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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 55, a tree is leaning "precariously" on another tree. How is the tree leaning?

2. On page 35, Zaroff says that Rainsford's attitude is "like finding a snuffbox in a limousine." What rhetorical technique is he employing?

3. If someone refuses to participate in Zaroff's hunting game, what does he do?

4. When Rainsford insists on leaving the island, what is Zaroff's response?

5. What animal does Rainsford try to think like during the first day of being hunted?

Short Essay Questions

1. What disagreement do Zaroff and Rainsford have about the difference between "hunting" and "murder"?

2. During Rainsford's attempt to escape Zaroff, there are many references to animals. How are they used and what is their significance?

3. What does Zaroff say about the "strong" and the "weak" (35)?

4. What does the sentence "He was in a picture with a frame of water, and his operations, clearly, must take place within that frame" mean? (49)

5. How does Zaroff obtain his victims?

6. Explain at least two ways in which the story's title can be understood.

7. How does General Zaroff react to Rainsford's various traps?

8. How does Zaroff characterize Rainsford's views on hunting human beings?

9. What does Zaroff want to show Rainsford in the cellar and in the library, and what does this tell the reader about him?

10. What does General Zaroff's definition of "civilized" seem to be?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The plot structure of "The Most Dangerous Game" is less evenly balanced than those of many short stories in the Western Canon. Write an essay in which you discuss what is gained and lost from the decision to end the story so quickly after the story's climax.

Essay Topic 2

The setting of "The Most Dangerous Game" is important not only to the plot of the story but to its meaning. Write an essay in which you explain why this is true; be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze how the use of a third-person point of view and an objective tone shapes the reader's feelings (mood) as they read "The Most Dangerous Game." Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

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This section contains 1,087 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample