"The Most Dangerous Game"

The short story “Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is the suspenseful tale of the ultimate hunter, one who hunts humans in a sick, twisted game of cat-and-mouse. The one of the overall themes of the story, as I personally saw it, was a warning of becoming too obsessed with a hobby and the chase for excitement. In the story Zaroff is a hunter who has been hunting for so long, and has become so adept at it, that he now finds it dull to hunt even the most dangerous animals in the world (i.e. the water buffalo, tiger, jaguar, etc.). He has resorted to trapping and hunting humans on his island, which is cleverly named “Ship-Trap Island.” By hunting so many animals for so many years, Zaroff has taken the fun out of his former hobby and transformed it into an obsession. By continually seeking out greater and greater excitement in his hunts, Zaroff has destroyed his hobby and warped his mind. He has convinced himself that hunting humans is ac...