Instituto de Educacin Superior en Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramn Fernndez

Subject: Language III

Teacher: Fernando Lasala
Student: Julieta Marcolla
Written Assignment 2: Opinion Essay.

The dangerous game of becoming the game

The word "game" is one of the many in the English language which holds
the property of being polysemic . In other words, it has multiple meanings. The
dictionary defines it in basically two different ways. First, as "a physical or mental
activity or contest that has rules and that people do for pleasure" and second, as
"animals under pursuit or taken in hunting". In his short story "The most dangerous
game", Richard Connel profits from this in order to provide the title of his piece with
the powerful semantic weight of a pun. In simply four words, the writer manages to
foreshadow not only the theme of the story but also the moral contradictions it
poses.
From the very beginning, it is clear to the reader that the protagonist,
Rainsford, considers hunting to be an amusing game. He actually defines it as "the
best sport in the world" and does not seem to care at all about the feelings of his
prey. Actually, when his hunting partner Whitney states that animals understand the
fear of pain and death, he discredits him by means of a dichotomic statement
which divides the world in two classes, the hunters and the huntees, and deems
himself lucky to be part of the former. Ironically, he ignores completely how the
events that follow will abruptly and inescapably turn him into a member of the
latter; he does not know he will become a game himself.
Later, when Rainsford meets General Zaroff, they start discussing their
common passion, hunting, and Rainsford expresses his belief that the most
dangerous big game is the Cape buffalo. General Zaroff disagrees with him and
claims that he hunts much more dangerous game there on his island. Rainsford
will soon discover that Zaroff refers to human beings, as they have the ability to
reason and that makes them a really dangerous game. Rainsford will then be
forced to become a player in a hunting game with very specific rules and in which
losing means actually, losing one's life. How amusing does the game of hunting
seem to him now that he has been forced to play the part of the game?
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Instituto de Educacin Superior en Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramn Fernndez

Subject: Language III
Teacher: Fernando Lasala
Student: Julieta Marcolla
Written Assignment 2: Opinion Essay.

As it can be observed, the ambiguity of this short story's title is not a simple
or arbitrary play on words but a very witty way of condensing the moral
contradiction developed through its plot. What seems to be a simple, fun game
while being in the hunter's shoes turns into a nightmarish one when circumstances
corner the main character and force him to experience what it is truly like to be the
huntee, or the game. Although he manages to finally invert the roles again and
defeat the General, the reader most certainly concludes that Rainsford will never
think of hunting the same way he used to; he will hardly see it as a mere game
anymore.