To fully understand someone, you must first put yourself in their shoes. There are some things you'll never truly understand until you experience it for yourself, like true failure or even being chased by an unavoidable threat. Richard Connel emphasizes this theme in his short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," by introducing a hunter named Sanger Rainsford to what it feels like to be prey rather than predator. Initially set on a yacht in the Caribbean, Rainsford accidentally throws himself overboard after hearing gunshots in the distance. While maintaining some composure and with no other option, Rainsford arrives on the shore of a nearby island, where he finds General Zaroff, a Cossack hunter incredibly passionate to the point of hunting down even humans. Faced with the constant terror of pain and death, Rainsford must survive General Zaroff's twisted game for three days until midnight. In doing so, Rainsford is forced to reconsider his position on how a hunted animal feels. Using foreshadowing, irony, and metaphors, Connel is able to reveal that clinging to one's ideals only gets you so far. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First, Conel uses foreshadowing, the use of clues suggesting future events, to alert readers to how Rainsford's arrogance will get him into trouble. The foreshadowing allows the reader to infer what awaits Rainsford as he refuses to accept what his teammate has to say. Whitney mentions to Rainsford the superstition about "Ship-Trap Island" and how great sport hunting is. However, she does not forget to consider hunting from the other side. Rainsford, on the other hand, completely ignores the so-called prey philosophy. He says, “Don’t talk trash, Whitney,” Rainsford said. “You are a big game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares what a jaguar feels? Rainsford also goes on to say that the "Ship-Trap Island" superstition is "pure imagination." Although Whitney is wary of a hostile presence of evil in the air, Rainsford fails to recognize the meaning of what she has to say. Additionally, it ignores the disclaimer behind the infamous name "Ship-Trap Island", which is reasonably the most visible form of foreshadowing throughout the story. The particular name foretells Rainsford's predicament as he finds himself stranded on a remote island with no means of escape. As Rainsford's pride as a hunter continues to cloud his judgment, the foreshadowing allows readers to sense the impending danger. As a foreshadowing of the root of Rainsford's problems, irony highlights the incongruity between Rainsford's beliefs and actions. Another literary device that shows how contemplating things has value is irony, which occurs when expectations of something differ from reality. In this particular case, the irony of the situation demonstrates how wrong Rainsford was to quickly judge the hunted as weak during the exhibition. “That’s absurd,” Rainsford laughed. “This warm weather is making you sweet, Whitney. Be realistic. The world is made up of two classes: hunters and hunters. Fortunately, you and I are hunters. (24) Rainsford describes himself as a hunter and tells Whitney that a jaguar is incapable of feeling anything emotionally. He proclaims that one should not think about such trivial things, especially when it comes to prey, that.