In the adventure fiction short story by Richard Connell “The Most Dangerous Game” the ideas of self preservation are explored through the character of Rainsford. At the beginning of the story his views are clearly stated on the topic of hunting. He believes that animals have no understanding, …show more content…
We do what needs to be done with our fight or flight instinct. Rainsford is a clear example of this. There is an important advantage he has going towards him, Rainsford has extensive knowledge on hunting. As the result makes him a deadly combination with his instincts. Which is exactly why the hunter, general Zaroff had chosen him to become the huntee. Throughout the story it is displayed that Rainsford does anything and everything to survive. Even if that means corrupting himself. At first his goal of the game was to make it through the game without killing the General. Rainsford thought that he could beat the general by using his skill and wit. He started with mind games with the general at the very beginning of the game by making complex trails to follow. To Rainsford surprise the General managed to decipher the trail and found Rainsford quite easily. The general smugly let Rainsford go because it was too easy, he was giving him a second chance to actually prove himself and demonstrating his more complex skills. In that moment Rainsford realized that he actually had to start harming the General to keep him at …show more content…
They slowly started to chip away at who he was. If he had not began to do the things that he did in the hunt, he would not have killed the General in the end. He would have contained the General and found a way to turn him into the authorities. But no, after all Rainsford had been through he felt as if it was his job, his right, to be the one to put an end to these horrible games.
Once you begin to corrupt yourself and do dreadful and unspeakable things to another person there is no going back. At what point do you decide how much of who you are will to sacrifice to stay alive? In the end if you do live, you will have to live and cope with the decisions you made to