There are two main conflicts in The Most
Dangerous Game. The first is Man Vs. Man and the
second is Man Vs. Nature.
The
conflict of Man Vs. Man is obvious; protagonist Rainsford is forced to fight for his
life against the sociopathic Zaroff. Both men are expert hunters, with mastery of their
skills, and as Rainsford sets traps and uses his knowledge to evade pursuit, Zaroff
negates the advantage by predicting Rainsford's decisions and path. Ultimately,
Rainsford is willing to risk a possible death to avoid a certain one, and is victorious
over Zaroff.
Two slight annoyances kept [Zaroff] from perfect
enjoyment. One was the thought that it would be difficult to replace Ivan; the other was
that his quarry had escaped him; of course, the American hadn't played the game -- so
thought the general as he tasted his after-dinner
liqueur.
The conflict of Man
Vs. Nature is more subtle. Rainsford hears pistol shots and falls overboard; the salt
sea keeps him from crying out, and the ship leaves him behind. After swimming in the
direction of the shots, Rainsford finds himself on an island, shored by jagged rocks and
filled with a dense jungle. When he sets out as prey for the hunt, he realizes that the
island is too small to simply run, and he uses his knowledge of woodcraft to set false
trails. However, Zaroff is equally skilled. After wounding Zaroff with a trap, Rainsford
finds himself blocked by a quicksand swamp; instead of giving up, he digs a pit in the
soft dirt and plants another trap. This fails as well, and as a last ditch effort,
Rainsford ties his knife to one of the many saplings that had been slowing his pace. The
springy tree fails to kill Zaroff, and in final desperation Rainsford gives himself to
the very ocean that brought him to the island.
"Nerve, nerve, nerve!" he panted, as he dashed
along. A blue gap showed between the trees dead ahead. Ever nearer drew the hounds.
Rainsford forced himself on toward that gap. He reached it. It was the shore of the sea.
Across a cove he could see the gloomy gray stone of the chateau. Twenty feet below him
the sea rumbled and hissed. Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then he leaped far
out into the
sea....
Ultimately, by using
the harsh environment of the island to his advantage, Rainsford is
triumphant.
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