Name:____________________________________________________ Date:______________ Period:________________
“The Most Dangerous Game” – Study Guide
Respond to the following questions thoroughly with a partner. Write in complete sentences unless otherwise noted.
Setting:
1. Describe the physical setting (geographically, kind of island, buildings…).
2. Describe the psychological setting
3. How does the setting affect the plot of the story?
Tone, Mood, Style:
1. What is the mood of the story? Remember: mood is about the reader’s feelings. What feeling(s) does the story
strike in the reader?
2. How does Connell inspire fear without obvious bloodshed/grotesqueness?
Character:
1. Describe Zaroff, using the method of indirect characterization
Appearance-
Speech-
Actions-
Inner thoughts –
Others’ reactions to him-
Rainsford –
2. Is Rainsford flat/round? Dynamic/static? How do you know?
3. Is Zaroff flat/round? Dynamic/static? How do you know?
Conflict:
1. Cite and comment on THREE additional references of conflict in the story. Describe the conflict, analyze the type of
conflict, and comment on how it advances the story.
p. 14
“For a seemingly endless time he fought
the sea. He began to count his strokes;
he could do possibly a hundred more”
(Connell 1).
Man v. nature- Rainsford is simply trying to survive; his struggle
foreshadows the struggles he will encounter on the island. The
reader senses that something bad will
happen.