对最危险的游戏的主旨分析

1、Course:ShortstoryreadingClassnumber:16101501Name:朱思维Studentnumber:2015303436Instructor:ProfessorYangDate：4th,12,2016TheEvilin“TheMostDangerousGame”"TheMostDangerousGame"isashortstorythatwhichwaswrittenbyRichardConnell.IttellsreadersastoryaboutahorribleexperienceofamanwhoiscalledRainsford.H

2、eisahunterwhoisgoingtohuntjaguarwithhisfriends.However,hefallsintotheseaaccidentally.Thenheiswasheduptoalandontheshore.Heiswakedbytheshots.Hefollowsitandfindsacastle.Intherehemeetstwomen,oneiscalledZaroffandtheotheriscalledIvan.RainfordsoonfindsthatthehunteesofZaroffarehuman.Hewantstoleavewhiletheon

3、lywayhecanleavethisislandistoplaythegamewithZaroffandhemustwinhim,orhewillbekilled.Intheend,RainsfordwinsthegameandkillsZaroff.ItseemstobeanironicstorythatRainsfordisgoingtohuntwhileheishuntedbyZaroff.Butafterreadingtheendofthisshortstory,readercaneasilyseethatalmosteverypartofitindicatestheevilofhu

4、man.Theevilofthepeopleinthisshortstoryisthemaintoneofthestory.Iexplaintheevilofthehumaninplots,characters,specialthingsandlanguageofthisnovelbasedonXunzi'stheoryof"HumanDispositionsareDetestable"(Xunzi,Wikipedia).Thistheorybelievesthatthenatureofthehumanisbad.Byanalyzingtheseevilthings

5、,Iwanttopassreadersawarning:Theevilofhumanishorrible,watchouttheanimalinourhearts.Thefirstpartistheplots.Theauthorusessuspense,specialplotstopromotethedevelopmentsofstoryandinformreadersabouttheevilofthepeopleinthisshortstory.Atthebeginningtheauthorgivesreadersthreesuspense.Thefirstsuspenseisthatthe

6、mysteriousland,whichismentionedbyRainsford'sfriendWhitey,successfullyraisestheinterestsofreadersandtellsreaderswherethestoryhappens.Italsoexaggerateshorribleatmosphereatthemaintimeitalsosetsthetoneofthewholestory.ThesecondsuspenseisthatthehunteesofZaroffarehuman.ThehunteesofZaroffalsoaremysterio

7、us,butreaderscanguessvaguelywhatitis.Inordertoensuretheiranswerisright,theywillkeepreading.ItalsocreatestheconflictsbetweenZaroffandRainsford,pushingthestoryline.Inaddition,theansweralsoshowsthecrueltyofZaroff.Readerscanunderstandmorecompletelytheevilofthesepeoplefromthispart.Thethirdsuspenseisthatt

8、hechanceofRainsfordwinsthegame.TheauthordoesnottellreaderclearlyaboutRainford'sroute.Inthecontrast,heleavesthisquestiontoreaders.Inthiswayreaderwillreadtheentirestoryoutofcuriosity.Theendingisunexpectedbutreasonable,whichalsoprecedesthestorytotheclimax.Whatismore,thisendingalsoindicatesreadersth

9、atRainsfordalsobecomesacruelpersonasZaroff.Atfirst,Rainsfordfirmlybelievesthathumancannotberegardedasanimals.However,finallyhealsotreatsZaroffasanimalandkillshim.Thischangealsoshowstheevilofhumanvividly.Inaword,thewritermakesreadersgetinvolvedinthisstorythroughthissuspense.Especiallywhenallthesesusp

10、enseareexplained,peopleknowthisislandisactuallya"Ship-TrapIsland.Atthistimereaderwillfeelhowhorribletheevilofhumanisandhowimportanttobeawareofit.Inspiteofthesuspense,therearealsomanyspecialplotstohelppeopletofigureoutpuzzles.ThemostexcitingplotisthethreebattlesbetweenZaroffandRainsford.Accordin

11、gtothesebattles,thereadercanactuallyseethechangeofRainsford.Atfirst,heisaproudmanwhothinksanimalsdonothaveemotions.ButwhenhebecomesthehunteeofZaroff,herealizesthatanimalsalsohaveemotionandbecomearealanimalwhowantstoattackZaroff.AlthoughthewriternevertellsreadersthatRainsfordbecomesascruelasZaroff,re

12、aderscanseebythemselves.AsforZaroff,hetotallyshowshiscrueltyinthisgame.InordertokillRainsfordhecansacrificeIvanandhisfavoritedog.Heevencandrinkwineafterkillingpeople.Theseplotsmakereadersbeabletoobservetherealmeaningofthisstory:theevilofhumancanbeextremelybadevenbeyondpeople'simagination.Afterth

13、eanalysisofplots,somereadersmaydoubtwhethertheseplotsarereasonable.Doestheauthorwritethesejustinordertocatchpeopleattention?Aretheyreasonable?Theanswerisdefinitely"Yes"Firstistherealidentityofisland.Theauthordoesnotsuddenlytellreadersthathisislandisaslaughterhouseforsailors.Literallyheuses

14、manyfactorstoimplyreaders,suchastheCaptainNielsen'sreactiontothisisland,thedoubtfullightandthespeciallocationoftheisland.Thesethingsindirectlytellreadersthatthisislandisunusualandtheremusthavesomesecretsnotbereportedbyperson.Nextisthehunteesishuman.AlthoughConnelldoesnottellreaderdirectly,heuses

15、manysymbols.Forexample,Rainsfordhasfoundanemptycartridgewhichcanbeputintwentytwobullets.Thisiskindofoddbecauseifahunterwantstohuntanormalanimal,hewillnotuseasmanyastwentytwobullets.Sothisanimaliseitherfairlylargeanimalorverysmartanimal.Rainsfordalsofindsapieceofblood-stainedclothinganditisimpossible

16、thatanimalswearclothesinthislandThemostobviousevidenceisZaroff'swords.Hesaysthisanimalcanthinkandonlypeopleareabletothink.Combingtheseclues,itiseasytoguessthehunteeishuman.ThelastthingiswhetherRainsfordsdiedornot.Intheend,RainsfordleapsfaroutintotheseasoalmosteveryoneincludingZaroffthinksthathed

17、ied.ButaccordingtoRainsford'srichhuntingexperiencesreaderscanguessthereisstillthechanceforRainsfordtosurvive.Besides,whenZaroffgoesuptohisbedroom,heseessomemoonlightthatindicatesthatthecurtainisnotbeingdrawnup.SoitprovidestheopportunityforRainsfordtohidebehindthecurtain.Anyway,accordingtothesean

18、alyses,readerscanseeMr.Connellisaverylogicalwriter.Inotherwords,allthesesuspenseandspecialplotareusedtostresstheevilofhuman.Withthehelpoftheseplots,readerscanunderstanddeeplyabouttheevilofhuman.Inspiteoftheseplots,thedescriptionsofcharactersalsoplayanessentialroleinpromotingthedevelopmentofstoryandd

19、eepeningtheevilofthehuman.Therearethreemaincharactersinthearticle,Zaroff,RainsfordandIvan.Thesepeoplerepresenttwodifferentpowers.AccordingtothedescriptionofwriterreaderscaneasilyknowthatZaroffandIvanrepresenttheevilpartofhumannature.Zaroffisasymbolofevil.Asweallknow,thepersonalitiesofapersonareinvis

20、ible;however,thesecanalsobeexpressedinhisappearance,behaviors,actionsandlanguages.Asforhisappearance,thewritergivesthemabriefintroductionofhim.“Anerect,slendermanineveningclotheswithacultivatedvoicemarkedbyasightaccentthatgaveitaddedprecisionanddeliberateness.”Itpaintsapictureofapolitegentlemanfromf

21、irstclassandnoonewillbelievethatheisabadperson.HetreatsRainsfordpolitelyandenjoyswinewhichshowsheisatrulygentlemen.Evenintheendhestillobeyshisdeal,inthisway,heisagood-behaviorperson.However,RainsfordgivesthemamorespecificpictureofZaroffandnoticessomethingwrong.“Themanwassingularlyhandsome;hissecondw

22、asthattherewasanoriginal,almostbizarrequalityaboutthegeneral'sfacehisthickeyebrowsandpointedmustachewasasblackasthenightfromwhichRainsfordhadcome.Hiseyes,too,wereblackandverybright.Hehadhighcheekbones,asharpcutnose,asparedarkenface-hefaceofamanusedtogVngorders,thefaceofanaristocrat.”Bycontrastin

23、gthesetwotypesofdescriptionsofZaroff,itisnothardtoseethatZaroffisnotaneasygoingperson.Hisimpressivefaceshowsthatheisaggressiveandlovescontrollingothers.Butpeoplecannotjudgesomeonejustaccordingtheirappearance.SothenationandtheactionoftheZaroffalsoneedtopayattention.ZaroffisaCossackandthemostfamouscha

24、racteristicofCossackisaggressive.What'smore,heisproudofhisnation'straditionverymuchbecauseheissmilingwhenhesaysthatheisalsoaCossack.Thisdetailshowsthatheadmireshisnationwhichindicatesheiscruel,Besides,hisactioninformspeoplethatheisevil.Forexample,thereisadescriptioninthearticle.“Hemadehisway

25、alongwithhiseyesfixedinutmostconcentrationonthegroundbeforehim.Hepaused,almostbeneaththetree,droppedtohiskneesandstudiedtheground.”ThisdescriptionshowsthatZaroffhasrichexperienceinhuntingandhejusttreatsRainsfordasanormalhuntee.ThewayhetreatsRainsfordshowshiscrueltyandhisindifferencetohuman'slife

26、.Whatisworse,italsoinformsthereaderthatZaroffgetsusedtokillhuman.Thisactionillustratestheevilofpeople.Whatismore,Heneverrespectsanycreatureinthisworldbecausehethinkstheseheadsmeanglory.EvenwhenhisloyalservantIvandied,hejustthinksthatitisdifficulttofindsomeonetoreplacehim.Thereisstillonethingtopayatt

27、entions:ThelanguageofZaroff.ConnelldescribesZaroff'slanguageindetail.Forinstance,Zaroffalwaysstressesthatheisthekingofhuntingandthereisnoanimalhasachancewithhim.Whatworse,hethinksthepeoplewhoarekilledbyhimarethe“scumoftheearth”.Hehasanextremersenseofsuperior,heevensays:“Thereisnogreaterborethanp

28、erfection.”Thewriterillustratestheover-confidenceofZaroffinordertoimplythatintheendhewillbedefeatedbyRainsford.Insum,althoughZaroffhashandsomeappearanceandgoodbehavioroutside,hisinsideisextremelybrutalandbloody.Hisbehaviorsandvalueshaveshapedsharpcomparecontrast.Healwayssaysthatheiscivilizedandwants

29、tobuildcivilizationhere,butinfactthisso-calledcivilizationisextremelyasavagecivilization.Accordingtotheanalysisreaderscanseethatalmosteverypartofhimisevil.However,thisevilpersonalsohasaloyalservantIvan,whoisascruelasZaroff.AccordingtoRainsford,Ivanis"thelargestmanhehadeverseen-agiganticcreature

30、,solidlymadeandblackbeardedtothewaist."ReaderscansoonknowthatIvanisatoughman.ByCombininghisaction,readerscanobservetheevilnessofhimcompletelyWhenZaroffforceRainsfordtomakeachoicebetweenheandIvan,Ivanjuststandsthere,"scowling,histhickarmscrossedonhishogsheadofchest".Thisactionalsostres

31、sesthatheisacruelman.Besides,hisevilisalsoconfinedtoheknowsthatZaroffiskillingpeoplebuthestillhelpshim,inotherwords,heisZaroff'saccomplice.AlthoughIvanisevil,heisatleastloyaltoZaroff.Nomatterwhathappens,hestillprotectsZaroffandtrieshisbesttoservehim.Unfortunately,ZaroffnevertreatsIvanasanimporta

32、ntpersontohim.Hejusttreatshimasausefultool.Inthisway,IvanisbetterthanZaroff.However,thelastcharacterRainsfordshaspolarpersonalities.Herepresentsbothjusticeandevil.UnlikeZaroff,thewriterdoesnotdescribeRainsford'sappearanceindetailbutheusesmanysentencestopicturethechangesinRainsford'sheart.Rea

33、derscanfindthatinthebeginning,heusedtobeamanwhofirmlybelieveshumanisdifferentfromanimalandrefusestokillpeopleashuntee.Atthisstage,itseemsthatRainsfordstillrepresentsthepowerofjustice.AlthoughatfirstreadersmightthinkRainsfordisagoodman,actuallyheisaseviladZaroff.Whenhisrolechangesandbecomesthehuntnee

34、ofZaroff.Atthistime,itisundoubtedthathebecomesascruelasZaroff.Forexample,heuseshis"MalayMantcatcher"killsIvan.HisevilalsoreflectsinthathekillsZaroffindirectlyandshowsnomercy.Infact,hecanjustleavewithoutkillingZaroff.Intheendhesays"Iamstillabeastatbay,"atthistime,hehasbecomeatotal

35、animal.TheevilofRainsfordisnotonlyreflectedinthewayhekillspeoplebutalsoisreflectedinthewayhetreatsanimals.Healwaysthinksthatthisworldismadeupoftwoclasses,thehuntersandhuntees.Healsothinksanimalshavenofearsopeoplecankillthemfreely.Itiskindofironicthatheknowsthatanimalcanfeelfearuntilhebecomesthehunte

36、eofZaroff.Everycreature'slifeinthisworldshouldberespected.Zhu9Accordingtothispart,Rainsfordiskindofhypocriticalandevil.Generallyspeaking,Zaroff,IvanandRainsfordareevil.ButZaroffisdifferentfromthesetwopeople;atthebeginninghehasalreadyacceptedtokillpeople.AtleastwhatRainsforddoesistokeephimselfali

37、ve,andwhatIvandoesjustisdevotedtoZaroff.Zaroffdoesallthethingsjustbecausehefeelsthatitisfuntodothat.Fromthispoint,Zaroffisatotallyevilpersonfromthebeginningtotheend.ButitdoesnotmeanthatallthethingsthataredonebyRainsfordandIvanarereasonable.Theyarealltheevilpeoplewhoalwayscareabouttheirbenefits.Reade

38、rscanseetheevilofhumancompletelythroughthesethreepersons.Inadditiontothecharacters,specialthingsalsoinfluencethestorydeeply.Fortheinterestsofhighlightingtheevilofthehuman,thewriterusesmanyspecialthings.Thefirstthingisthedarkandscaringenvironmentincludingdarksea,oddcastleandfurryforest.Thesethingsstr

39、engthenthethrillingatmosphereforthehorribleplotsandprovideagoodplaceforcharacterstoshowtheirevil.Inaddition,thereisalsoaspecialdiningroomofZaroff.Therearemanyheadsofmanyanimalsintheroom,whichshowsthecrueltyofZaroff.Heisnotsatisfiedaboutjustkillinganimalsbuthealsowantstocuttheirheads.Thisdiningroomin

40、dicatesthatZaroffiscrazyabouthunting,soitisreasonablethathechooseshumanashisnewhuntee.Accordingtothis,readerscanseehisevilnessobviously.Therestillonethingtobepaidattention,thelifestyleofZaroff.Byobservinghistablemanner,itisevidentthatheloveswines,delicateappointmentsanddeliciousZhu10food.Furthermore

41、,thesethingsrepresentthelifestyleofupperclass.Zaroffalsosaysthathedoeshisbesttopreservecivilizationinthisplace.Butasweallknow,whathedoesisfarawayfromcivilization.Whathesaysissharplycontrastedtowhatheactuallydose.Inthisway,thesethingsstrengthentheeffectsofirony,andtellreadersZaroffisatotallyevilman.A

42、ftertheanalysesofspecialthings,readerscannoticethelanguageofthisshortstoryisalsoveryspecial.Sometimesthewordhasthefetaldisadvantage,itcaneasilybecomepaleandweak.Furthermoreitisverydifficulttobringreadersintotherealsituations,especiallythesekindofthrillingsettings.However,authordoesn'tletthemdown

43、.Thisstoryonlyhas8000wordsbutitgivesthemthesamefeelingasamovie.Themostremarkablefeatureofthisstoryisthebrevityofthelanguage.Thewriterseldomtellsallthethingsdirectly.Forexample,whentheytalkaboutthehunteesofZaroff,noneofthempointsoutthehumteeishumanbutreadercaneasyknowitishuman.What'smore,unlikeot

44、herwritersuseplentyofwordstostressthethrillingscenesoffighting;Mr.Connellleavesmorethingsforreaderstoguess.Thisstyleofwrithingisaneffectivewaytostrengthentheatmosphere.Readerscanimaginethesehorribleandevilthingsbytheirownimagination.Withthehelpofimagination,theevilofhumancanbeexpandedandenriched.Bre

45、vityisnotalwaysthestyleofthelanguage.AsIhavementionedbefore,thisauthorisfocusedonthevividdescriptionoftheenvironment,suchas"ItwassetonahighbluffandonthethreesidesofitcliffsdiveddowntowherethesealickedZhu11greedylipsintheshadows."Itcanbesaidwithoutexaggerationthatthedescriptionsoftheenvironmentcontributetodeepeningthethrillingatmosphere.Thereadercanfeelandevent