The Most Dangerous Game – Anticipation Reading Guide

1. STOP at the bottom of p.216 – How does Rainsford’s attitude about hunting differ from
Whitney’s?

2. STOP at the bottom of p.216 – What inference can you make about why “the crew’s nerves
seemed a little jumpy today”?

3. STOP at bottom of p.217 – What “two classes” does Rainsford believe make up the world?

4. STOP at bottom of p.218 – With what conflict is Rainsford suddenly confronted? Is the conflict
internal or external? Explain.

5. STOP at bottom of p.218 – Make an inference on why Rainsford is surprised to find a building on
the remote island?
6. STOP after first paragraph of p.219 – What inference does Rainsford make based on the
evidence of the pistol shots?

7. STOP at bottom of p.220 – Which details here lead you to infer that the two men Rainsford
meets have shared a military past? Cite textual evidence.

8. Read the “historical connection” about Ivan and Zaroff. Based on the text and the information
you just learned, what traits does Zaroff exhibit that might be due to his having been a Cossack?

9. STOP at bottom of p.222 – Explain how Rainsford’s discomfort in this passage is both an internal
and external conflict. Cite textual evidence.

10. STOP at bottom of p.223 – How do the details about Zaroff’s life support the inference that he
feels neither guilt nor fear concerning hunting? Cite textual evidence.
11. STOP at bottom of p.224 – How was the “tragic moment” Zaroff refers to the sign of an internal
conflict? Cite evidence.

12. STOP at bottom of p.225 – What does Rainsford suddenly understand about Zaroff? Cite
evidence.

13. STOP at the end of the first paragraph p.226 – What can you infer about the method Zaroff uses
to lure his quarry to the island?

14. Is Zaroff’s statement that his captives do not have to participate in the hunt true? Explain.