I believe that “The Most Dangerous Game” is escape literature. The use of real-life characters, real life situations, changes in character ideas, etc. all explain why “The Most Dangerous Game” is escape literature. The two main characters in this story are not complex. It is also obvious what Sanger Rainsford’s goals are. Rainsford clearly states what his goal is when he says, “We should make it in a few days. I hope the jaguar guns have come from Purdey’s” (Connell 7). There is no uncertainty. General Zaroff is also a very simplistic character. He described as being tall, bearded, and the face of an aristocrat. Zaroff’s goals are also obvious when Zaroff says, “I have one passion in my life, Mr. Rainsford, and it is the hunt” (Connell 67).
This story does not use real-life situations. The story begins with Rainsford falling off of a yacht and then swimming to shore. Rainsford randomly finds a mansion with a rich Russian General living in it. Even stranger, the General knows who Rainsford is. During the manhunt, all of Rainsford’s traps work and he swims around an entire island. The story is not plausible.
Rainsford did not experience any moral dilemmas that caused him to change his ideas or attitudes. The story does not clearly show that he had a change of ideas or attitudes at all in the story. Rainsford tricked and eventually beat Zaroff, but his victory had no moral meaning behind it.
Both characters state their opinions about life very clearly. General Zaroff did not have respect for human life. Rainsford did not have respect for animal life. Although Rainsford did experience true terror, “Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror” (Connell 184), it was not clear whether he had a change of mind about his view of life. All of these points are obvious indications as to why “The Most Dangerous Game” is escape literature.
I believe that “The Child by Tiger” is interpretive literature. Unlike the characters in “The Most Dangerous Game”, Dick Prosser is a complex character. Some of his characteristics are easily understood such as his shooting and boxing skills and his tidy habits, but it d...
