Transcript THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
CHARACTERIZATION
• He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair
was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and
pointed military moustache were as black as
the night from which Rainsford had come. His
eyes, too, were black and very bright. He had
high cheekbones, a sharp-cut nose, a spare,
dark face, the face of a man used to giving
orders, the face of an aristocrat. (lines 204210)
What makes the character so vivid for
the reader?
• Modifiers.
– adjectives and adverbs: thick, pointed, black as
the night, sharp-cut, bright, vivid
• Connections.
– The man introduces himself as a general.
Rainsford’s description of him includes the things
he infers about the man’s character, based on
what he knows about the military: military
moustache, the face of a man used to giving
orders.
Your turn!
• Use modifiers and whatever connections you
can make for the reader to describe your
impressions of the following character…
• And this one?
• If these two characters needed to be
developed and added to The Most Dangerous
Game, what roles would they play?
• When would they be introduced in the story?
Word Study
• Prefixes, suffixes and roots
• Prefix – comes before, modifies root
• Suffix – comes after, modifies root
• Eg:
– a, an (meaning without, none)  atypical
– anti (meaning against, opposed)  antihistamine,
antivirus
– bio (meaning life)  biography
Your turn!!!
• Use the following prefixes and suffixes to
create as many words as possible in three
minutes (GO!):
Prefixes
Suffixes
arch (chief, principal)
co, con, com (together, with)
dis (apart, from, out, opposite of)
hyper (excessive, over, above, beyond)
multi (many)
pseudo (false)
sub (under)
cide (killing)
ant, ent, er, or, eer, ier (one who acts)
fy (fo make)
ic, ical (of, like)
ion, sion, tion (state of, condition of)
phobia (fear)
ment (state of being)
Simile
• A simile compares two things with “like” or
“as”.
– “Ugh! It’s like moist black velvet” (14-15)
– The sea was as flat as a plate-glass window. (4950)
– He tried to wrench it back, but the muck sucked
viciously at his foot as if it were a giant leech.
(696-697)
Your turn!
• Use a simile to describe the following things:
– The ring of a cell phone.
– The texture of a new sweater.
– The color of your crush’s eyes.
– The color of your archenemy’s eyes.
Metaphor
• A metaphor compares one thing to another by
saying that it is that other thing.
• “He was in a picture with a frame of water,
and his operations, clearly, must take place
within that frame.” (596-598)
• The lights of the yacht became faint and evervanishing fireflies; then they were blotted out
entirely by the night. (94-96)
Your turn!
• Can you think of a way to use the eye of a
hurricane as a metaphor for a situation you
may encounter?
Making Connections
• We all compare everything we encounter to what
we already know (our existing schemata). “One
does not expect nowadays to find a young man of
the educated class, even in America, with such a
naïve, and, if I may say so, mid-Victorian point of
view. It’s like finding a snuffbox in a limousine.”
(389-392) Something unexpectedly oldfashioned and simple in something modern and
luxurious.
• Can you think of another comparison that would
be more teen-speak?
Games, games, games.
• “If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he
wins the game.”
“Suppose he refuses to be hunted?”
“If he does not wish to hunt, I turn him over
to Ivan…Invariably they choose the
hunt.” (452-460)
• It’s not really a choice, is it. Are there any
instances in which you have become involved in a
game that was not of your choosing? What were
the stakes?
Context Clues
• Good readers use context clues extensively to
determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
– “You’ll have a cocktail, Mr. Rainsford,” he
suggested. The cocktail was surpassingly good;
and, Rainsford noted, the table appointments
were of the finest – the linen, the crystal, the
silver, the china.
Your turn!
• If the vocabulary word was internet slang, and
you needed to use the same technique to
make examples readily available for the
reader, how might that look? Choose “text
talk” or an internet term that is unusual or
very new. How would you use it so that all
readers, even those from another generation
or another place, would understand your
message?
Transitional phrases build suspense…
• Transitional phrases move the plot forward, or
indicate that flashbacks from the past are
being referred to.
– For a moment the general did not reply; he was
smiling his curious red-lipped smile. Then he said
slowly: “No. You are wrong, sir. The Cape buffalo
is not the most dangerous big game.” (267-270)
– “After the debacle in Russia I left the country, for it
was imprudent for an officer of the czar to stay
there…” (312-313)
Your turn!
• With a partner, generate a list of transitional
phrases that you might be able to use in your
writing.
• You have three minutes!
* Note that when you write, numbers less than
ten must be written out in words. Those
greater than ten may be written in numerals.
So, did you include:
• Ok, this is a lot! On the plone, in the grammar
folder, there is a link to an extensive list.
Within that list is another link to a “cheat
sheet” that would make a great resource (two
pages, print it out for yourself).
Your turn!
• Write an e-mail to your grandpa/grandma.
Give him/her directions that would enable
them to do something that you do regularly
(surf the web, use your cell phone, do a trick
on a skateboard – something that they have
never done before). You will need to use
transitions and transitional phrases to explain
clearly.
• Remember, Gammy is old-school – she
expects the writing to be PROPER.
Use of commas
• In dialogue:
– “We will have some capital hunting, you and I,”
said the general. “I shall be most glad to have
your society.” (288-289)
– “May I pour you another glass of port, Mr.
Rainsford?” (293-294)
* The rules for comma use are extensive. We’ll do a
little at a time. There is a Comma Quick Reference
page on the plone, which is excellent.
Ethics – What do you think?
• Identity.
– “I was lying in my tent with a splitting headache one
night when a terrible thought pushed its way into my
mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me! And
hunting, remember, had been my life.” (323-325)
The general defines his identity as a hunter. He can be
nothing else, it seems. So focused is he on his own
identity, that no other options occur to him. He
becomes creative at finding ways to get what he
needs (challenge) and remain who he is (a hunter).
• Can you think of other situations in which an
individual gives themselves over completely to
an intensely focused role, and it becomes
singularly who he/she is?
• What happens when he/she is faced with the
dissolution of that role? What does it do to
that person’s identity?
• Do we see examples of success and of failure
in handling this kind of change in the real
world? What does that mean to you?
• “Hunting had ceased to be what you call a
sporting proposition. It had become too easy.
I always got my quarry. Always. There is no
greater bore than perfection.” (340-342)
• Do you feel that this happens to regular folks
in real life? Can you give some examples?
Do you have a mantra?
• Self-talk can be positive or negative.
– “I must keep my nerve. I must keep my nerve,” he
said through tight teeth. (587-588)
– “I will not lose my nerve. I will not.” (650)
– “Nerve, nerve, nerve!” he panted, as he dashed
along. (766)
Rainsford uses his self-talk to keep calm and carry
on. It gives him strength.
• Do you have a mantra? If you don’t what
word or phrase “fits” for you?
• What does your choice say about your
identity?