The Most Dangerous Game Conflict Analysis

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Does every story need a conflict? Of course, every story needs a conflict to make the story interesting, because without one there would be no excitement in the story. In the Story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell there are three different conflicts. One conflict is man vs. man which occurs many times in “The Most Dangerous Game”. Another conflict in the story includes a heavy dose of man vs. nature. Lastly the story has man vs. himself which is incredibly important to keep Rainsford going from beginning to end. The short story is intriguing because of all the conflicts included.
The first example of conflict in the story is man vs. man. In the Story Rainsford and General Zaroff have a man to man conflict that lasts throughout
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himself. When Rainsford is being chased, his nerves kick in so he says to himself, “ I must keep my nerve”(11). Rainsford is reassuring himself because when you are being chased it is hard to keep your nerve. This is a man vs. himself conflict because Rainsford has to talk to himself and reason with himself to keep going forward. After Rainsford rests and “fools” Zaroff he has to leave his hiding spot, so he walks on and repeats to himself. “I will not lose my nerve. I will not”(12). Once again Rainsford has to keep himself together to live through the treacherous game. Near the end of the game Rainsford is trapped between Zaroff, Zaroff's dogs, and the raging sea. “Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then he leapt far into the sea”(14). Rainsford had to decide with himself what to do in this situation. Then he decides, and jumps. Rainsford used man vs. himself in the novel to keep himself living.
The three different conflicts in the “Most Dangerous Game,” by Connell are necessary to make the story interesting. One conflict in the short story is man vs. man. Another conflict is man vs. nature. Lastly, a conflict in the story is Man vs. man. Clearly, the conflicts in a story can have a major influence on the interest of the story. Sometimes conflicts do not make a difference in a story and sometimes it makes all the difference in the