suspense in “The Most Dangerous Game”
Suspense, used to change the story
drastically, prevents “The Most Dangerous Game,”
from seeming too predictable and boring. Author,
Richard Connoll, creates suspense by
conveying unsettling emotions that the audience can
relate to and that give a false sense
of predictability. The title of this story, a major
factor of suspense, tells the audience
exactly what will happen. The interior suspense
gives hidden meaning to the title and
adds many twists to its foreboding plot. The
element of suspense, leaving audiences
guessing about future events, allows the audience
to get emotionally involved in the story
line.
In essence, Richard Connoll does not
disappoint readers by deviating from the
thematic conflict, but instead keeps the audience
on their toes by creating a veil of the
suspenseful unknown throughout the story.
Indeed, Connoll successfully creates this veil
of suspense in several key scenes. One such scene
occurs when Zaroff tracks Rainsford, by following
his immensely difficult trail, to Rainsford’s
canopy bed. When Zaroff
arrives he looks up into the canopy of the
trees. He then lights a cigarette and blows a smoke
ring into the air as if “deliberately”
and stalks away “saving him for another day’s
sport” (210, 211). When Connoll does not
specifically say if Zaroff saw Rainsford or not it
leaves the audience to speculate about
Zaroff’s intentions.
A second key scene happens
when Rainsford digs a pit in the marsh. When the
pit kills Zaroff’s dog Zaroff seems amused
and says that he will “see what you (meaning
Rainsford) can do against my whole pack. I
am going home for a rest
now”(212). Zaroff’s satisfaction releases both
Rainsford from the hunt (yet again) and the
audience from the momentary suspense while keeping
them entangled in the overall plot. The plot
continues deepening as Rainsford faces more danger
when Ivan and Zaroff hunt him with an entire pack
of dogs. Again, Rainsford escapes by using his wits
and constructing a trap that kills Ivan.
As each
successive event becomes more and more dangerous it
leaves the audience feeling as if nothing could top
the previous scene. Connoll does top all of his
previous scenes by concluding with the ultimate
ending; he allows the readers to make their own
ending. This keeps the story forever alive by never
actually ending the story, the perfect permanent
suspense.
Throughout the story, Connell’s masterful use of
suspense keeps the audience guessing until far
beyond the end. Such creative writing stirs the
desire for more, keeping the audience hooked until
the exhilarating finish. Connell’s “The Most
Dangerous Game” conveys a prime example of
suspense.
It also begs the question, what is
civilization? Rainsford enjoys hunting so his peers
consider him primitive and Zaroff is seen as
civilized. This only shows that civilization is a
perception made from details that are fed to us by
the person being judged. A person’s true character
is on the inside, as shown in this story, but can a
person change? Did Rainsford’s experience change
him from the mere perception of primitive to actual
primitivism? .
