Wise Beyond Years
Imagine a psychotic murderer, and you being the potential victim. You have probably only watched and heard of such things on TV or when having and incredibly horrible nightmare, and even then you almost wet yourself out of fear.
But what would you do if it actually happened you? What would you do if it was more than a horrible nightmare? Have you ever even of heard of a malay man-catcher? Or a Burmese tiger pit? Most people don’t even know how to make a fire without matches, or a shelter from branches. How likely would it be for you to survive in a jungle? And when you have imagined that, then throw in a deranged murderer trying to hunt you down. In the story of “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Rainford is in this exact situation. Except for Rainsford on the other hand, is a what you call a master in hunting and in the story of “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainford shows that he is a very skilled and wise hunter by skillfully and un-noticeably stalking the general. Although he does not look like an old man, his appearances reflect his wisdom, as he chooses his attire with experience and prior knowledge.
” Under one arm he carried khaki hunting clothes “(24), this shows that Rainsford knows which hunting clothes to choose, he overlooked the generals advise to wear moccasins and instead chose to wear khaki’s.So although he may not look old, he shows his wisdom in his appearance through choice of hunting clothing and such, which is another great reason to help prove the fact that Rainsford is a talented hunter. When Rainsford speaks, he speaks with wisdom beyond his years. “Nerve,nerve,nerve!,” (27) by saying this he reminds himself to keep his nerve in order to remain clear-headed. It shows that was wise enough to know that this was important, and that he had been in and knows how to handle these type of situations.
‘”I’ll give him a trail to follow,”‘(24) Rainsford had decided to play with the general and weave a trail for the general to follow. He thought of this using his prior hunting knowledge, ” I have played the fox; now I must play the fable.” He also shows his wisdom when he says “pistol shot,” he says this when he swims throughout the ocean and hears a pistol shot. he then swims in the direction of the pistol shot, because there must a man holding the gun, and if there is a man holding the gun then that man may be able to help him. By saying this he also shows that he is smarter than most folks, as instead of thinking of danger when he hears the gunshot and swim away, he thinks it through and comprehends the fact that there must be someone behind that gun who might help him and swims toward the gunshot. This was another reason which displayed the fact that Rainsford truly is a talented a wise hunter.
Even if you hadn’t seen Rainsford or heard him speak, you would be able to conclude to the fact that Rainsford is wise, and a great hunter by others reactions.”Let me congratulate you. Not many know how to make a malay mancatcher,”(26) this passage shows that General Zaroff is surprised with Rainsford, and he proves to have been the exceed the challenge that General Zaroff had provided. It also shows that he is an exceedingly good hunter, as he knows how to create a malay man catcher.I have never even heard of a malay man catcher, and a highly doubt many have. General zaroff also says,”I’ve read your book about catching snow leopards in tibet, you see,”‘(27) obviously Rainsford has hunted snow leopards and is knowledged enough to know, only on this one subject, to fill a book.
General Zaroff is described to be a excellent hunter. In this story General Zaroff says”the greatest boredom is perfection,” and then later he says that he has started to regain that boredom even though he had moved on to hunting humans, which must mean that he is a perfect hunter, and has perfected his talent. And saying this it is a surprise that general Zaroff was outdone by Rainsford, which must mean Rainsford is both a wiser and greater of a hunter then General Zaroff himself who has said to have plundered animals he has never even heard of. Rainsfords actions also back up my conclusion as he uses his knowledge of hunting to help him survive. “With flying fingers he wove a rough carpet of weeds and branches and with it he covered the mouth of the pit,”(26) by doing this he displays the fact that he can not only create a tiger pit and knows how to weave, but also that he was wise enough to know the correct time to use his prior knowledge, and that he knows how to use and appropriately apply his prior experiences. Rainsford was wise enough and skilled enough as a hunter to use his prior knowledge against the general.
Only in his thoughts alone have shown to have prove that he has “chewed through the facts.” “Only the devil himself could follow that complicated trail after dark,”(25) this means that Rainsford knows how to keep and throw people and animals off his track. Even though he is being hunted, Rainsford continually shows that he contains himself and uses prior knowledge in aiding him to succession. “An idea that held a wild chance to him, and, tightening his belt, he headed for the swamp.”(27) A wise man considers all of his options, even the ridiculous ones, and Rainsford has shown to do just that.
From the evidence provided, Rainsford is clearly a very wise and skilled hunter. You can tell a lot about a person just by his appearance, and it is clear that Rainsford shows to be a wise and experienced hunter, as he chooses to wear khakis for hunting clothes. Others reactions also prove this, as General Zaroff himself often congratulates him. Even though he is being hunted, his thoughts show that he stays clear minded and makes wise choices. When he speaks, knowledge pours out of him, as he applies his prior hunting experience and knowledge to his circumstance. By lurking in the shadows of the generals personal room, his actions show that he is an experienced hunter for he knows how to stalk un-noticeably.
So, through Rainsfords appearance, speech, others reactions and actions, Rainsford clearly displays his wisdom and knowledge of hunting and applies throughout the entire story of “The Dangerous Game.”
