"The Most Dangerous Game" or "The Hounds of Zaroff" (1924) is a short story by Richard Connell.

Widely anthologized, and the author's best-known work, "The Most Dangerous Game" features as its main character a big-game hunter from New York, who becomes shipwrecked on an isolated island in the Caribbean, and is hunted by a Russian aristocrat. The story is about a sardonic and ironic gothic inversion of the big-game hunting safaris in Africa and South America that were fashionable among wealthy Americans in the 1920s.

Plot
At the start of the story, Sanger Rainsford is steaming south to Brazil to hunt jaguars in the Amazon with a fellow hunter named Whitney. Rainsford is presented as stereotypically heartless hunter, unconcerned about the life or feelings of his prey. As they pass through the Caribbean, Rainsford accidentally falls over the side of the yacht, but saves himself by swimming to the rocky shore of a mysterious island. Moving inland he discovers a large manor-house on a cliff. He knocks at the door and is welcomed by General Zaroff, a gentle and elegant man of noble Cossack heritage who apparently lives on the island alone with his powerful servant, a terrifying deaf-mute named Ivan. Zaroff explains that he is the ultimate big-game hunter; he lives for his hobby, and has traveled the world and hunted every possible game animal. Now he has become so good at it that he's bored with his beloved pastime. In search of the only prey that can make the hunt challenging, he has begun to hunt humans. He lives in luxurious seclusion on the island, tricking ships into wrecking near his island with misleading navigation lights. When the surviving crew swim to his shores, he offers them a choice: they can be murdered by Ivan or choose to be hunted on the island by Zaroff. If they survive three days, he promises to set them free. Rainsford professes horror at the hunting of humans, and it isn't long before this hunter must himself be hunted. Zaroff offers Rainsford the same choice: become prey, or die. Rainsford must set out to survive his three days as a game animal with only a sack of food and a knife. The conclusion of the story focuses on what happens when these two skilled hunters finally match wits.
The Most Dangerous Game Plot Review On a sheet of paper, recreate the chart below. Using the statements in your envelope, fill in the chart IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THINGS HAPPENED. For the Basic Situation category, the order doesnt matter. The Plot Basic Situation 1. Rainsford is on a yacht bound for the Amazon. (page 2) 2. Rainsford talks with Whitney about ship-trap island. (page 1) 3. The sea is the Caribbean Sea. (page 1)

4. We find out Rainsford is a big game hunter. (page 2) 5. Whitney muses on his thought of the game. (page 2) Complications 1. Rainsford loses his balance and falls into the sea. (page 5) 2. Zaroff tells Rainsford that he is bored with hunting most animals. (page 14 and 16) 3. Zaroff tells Rainsford he hunts the most dangerous prey: man. (page 20) 4. Zaroff shows Rainsford how he traps ships with lights that indicate a channel. (page 21) 5. Zaroff asks Rainsford to join him in hunting his prey. 6. Rainsford refuses to join Zaroff in hunting. 7. Zaroff stands below Rainsford (whos up a tree), smiles, and moves on. (page 31) 8. Rainsford builds a Malay man-catcher. (page 33) 9. Rainsford builds a Burmese Tiger Pit. (page 34) 10. Zaroff loses one of his best dogs. (page 35) 11. Zaroff uses the dogs to hunt Rainsford. (page 36) 12. Rainsford kills Ivan. (page 37) 13. Rainsford leaps off of a cliff into the sea. (page 37) 14. Zaroff thinks that Rainsfords dead. (page 38) Climax 1. Rainsford confronts Zaroff in his bedroom. (page 38-39) Resolution 1. Rainsford has never slept in a more comfortable bed. (page 39)