, and work to understand how privilege alters the way the story is told.
Link to critical article: https://englaureate.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/criticism-on-the-most-dangerous-game-by-richard-connell/