Does anyone know the theme for the short story: The Most Dangerous Game?
Themes and Meanings Two ethical questions seem to dominate this story. First, what is the moral distinction between murder and such forms of killing sanctioned by society as self-defense during war? To kill at all, the story implies, the killer must first believe in his superiority to the victim. Rainsford”‘”s belief that animals cannot feel and the general”‘”s conviction that they cannot reason provide convenient justification for both men in their lifelong careers as hunters. Yet the smugness of their attitude is demonstrated to be dangerous to both of them. Rainsford is forced to play the hunted and must rely on the instinctive behavior of animals to survive (indeed, his vision of himself as a beast at bay justifies the murder of Zaroff), and Zaroff has been driven into madness by the extremity of his sense that no animal is equal to his prowess as a hunter. Rainsford, who fought in World War I and claims not to condone ‘”‘cold-blooded murder,'”‘ has nevertheless learned to kill eff
