The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell Stop and Talk Reading Questions
pg. 60 Title Denotation: Think about the different definitions of the word game. When you hear that word, what is the first meaning that comes to your mind? Making predictions: Based on the different definitions of the word game that we discussed, make a prediction about what you think this story will be about.
pg. 60-61 Beginning to Luckily you and I are hunters. Characters: We have been introduced to two characters so far, what are their names? Setting: What is the setting? Where are they right now? What time of day is it? What are they near? Be specific. Imagery: What sensory details do we get about the setting? How is it described? What words or phrases in the description stand out to you?
pg. 60-62 Beginning to Luckily you and I are hunters. Plot: Where are the characters going? What is their destination? What do they plan to do when they get there? Inference: What do the characters plans tell the reader about their skills/abilities? Conflict: Rainsford and Whitney are engaged in a conflict. Is it an internal or external conflict? What is the nature of their argument/disagreement?
pg. 62 Do you think we ve passed to vibrations of evil. Diction: Identify all of the words will negative connotations. Mood: In a single word, describe the mood of the first few paragraphs. What words, phrases, or details, led you to that conclusion?
pg. 62-63 Anyhow, I m glad to...blotted out entirely by the night. Metaphor: What metaphor is used to describe the lights from the yacht? What does this metaphor help to emphasize about Rainsford s situation? External Conflict: Rainsford faces an external conflict. What is it? Internal Conflict: Rainsford also faces an internal conflict, in the form of a difficult choice. What is it? Why is this choice difficult? Plot Elements: Since falling off of the yacht is the beginning of Rainsford s troubles, what element of the plot pyramid is this event?
pg. 63-64 Rainsford remembered the shots. to...the deepest sleep of his life. Inference: What is peculiar about the animal sound Rainsford hears? Consider Rainsford s skill. Details: What kind of gun does Rainsford hear? Foreshadowing: Which sentence in the final paragraph of page 63 best foreshadows that Rainsford is not free from danger yet?
pg. 64 When he opened his eyes to...to settle down on the island. Details: What details do we get about the animal that was shot? Inference: What is peculiar about the bullet casing Rainsford finds? Predict: What animal do you think it might be and why?
pg. 64 Bleak darkness was blacking to...hung an air of unreality. Imagery and Details: What details do we get about the house? How is it visually described? Inference: What is peculiar about the house? Consider where Rainsford is. Personification: Find an example of personification and explain why you think the author chose to give human qualities to this thing?
pg. 64-65 He lifted the knocker to...the celebrated hunter to my home. Suspense: What techniques does the author use to help build suspense while Rainsford is at the door? Details: What is creepy about what the second man says to Rainsford upon greeting him?
pg. 66 Characters: We have been introduced to two new characters, what are their names? Imagery and Details: What details do we get about the general? How is he visually described? What details of his appearance stand out to you?
pg. 67 It was to a huge to appraising him narrowly. Inference: Consider what you know about Rainsford. What does the line: larger or more perfect specimens Rainsford had never seen tell us about Zaroff by extension? Mood: Examine the line: Whenever he looked up from his plate, he saw the general appraising him narrowly. Pick one word that describes how you feel when reading that line. Why do you feel that way?
pg. 67-69 Perhaps to Yes, that s so, said Rainsford. Conflict: General Zaroff experiences an internal conflict. What is it? Why is this particular conflict so difficult for Zaroff to detail with?
pg. 67-69 The general smiled. to there is one that can. Predict: What do you think the animal is and why?
pg. 69-70 The general smiled. to so they are dangerous. Foreshadowing: Now that we know what Zaroff does to people, what details foreshadowed this earlier in the story? Analyze: How does General Zaroff justify his horrible actions?
pg. 70-72 But where do you get them? to To date I have not lost, he said. Evaluate: Is Zaroff s contest fair? Why or why not? Inference: How does General Zaroff ensure participation in his game?
pg. 72-74 Then he added to to a foe worthy of my steel at last. Conflict: During this section, the primary external conflict is revealed. What is that conflict? Foreshadowing: What details from the last few pages help to foreshadow this outcome?
pg. 75-End Read independently.
Final Discussion Match the events of the story to the elements of the plot pyramid. Explain your reasoning. Think back to our discussion of the title of the story? Having read the story, which meaning of the word game do you think the author refers to in the title, or does more than one definition work? Explain. How is Rainsford a true survivor? What personality, physical, or mental traits/attributes does Rainsford have that enable him to be successful against Zaroff. Pick at least one example of this trait in action. At the beginning of the hunt, the author explains Rainsford s situation as being in a picture with a frame of water, and his operations clearly must take place within that frame. How does this metaphor turn out not to be true? Explain. Think about what the characters may have learned throughout the course of the story. Create a theme statement explaining what life lesson the reader can take away from the story.