Name : Zaidan Manaf Mardani

NPM : 180410220072
Final Paper (Introduction to Literary Studies)

Setting and Conflict Analysis in The Most Dangerous Game and

Introduction

"The Most Dangerous Game" is a short story with the theme of thriller and survival
by Richard Conell which was released in 1924. Richard Edward Connell Jr. is an author and a
journalist from America best known for his short stories, especially "The Most Dangerous
Game” which was published in The Saturday Evening Post and Collier's magazines. Centred
on Sanger Rainsford, a hunter from New York who fell from a cruise ship and stranded on an
island, is surviving under the pursuit of General Zaroff, and his waiter Ivan.
"The Most Dangerous Game," tells the story of Sanger Rainsford, who is sailing on a
yacht with his friend, Whitney. While smoking on the deck of the ship, Rainsford heard the
sound of gunshots from the pitch darkness, he approached the railing of the ship and fell into
the Caribbean Sea. After he fell, he swam closer to the gunshots and arrived at an island.
After resting, he then searches for human traces to survive and meets General Zaroff and his
waiter, Ivan. Then General Zaroff told him about a more interesting type of hunting, human
hunting. After being given supplies to survive, Rashford has a mission to survive for 3 days in
the pursuit of General Zaroff and his waiter and his pack of dogs. After evading General
Zaroff's pursuit twice, on the third day Rainsford killed the waiter with a trap made from a
sapling and a hunting knife. After killing the waiter, Rainsford ran from the dogs and jumped
into the ocean from a cliff. At night after being chased, Rainsford who jumped into the sea,
retured to the mansion and hides behind the curtain on Zaroff’s bed and the two of them had a
duel. At the end of the story, it is only mentioned that Rainsford has never slept in a better
place.
Research Question
1. What are the Settings in the short story "The Most Dangerous Game".
2. What conflicts are in the short story "The Most Dangerous Game".
3. How are the settings and conflicts contained in the short story related to one another.

Contents
In this study, I will only discuss the conflicts and settings contained in the short story
"The Most Dangerous Game.". According to Longman in Riyanti (2018:36), Setting is the
time and place of the action of a literary, dramatic, or cinematic work. Function of setting is
to give the information about the condition of event and action. It is important to be aware of
the context within, which the action of the novel takes place and this does not just means its
geographical setting but, social and historical factors are also important (Howthorn in
Iswandy in Rosyidin, 2008:14).
Richard Connell uses different settings to make the story more exciting and intense in
“The Most Dangerous Game”. This setting is very important because it creates a certain
atmosphere and keeps the story moving.
1. "Can't see it," remarked Rainsford, trying to peer through the dank tropical night that
was palpable as it pressed its thick warm blackness in upon the yacht.

In this sentence, there is a setting about time and place in the sentence "trying to peer
through the dank tropical night that was palpable as it pressed its thick warm
blackness upon the yacht." The phrase "dank tropical night" denotes a tropical night,
and the phrase "thick warm blackness in upon the yacht" denotes the setting of a place
on a yacht.

2. "You've good eyes," said Whitney, with a laugh," and I've seen you pick off a moose
moving in the brown fall bush at four hundred yards, but even you can't see four miles
or so through a moonless Caribbean night."

This sentence contains place and time settings that clarify the setting and time
contained in the previous paragraph. The phrase "moonless Caribbean night"
completes the place setting to become a yacht sailing in the Caribbean sea, and the
word "moonless" completes the time set to become a moonless night.

3. “Ten minutes of determined effort brought another sound to his ears--the most
welcome he had ever heard-- the muttering and growling of the sea breaking on a
rocky shore.” And “Dense jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs.”

In these two sentences, Conell describes the place where Rainsford went after falling
from the ship, namely the rocky coast and coastal cliffs that meet the forest.
 4. “His eyes made out the shadowy outlines of a palatial chateau; it was set on a high
bluff, and on three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in
the shadows”

In this sentences, conell shows the setting for General Zaroff and Ivan's residence, a
gloomy mansion located on the edge of a cliff that meets directly with the ocean.

5. “Night found him leg-weary, with hands and face lashed by the branches, on a thickly
wooded ridge.” And “A big tree with a thick trunk and outspread branches was near
by, and, taking care to leave not the slightest mark, he climbed up into the crotch, and,
stretching out on one of the broad limbs, after a fashion, rested.”

In this sentence, Rainsford who was being hunted, went back into the forest and at
night he rested on a big tree branch.

6. “I suggest, too, that you avoid the big swamp in the southeast corner of the island.”
And “He knew where he was now. Death Swamp and its quicksand.”

A setting of place can be seen in both of these sentences, namely the setting of a dread
swamp which has quicksand which is nicknamed the Death Swamp.

7. “At daybreak Rainsford, lying near the swamp, was awakened by a sound that made
him know that he had new things to learn about fear.”

A setting of time can be seen in this particular sentence. Describes Rainsford waking
up at daybreak near the swamp with fear.
According to Kenney in Enggawati (2016:1), conflict may take place within a single
man, a conflict between man and nature and also a conflict between man and society. In my
observation, there are 3 types of conflict contained in the short story "The Most Dangerous
Game", the conflict of man vs self, man vs man, and man vs nature
1. Man vs. Self
Prior to being hunted by General Zaroff, Rainsford opposed the human hunting that
General Zaroff spoke of, saying that it was tantamount to killing. But because of
being pressured by circumstances and situations, inevitably Rainsford had to let go of
that thought and finally killed Ivan with his trap, and General Zaroff in a duel.
2. Man vs. Man
In this short story, this type of conflict is highlighted with General Zaroff trying to
hunt down Rainsford on Ship-Trap Island. This type of conflict is explained explicitly
at the end of the story where Rainsford and General Zaroff duel to the death.
3. Man vs. Nature
At the beginning of the story, The man vs nature conflict can be seen where
Rainsford, who fell into the Caribbean ocean, had to swim and fight the ocean so he
could go to the beach. And in the middle of the story where he has to escape from the
quicksand in the Death Swamp.
 The conflict and setting in the short story are closely related to each other because
each setting aims to highlight the atmosphere brought by the conflict. Such as the setting of
the sea at night, which shows the darkness of the ocean in the night which reduces
Rainsford's visibility, and the waves from the yacht that hit Rainsford so he cannot ask for
help. The jungle setting where he tries to survive from the pursuit of the General and from the
threat of the jungle itself. The jungle setting is very important in shaping the atmosphere of
the current conflict, the man vs man and man vs nature conflicts. Like how he panicked and
ran away from the general's pursuit and escaped from the suction of quicksand.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the settings and conflicts in "The Most Dangerous Game" are closely
connected and work together to make the story more exciting, suspenseful, and meaningful.
The places where the story takes place, like Ship-Trap Island, Zaroff's mansion, and the
jungle, create a dangerous and intense atmosphere that adds to the suspense. The conflicts in
the story, like man vs man, man vs nature, and man vs sefl, are closely related with the
settings. The way the settings and conflicts interact makes the atmosphere more engaging.
The settings where the story happens make us feel nervous and excited, while the problems
and challenges the characters face keep the story interesting and make it powerful. Together,
they create a story that grabs our attention and etching a lasting mark in my memories.
References
Enggawati, N. (2016). ANALYSIS OF CONFLICTS IN LARKIN’S TIES OF LOVE AND
HATE. Humanis, . Retrieved from https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/sastra/article/view/17217
Rosyidin, A. (2008) The analysis on the roles of setting on developing the main character’s
personalities of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince (Undergraduate Thesis, Universitas
Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim.) http://etheses.uin-malang.ac.id/4500/
Riyanti, S. (2018). AN ANALYSIS OF SETTING AND CONFLICT IN THE NOVEL
ENTITLED DECK THE HALLS BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK AND CAROL HIGGINS
CLARK. PROGRESSIVE JOURNAL, 13(1), 35-42. Retrieved from
https://ejournal.nusamandiri.ac.id/index.php/progressive/article/view/521