In "The Most Dangerous Game", a common and recurring element is the nighttime, or the darkness that is ever prevalent during the short story. The story even begins at night, when Rainsford and Whitney are talking about hunting, and the mysterious island that their ship is currently sailing past. The nighttime and the darkness are also present in various times later in the story, mostly during the three days that Rainsford is trying to survive the hunting expert, General Zaroff.
The nighttime represents an eerie feeling that surrounds the island. For Rainsford, it represents him overcoming his fears and using his senses to swim to the island, and survive General Zaroff during the hunt. For General Zaroff, the darkness represents an extra challenge that only adds to the hunt for Rainsford. Zaroff, as a character, is obsessed with hunting and doing it the best he can, but having it also not be too easy. The darkness takes care of this challenge.
Good post, Michael. Is this the direction you plan to take with your paper??
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