Plot is Easy
Hunter/Big Game Hunter/Author of Hunting Books.
Who is the story's protagonist?
Rainsford
"The night would be my eyelids."
Metaphor
The island is called "Ship-Trap Island". What does the word "trap" suggest about its reputation?
Decayed setting, grotesque revelation, obsession with the past, etc.
How does Rainsford end up on Ship-Trap Island?
He falls off the yacht and is forced to swim to shore.
What are at least 2 details that set Ivan apart from other characters?
He is a giant/deaf/mute
"It's so dark, it's like black velvet"
Simile
When Zaroff describes hunting as his "life's passion," what does the word passion imply about his character?
An obsessive, almost fanatical intensity--not just a hobby, but something darker/more.
"The Most Dangerous Game" belongs to adventure fiction. What feature of the story makes it adventure rather than Gothic?
Action--driven survival plot with an exotic setting and physical danger
Who is the first person Rainsford meets on the island?
Ivan
General Zaroff claims to have grown bored hunting animals. What reason does he give?
They no longer challenge him because animals can't reason.
"A sharp, sudden sound startled him."
Alliteration
Early in the story, the night is described as "palpable." What does palpable mean?
Able to be touched, sensed, or felt; tangible in a sense.
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" blends Southern Gothic with O'Connor's religious beliefs. What moment shows the mix most clearly?
Food/clothing/knife/several hours head start
What does Zaroff say is the "ideal quarry," and why?
Humans, because they can reason.
"The hunter had come to a place where the hunted had made a stand."
Irony/paradox/juxtaposition
Zaroff calls himself "civilized" because of his clothes, food, and manners. How does Connell's diction here create irony?
Civilized usually suggests morality and humanity, Connell uses it ironically. He uses those things to mask his cruelty.
What is the difference between Southern Gothic and American Gothic genres?
American Gothic is not geographically bound/constrained.
Three
What happens to Ivan during Rainsford's attempt to escape?
He is killed by the knife/tree trap.
"He lived a year in a minute"
Hyperbole
a contest/sport/competition & animals being hunted
How does "The Lottery" use genre to turn the familiar into the horrific?
By hiding horror in the language and structure of an idyllic small-town, then revealing ritualized murder at the climax.