Comparative Essay Example: The Most Dangerous Game and The Sniper

Two men fighting for their lives with death staring them straight in the eyes, no one to save them but themselves. Rainsford and the Sniper both change their views  On war and hunting while encountering a conflict. Rainsford is trapped on an island while being hunted by a mad man. The Sniper is in Dublin, Ireland while a war is occurring. Rainsford and the Sniper are the main focus throughout their stories and affect the outcome of their lives. The protagonists of “The Most Dangerous Game” and “The Sniper” are both dynamic; they find themselves in life-or-death situations, changing themselves and their ideals.

Rainsford and “The Sniper '' both share very important topics to them but the way they see them changes when they go through traumatic events. Rainford loves hunting and travels around the world for it, but when he learns of how Zaroff hunts he questions what the hunt really is. Rainsford is incredulous of what he calls, “Hunting? Great Guns Zaroff, what you speak of is murder”(Connel 8).  Furthermore, as Rainsford stays on the island with him, he soon realizes the complexity of the hunt. “The Sniper” loves war and the excitement of it all, but the glitter fades as he comes man-to-man with the enemy sniper. He deceives the sniper into thinking he shot him which evidently gave him the chance to eliminate him instead. He feels exhilaration at first to have won but, “. . .He revolted from the sight of the shattered mass of his enemy”(Liam O'Flaherty). This was not something he could be proud of anymore, he knew this was just senseless murder. The most important things to a man can be swayed or altered with the smallest bit of chance. 

The Sniper and Rainsford started to change psychologically once the main conflict was introduced, making them dynamic characters. Rainsford realizes that Zaroff is playing mind games with him. Rainsford knew, “The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror” (Connel 12). He couldn’t fathom the terror of an animal being hunted, but now he understands the difference between prey and predator. The main character of “The Sniper” has killed his enemy. Consequently, a flood of joy swept over him, but as he looked at his fallen foe, he is taken back. As he contemplates his enemy lay still on the pavement, “The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse”(Liam O'Flaherty 2). The Sniper realizes the devastation of war and the pain it brings. The Sniper and Rainsford both go through events in their lives that change their outlook on life and the world around them. 

The actions and emotions of the Sniper and Rainsford contributed to the conflict and the results of it. Rainsford's quick thinking helps him escape from Zaroff many times. Zaroff even congratulates Rainsford. Saying how “Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher. . .”(Connel 13). Nevertheless, Zaroff has to rethink how he wants to hunt Rainsford, delaying his fate for a little longer. “The Sniper” uses his brilliant idea to escape death. He drops his cap and rifle from the building to trick his enemy into thinking he was dead. When the enemy stands up he knew, “His ruse had succeeded. The other sniper, seeing the cap and rifle fall, thought that he had killed his man”(Liam O'Flaherty 1). Subsequently, he’s now the one with the gun toward his enemy. Their quick thinking changes the outcome of the conflict and changes their stories. 

Rainsford and “The Sniper” find themselves in life-changing events changing them and the way they think, making them dynamic. Finally, the conflicts and battles against their antagonist change them in a way that can’t be undone. The once valued hunt and war have been flipped upside down by the harsh realization of life and the sorrow it brings. The two men have beaten death but have not come out unscathed, they will forever be the shells of what they used to be.