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Analysis of Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 30, 2021

Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” is widely anthologized in both high school literature and college introductory fiction courses largely because it offers a fine illustration of many of the potential conflicts that an author can incorporate into an compelling plotline: man versus man, man versus nature, and man versus himself.

Initially set on board a steamer headed for South America, “The Most Dangerous Game” begins with a conversation between two hunters, Rainsford and Whitney, who are aboard the vessel and are nearing a dangerous stretch of water that shipping charts label as Ship Trap Island . Their discussion centers on their chosen sport, big game hunting, and whether wild animals have any fear when they are being stalked by humans.

Almost immediately the reader senses that Rainsford’s surroundings are threatening. The sea and the island’s negative reputation place him in jeopardy, which is heightened when he falls overboard while investigating the sound of three gunshots he hears from the deck of his ship.

Although he survives the fall, Rainsford is savvy enough to get to shore by following the direction suggested by the shots. However, upon his arrival at Ship Trap Island, the safety he anticipates is not evident; instead he is faced with a ragged jungle environment and evidence of a fierce struggle that has recently occurred there.

Richard Connell/AmericanLiterature.com

Ultimately, Rainsford makes his way inland and, to his surprise, he discovers a palatial chateau, which he initially feels is a mirage, but he eventually finds that the house is occupied by a General Zaroff, a military aristocrat with a deaf mute servant of extraordinary strength whose name is Ivan. Aware of Rainsford’s reputation for hunting expertise, Zaroff initially seems delighted to have him as a guest since he, too, considers himself a master of the hunt. Indeed, his feudal dining room is decorated with the heads of many of his animal kills, including elephants, tigers, and bears. As the two discover what they consider to be the most dangerous game animal, the reader begins to recognize that the general is far from humane in his pursuit of the sport.

Rather, as Zaroff recounts his career to Rainsford, it becomes clear that the general now finds lower animals less of a challenge. Bored with their ability to offer him competition, Zaroff had retreated to this isolated primitive jungle exclusively to hunt the only animal that reasons: men. Zaroff clearly expresses his belief that even his human prey are an inferior species—the weak of the world—but individuals whom he trains to make them competitive to his superior skills. He then offers the individual he hunts a game of cat and mouse. If Zaroff catches his prey, the individual loses (and dies); if the prey eludes him for three days, the individual is free to leave Ship Trap Island unharmed. However, such an escape has so far never been achieved by those whom he has hunted, and no one has succeeded in winning the game.

Clearly, after initially believing Rainsford’s conflict will be environmental in nature, readers now see that a man-versus-man conflict emerges as a primary emphasis of Connell. The intellectual and physical battle between the two men takes center stage, displacing the original struggle with the environment. Since Rainsford offers the general a much more challenging opponent than he has had previously, the game of wits is intriguing. For Zaroff, the hunt has become a plaything, and he toys with Rainsford as he tracks him nightly, at times intentionally letting him slip away from being captured and killed. Suddenly the word game no longer refers to animals but rather suggests an elaborate chess match whose loser forfeits his very life.

The story concludes with Rainsford forced to do battle with Zaroff. Though outnumbered (Zaroff has dogs and Ivan to help), Rainsford does not panic and uses the tricks of the hunting trade to outsmart his opponent. Nevertheless, the general discovers Rainsford during the first hunt and, preferring to extend the contest not to capture him, decides rather to enjoy what he believes will be his eventual triumph over a longer period. During the second encounter, Rainsford becomes more successful as he uses a Malayman-catcher at least to wound Zaroff. Thus the man-versus-man conflict intensifies, and the game becomes more complex. Though Rainsford claims the lives of both the general’s best hunting dog and Ivan, he is eventually trapped on a high cliff. Since retreat is impossible, he is then forced to seek refuge in the dangerous sea by jumping from his precarious location. While Zaroff believes he has again conquered even though he has not killed his prey personally, his opponent, Rainsford, returns later that night to claim victory, having proved successful not only in subduing his dangerous surrounding but in eluding his hunter and surviving for three days.

Surprisingly, as the story draws to a close, Rainsford is not content just to be free. Instead he proves that men (not wild animals) are indeed the most dangerous game by challenging his antagonist to a duel and winning. Though Connell deftly avoids showing Rainsford’s actual killing of his fellow man and his subsequent decision to feed the general’s body to his pack of hungry dogs, the author surely concludes that when pressed to desperation, man will resort to any means to stay alive. Consequently, it is evident that Rainsford, who initially revolted at the thought of violently attacking others, has struggled with his own value systems and eventually decided that self-preservation may require dire and even immoral action. His personal impulse toward morality at the beginning of the story is thus, at the story’s end, overcome by the necessity to survive, and his inner struggle introduces the third primary fictional conflict: man’s eternal struggle with himself.

Considered a plot-centered story, “The Most Dangerous Game” has rather static stereotypical characters including a noble heroic protagonist and a vicious and unsympathetic villain, but Connell’s ironic twist at the story’s end makes the story an appealing read, especially for those who prefer exciting series of events to complex character studies. It is a well-crafted narrative that lends itself well to basic analysis by younger and perhaps less experienced readers.

The Most Dangerous Game

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A Summary and Analysis of Richard Connell’s ‘The Most Dangerous Game’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘The Most Dangerous Game’ is a classic adventure story, first published in 1924. It is now the story for which its author, Richard Connell (1893-1949), is best-remembered, and critics and reviewers have drawn comparisons between ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ and Suzanne Collins’s bestselling Hunger Games series, because both narratives are about people hunting, and being hunted, in a life-or-death competition.

Plot summary

On a yacht in the Caribbean, Sanger Rainsford is a hunter famed for his skills, preparing for a hunting trip up the Amazon in South America with his friend Whitney, who tells him about some strange superstitions involving a nearby island.

That night, Rainsford hears gunshots and falls into the sea. He swims for the shore, and hears the strange cries of an animal he is unfamiliar with and realises it is being hunted. When he makes it to the shore, he collapses and falls asleep, but once he wakes he realises he is hungry and begins to search for people on the island he has washed up on.

What he discovers initially baffles him. There are cartridges left over from the hunt which he heard, but the hunter was using a small gun to hunt a large animal. So he goes on a hunt himself, following the footprints of the hunter until he sees lights and comes to ‘a lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward into the gloom’.

He knocks at the door of this chateau, and Ivan, a black-bearded giant of a man who cannot speak, opens the door to him. He goes to shoot Rainsford, who is saved when another man, General Zaroff, arrives. Zaroff, who is more cultivated than Ivan, has read one of Rainsford’s hunting books. He apologises to his guest for Ivan’s behaviour and provides Rainsford with food and a change of clothes. Both he and Ivan are Cossacks: Russian and Ukrainian horsemen known for their military skill.

Over dinner, Zaroff tells Rainsford that he hunts big game on the island. He also tells him that ordinary animals have ceased to be a challenge for him, so he has started hunting the one animal capable of reason: human beings. Because he has the power of reason, man is ‘the most dangerous game’ of all. The island is known as ‘Ship Trap’ because ships are often run aground on its shores, providing Zaroff with fresh ‘game’. If a man refuses to be part of the hunt, Zaroff turns him over to Ivan.

That night, Rainsford has difficulty getting off to sleep, and once he begins to doze he hears a pistol shot in the jungle. The next day, he demands to leave the island, but Zaroff tells him that they haven’t gone hunting yet – and Rainsford is going to be the next game Zaroff hunts. If Rainsford can survive for three days in the jungle, Zaroff will allow him to leave the island, on condition that Rainsford tell nobody about Zaroff’s hunt. Rainsford reluctantly accepts these terms.

He is given some supplies and leaves the house with a three-hour head start on Zaroff, who then begins to hunt him. He tries various tricks to outwit his enemy, doubling back on his own tracks to obscure his path, and hiding up in a tree. But Zaroff finds him with ease, though refuses to announce that he has done so. Rainsford realises that Zaroff is toying with him.

He decides to lay a trap for Zaroff involving a tree which, if disturbed, will fall on him. However, Zaroff’s lightning-quick reflexes save him from death, and only his shoulder is injured. He tells Rainsford he will go and have his wound dressed before returning to the hunt.

Coming upon an area of quicksand, Rainsford lays another trap: a pit containing sharp stakes, concealed by a mat of weeds and branches covering the hole. But one of Zaroff’s dogs activates the trap instead. Rainsford hears the baying of the rest of the hounds, and attaches his knife to a tree, hoping that Zaroff will be wounded by it. Instead, the knife kills Ivan.

He now has only one chance: to jump into the sea, escaping the island, and hope for the best. Zaroff, meanwhile, is back at his chateau, cursing the fact that Rainsford has escaped. He retires to bed but, when he switches on a light, there is a man waiting behind the curtains: Rainsford. Zaroff tells him he has won the game, but Rainsford tells him that he is still a ‘beast at bay’ and the hunt is not over yet. Zaroff accepts this, and the two men prepare to fight.

That night, Rainsford sleeps in Zaroff’s bed.

Connell’s story ends with Rainsford, the hunted, vanquishing his hunter, Zaroff, and sleeping in the bed of the man who had stalked him as his prey. But ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ concludes on a decidedly ambiguous note. What happened during that ellipsis (‘“One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford.”…’)? And why did Rainsford, having jumped into the sea, then head back to the chateau in order to kill Zaroff?

We are invited to presume that Rainsford has fought, and killed, Zaroff and claimed the latter’s bed as his victory prize. But the fact that he chooses Zaroff’s bed, out of the many beds in the vast chateau, raises some interesting questions. Does he plan to replace Zaroff as the chief hunter of the island, luring those unwitting sailors to the ‘Ship Trap’ of the island in order to use them for sport? Has he got a taste for the ultimate hunt and does he now, too, plan to hunt ‘the most dangerous game’, man?

Although ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ is a well-paced and engaging adventure story, we should not let this fact lead us to conclude that this is all the story is: an action-packed piece of entertainment. For in some respects, Connell’s tale can be analysed as a kind of allegory for the predatory and cutthroat elements of human nature.

Some sixty-five years before ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ was written, Charles Darwin had shown how all animals are locked in a bloody and desperate struggle for survival: one animal hunts another for food, two animals of the same species fight to the death over a potential mate, animals tears each other apart in their competition for limited food sources.

Although Darwin’s initial book on evolution, On the Origin of Species (1859), did not discuss man, the implications of his theory of natural selection were plain enough to most readers. Humankind is not separate from other animals, but a part of the animal kingdom. Man is just a more cultivated and civilised animal, who is capable of making and wearing fine clothes (as Zaroff does) and enjoying fine food and champagne (again, see Zaroff).

But underneath this ‘cultivated’ veneer – and it is worth remembering that Connell’s third-person narrator uses this very word to describe Zaroff’s voice – man is still an animal, with primal drives. And these drives include the urge to hunt and kill prey.

The setting of ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ also bears out this interpretation of the story as an allegory for man’s primal nature beneath his ‘civilised’ exterior. By having his adventure tale take place in the deepest jungle on a South American island, Connell sends his New Yorker protagonist, symbolically, back into a more primitive and barbaric past. At one point during dinner, Zaroff comments to his guest that they ‘do our best to preserve the amenities of civilization here’; by implication, this is an uncivilised place by its very nature.

Both Zaroff and Rainsford represent different aspects of the hunter. Both men are highly skilled at what they do, but for Zaroff, hunting is a ‘game’ (as the double meaning of the story’s title cleverly conveys, man is ‘the most dangerous game’ but he is also playing ‘the most dangerous game’). It is something he enjoys so much that he is prepared to place himself in danger, turning men into his prey precisely because their reasoning capacity makes them ‘dangerous’, as he tells Rainsford.

For Zaroff, then, the danger – the risk to his own safety – is part of the thrill of hunting. And it would be easy to argue that, in Rainsford, he finally meets his match. But this is not quite the case. In fact, he easily tracks down Rainsford, despite the New Yorker’s best attempts to cover his tracks (literally) before taking refuge up in a tree.

Zaroff quickly finds him, however. He could have dispatched his prey there and then, but his undoing is not Rainsford’s cunning as such, but his own hubris : Zaroff thinks he will be able to outsmart and vanquish the other man every time, and so leaves him in the tree for the time being. By playing with his prey in this way, Zaroff provides Rainsford with the chance to escape, and he does this by jumping into the sea and then finding his way back to the chateau.

In the last analysis, then, Connell’s story is about modern man as a primitive hunter with the primal drive to turn others into his prey. It would be easy to cast Zaroff as the more bloodthirsty man and Rainsford as the unwitting hunter in the story (he starts off as prey and must become predator in order to survive), but as the story progresses, Rainsford becomes more and more violent himself: killing, first, one of Zaroff’s dogs, then Ivan, and finally, Zaroff himself.

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The Most Dangerous Game

22 pages • 44 minutes read

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Summary: “the most dangerous game”.

Written in 1924, Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” has achieved fame as a popular short story worldwide. The story is an iconic tale that questions the value of human life and offers a commentary on the morality of man and instinct versus reason . It has sparked numerous adaptations and inspired other pieces of fiction, from poems and novels to several films and TV series.

As the story opens, Sanger Rainsford , a game hunter, is on a yacht traveling to the Amazon to hunt the largest cat of the region—the jaguar. As they pass an island called Ship-Trap Island on a dark night, Rainsford and his friend Whitney stand on the ship deck and discuss the superstitions sailors hold about the mysterious Caribbean island. They also discuss their impending hunt, considering the effects of man on the animal kingdom and how the hunted animals must feel. They agree that they are lucky to be the hunters, not the hunted. After Whitney turns in, Rainsford hears gunshots as the boat passes the island shore, and upon shifting closer to investigate, he falls overboard. When he realizes that he cannot swim back to the boat, he decides to swim toward the island, where he washes up on shore and falls into a deep sleep .

Upon waking, Rainsford takes in the rough and wild jungle landscape. As he starts picking his way along the shore, he sees signs of a struggle—blood and crushed foliage—along with an empty .22 cartridge. He finds it odd that such a small caliber round would be used against what appears from the evidence to be a sizeable animal. Rainsford follows boot prints on the ground and eventually comes upon a large chateau high on a bluff.

Rainsford’s knock on the door is met by a large, black-bearded man named Ivan , pointing a revolver. He soon meets the chateau owner, General Zaroff , who instructs Ivan to stand down and explains Ivan is deaf and without speech. Zaroff is also a big game hunter, and after Rainsford explains his situation, Zaroff gives him a large meal and a place to rest. Over an exceptionally delicious dinner, Zaroff and Rainsford have a long, engaging discussion about hunting and animals. However, amid his hospitality, Zaroff reveals that hunting began to bore him because it no longer held the challenges of wit it once had. He now hunts much bigger and more cunning game—the sailors whose ships crash into the island. He gives them food, rest, and survival training then sends them out into the jungle with some supplies and provisions. Then the hunt begins. Zaroff tells Rainsford that if a target can survive for three days without being killed by him, Zaroff will let him go—however, none of his past victims have lasted that long.

Rainsford is shocked and turns down Zaroff’s invitation to accompany him hunting that evening. Instead, Rainsford goes to bed but is so unsettled by Zaroff’s hobby that he cannot sleep. As dawn breaks, he hears the shot of a pistol in the distance and knows that Zaroff has killed the man he was hunting.

The next afternoon, Rainsford is informed that he will have a three-hour head start before Zaroff begins hunting him. If Zaroff has not killed him by midnight of the third day, he promises to take Rainsford by boat to the mainland. On the first day, Rainsford creates a confusing trail for Zaroff and eventually climbs a tree. However, Zaroff finds him quickly and taunts him by smoking a cigarette at the base of the tree and sparing him on purpose to prolong the hunt for his own entertainment. The general then goes home to prepare for a more serious fight the next day. On day two, Rainsford fashions a “man-catcher” trap, which Zaroff triggers as he steps on it unknowingly, getting hit in the shoulder and going home injured to rest for the final day. He is pleased with Rainsford’s ingenuity and again chooses to spare Rainsford’s life to keep the hunt going. On the third day, Zaroff brings his pack of hunting dogs. Rainsford shows additional wit and skill by creating other traps—firstly, a hole in the ground that captures and kills one of Zaroff’s dogs, then a knife trap that kills Ivan.

As the chase intensifies, Rainsford jumps off a cliff into the sea. Zaroff investigates and deduces that Rainsford is dead. He is disappointed that Rainsford would end the game by committing suicide. The general returns home and goes up to his bedroom, locking the door behind him; however, Rainsford is there, hiding in plain sight. Rainsford reveals that he swam around to the other side of the island, snuck into the chateau, and climbed up to Zaroff’s bedroom.

Zaroff is impressed with Rainsford, exclaiming that he won the game. However, Rainsford does not take it so lightly—he intends to fight Zaroff to the death. The story ends with the line, “He’d never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided” (15), implying that Rainsford has killed Zaroff.

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What’s Up With the Ending?

Sometimes an ending is not just an ending, or at least not a clear ending. What do we know for certain? That according to the rules of engagement, Rainsford wins the hunt because he survives three days out in the jungle without getting killed. But how did we get there? What was the game?

One reason Zaroff loses to Rainsford may be that he has a different idea about the rules of the game. In fact, to Rainsford, it may not be a game at all. And, even if he did see it as a game, the two men are playing for very different reasons. Rainsford is playing for his life; Zaroff is looking for an amusing challenge. He never sees Rainsford as a significant challenge or a threat. He sees Rainsford as a smart strategist and a clever challenge: “Not many men know how to make a Malay man-catcher. Luckily for me, I too have hunted in Malacca.”

Because he is so overly confident, Zaroff never questions that he will win. (Which sort of makes it not a game—don’t two people have to agree that they are playing a game? Try playing Go Fish with someone who doesn’t know he’s playing Go Fish). More importantly, Zaroff never realizes that the game has equally high stakes for both of them. When Rainsford wins—as Zaroff acknowledges ("I congratulate you," he said. "You have won the game”)—all of the rules change.

The ending leaves some questions unanswered. Remember how Rainsford told Whitney at the beginning: “You're a big-game hunter, not a philosopher.” Well, here we want you to be a philosopher for a second—even if Rainsford dismisses that kind of diversion.

Rather than simply concluding that Zaroff gets fed to the hounds and Rainsford gets a much-needed good night’s sleep, step back and consider some of the larger questions raised by the ending: Why does Rainsford say, “I am still a beast at bay”? (2.36). Is it simply that he has not yet fed Zaroff to the hounds, or that he knows he is about to kill Zaroff, which will make him no better than Zaroff?

By sleeping in Zaroff’s bed, is he becoming the next Zaroff? He could have slept in his own bed, after all, or even tried to leave. Consider this: In dying, Zaroff passes on his role to Rainsford. Has Rainsford already accepted? How can he sleep so well if he feels remorse over killing a fellow human? After all, Zaroff told him he could leave the island if he won…

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W hy's T his F unny?

The Most Dangerous Game

By richard connell, the most dangerous game themes, hunters vs. the hunted.

The most obvious theme of " The Most Dangerous Game " is that which arises from the relationship of the hunter and the hunted. At the very beginning of story, Rainsford and Zaroff are presented as equals. Both characters are well-accomplished big-game hunters. As the story unfolds, however, their roles change. Rainsford is thrust into the position of the hunted. However, he tries to undermine the game by setting traps for the hunter. Rainsford's form of hunting is passive whereas Zaroff's is active.

The fragility of this relationship between the hunted and the hunter is not only displayed in the resolution of the story but also through various passages. For example, Zaroff describes several interactions with animals that resulted in injury on his part.

Murder vs. hunting

The central moral theme of the story involves the distinction between murder and hunting. Rainsford sees a clear difference between the two, hence his disgust at Zaroff's hunting of men. Zaroff, on the other hand, sees his pastime as similar to a war.

This particular theme remains a source of tension throughout the story. As Rainsford is hunted, he does his best to try to destroy Zaroff through a series of traps. In the end, it is implied that Rainsford has proven to be the greater hunter. Rainsford's last line of the story indicates that he slept in Zaroff's bed. Such an action can be read as a metaphor for his unwilling conversion into a hunter of men.

Emphasis on color

The darkness presented in the first scene of the story continues through the hunt and the eventual demise of Zaroff. In addition, there are many references to the color black. Ivan is described as having a long, black beard. Zaroff has black eyebrows and a black beard. The eyes of many of the characters are described as black pools. The thematic use of darkness and the color black adds to the suspenseful, dramatic timbre of the story.

War as a hunt

The theme of war as a hunt resonates through the back story of "The Most Dangerous Game." Zaroff explicitly compares his game to warfare, as a form of justification. He also mentions the plight of the Cossacks, an ethnic group pushed out of Russia after the fall of the Czar. The manner in which they were hunted is similar to the way Zaroff hunts his current prey as the Cossacks were known as fierce warriors.

Questioning of accepted logic

Zaroff has a rather demented way of viewing the world, one that Rainsford has a difficult time understanding. Zaroff points out numerous times that the hunting of men is not much unlike the hunting of wild animals. Moreover, men have long participated in socially sanctioned activities, such as wars, that result in the death of the opposing party. Zaroff's comparisons and the subsequent hunt constantly raise the question of the validity of any type of hunting or war.

The irony of humanity

Zaroff is a man of contradictions. While being an extremely "civilized" man in the sense that he is knowledgeable about aspects of high culture, he also presents himself as barbaric. The entire island is a contradiction. The lavish house stands starkly against the dark jungle where the hunt occurs. In some ways, Zaroff can be seen as a stand-in for humanity. The same irony that Zaroff presents in "The Most Dangerous Game" is also present at the pinnacle of civilization today - highly advanced and educated civilizations still murdering each other over land and resources.

Inversion of roles

Throughout the story there are a series of role inversions. For example, the hunter becomes the hunted twice. The first time, Rainsford is forced into the position of prey by Zaroff; the second, it is Rainsford that hunts Zaroff. The inversion of roles continues until the end of the story, at which point Rainsford metaphorically takes on the role of Zaroff by sleeping in his bed. Rainsford has ultimately been transformed by Zaroff's game.

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The Most Dangerous Game Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Most Dangerous Game is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

“He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.” (Paragraph 207) What is the overall effect of the last line of the story?

This line tells us that Rainsford won his final showdown with Zaroff. This effectively ends this classic man vs man story.

The Most Dangerous Game Study Sync question #1

A- He is a superstitious person who believes in rumors and legends.

Which of the following infers about Whitney is best supported by the beginning of the story

a.he is a superstitious person who believes in rumors and legends

Study Guide for The Most Dangerous Game

The Most Dangerous Game study guide contains a biography of Richard Connell, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About The Most Dangerous Game
The Most Dangerous Game Summary
Character List

Essays for The Most Dangerous Game

The Most Dangerous Game essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.

Rainsford's Character in "The Most Dangerous Game"
The Three Hunters
The Most Dangerous Game: A Hunt For Morality
Analyzing Suspense in ‘The Most Dangerous Game’
Characterization in “The Most Dangerous Game”

Lesson Plan for The Most Dangerous Game

About the Author
Study Objectives
Common Core Standards
Introduction to The Most Dangerous Game
Relationship to Other Books
Bringing in Technology
Notes to the Teacher
Related Links
The Most Dangerous Game Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Most Dangerous Game

Introduction

“The Most Dangerous Game” Narrative Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
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Looking for The Most Dangerous Game essay examples? This paper analyzes the short story by Richard Connell. It explores The Most Dangerous Game themes & provides the story’s summary.

Introduction

Summary of the Story
The key theme

“The Most Dangerous Game” is a short story authored by Richard Connell published in 1924. It is a story about a hunter becoming the hunted. “The Most Dangerous Game” essay shall provide an analysis of the story. The main character Sanger Rainsford accompanied by his partner Whitney set out on a journey from New York to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The two are on a mission to hunt the Jaguar, a big cat in South America.

Summary of The Most Dangerous Game

The play notes here that Rainsford loves hunting to the extent that he calls it the best sport in the world. In the course of their discussion over their ability to hunt wild animals, they are terrified suddenly by gunshots and screams. This occurs at night.

The scare makes Rainsford fall off their boat into the Caribbean Sea in trying to rescue his pipe. The circumstance did not allow him to swim back to the ship. He then swims to an island, which is in the direction that the yells and gunshots had come from. This island also happens to be a Ship-Trap zone. On the Island, Rainsford finds two inhabitants living in a palatial mansion. General Zaroff is the owner of the island and an astute hunter.

The second person is Zaroff’s servant, who is deaf and mute. His name is Ivan. It is surprising that after the introduction, Zaroff has heard of Rainsford from the books he has read about him hunting leopards in Tibet, China. They then have dinner together. Zaroff’s explanation follows this to Rainsford on how he got bored with killing wild animals because the adventure did not bring challenges anymore.

His adventure surprises Rainsford, who, even after persuasion, refused to join. What happens when Rainsford refuses to hunt with Zaroff? Zaroff says that he now captures sailors whose ships are wrecked; he then sends them to the forest with food, dressed in full hunting regalia and a knife. The sailors now become his target and turn to hunt and kill them. Being a determined General, he sets his limits to three days. If by the third day neither Ivan, his hunting dogs nor himself have killed the prey, he lets them go.

However, his hunting skills had never allowed an escape to occur. Rainsford turns down the offer to join the hunting of human beings. Zaroff gives him two options. To become either the next prey to be hunted or Ivan whips him to death. Rainsford chooses the former.

The Most Dangerous Game Theme

In “The Most Dangerous Game,” dogs and Ivan play equally significant role in the plot. This is a dangerous game pitting Rainsford on one side and Zaroff’s entire team of Ivan and the dogs on the other side. It is the use of stamina and strength with the show of intelligence. Zaroff makes sure that Rainsford gets the standard treatment of a captive, including giving him food supplies and instructions. The challenge is risky but very intriguing. Rainsford starts by hiding his hunting tactics. He climbs a tree where he is very visible.

This serves to convince Zaroff that Rainsford is easy prey and immediately turns it into the game. The next flow of events proves that Rainsford is a guru in hunting. He sets a trap made of a massive log joined to a tripwire. The first casualty is Zaroff. His shoulder is injured, sending him back to the mansion to sleep. The trap he uses here, he calls it, a Malay man catcher. Day one is done, and Rainsford knows that he has two to go.

His trap on day two killed one of Zaroff’s hounds. This is a trap he nicknames the Burmese tiger pit. The third trap, a native Ugandan knife, kills his servant Ivan. Rainsford then throws himself over the cliff and swims back to the mansion to evade Zaroff. On returning home, the presence of Rainsford in his bed curtains causes Zaroff to salute him. Rainsford refuses this and challenges him for a fight. As the “The Most Dangerous Game” narrative essay shows, he is confident that he can handle him.

Rainsford considers the hunting of human beings as cold blood murder. The general takes the challenge. The challenge affects both whoever loses the duel would be fed to the dogs, and the winner will sleep on Zaroff’s bed. Rainsford expressed that he had never slept on a better bed before. This implies that he killed Zaroff.

“The Most Dangerous Game” essay proves that reading this play, we can see the conflict between man and wild animals. This appears to be acceptable in the story. In the beginning, Rainsford and his partner proudly talk about their experiences in hunting. They are also on a hunting mission to hunt a jaguar. Furthermore, Zaroff, who also explains to Rainsford how he was a good hunter of wild animals before he sort new challenges, has featured Rainsford in books for his hunting skills as read.

Zaroff introduces the second conflict that is between men. Zaroff launches his new adventure of killing people. He uses his wealth to prove his inhuman actions. He is chasing people to kill them like wild animals. This was, in fact, the cause of his death at the ending of the play.

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Breaking’s Olympic Debut

A sport’s journey from the streets of new york all the way to the paris games..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. And this is “The Daily.”

So my name is Gabriel “Kwikstep” Dionisio.

Rokafella, R-O-K-A-F-E-L-L-A.

I go by Kid Glyde. I represent Dynamic Rockers. I’m from Queens, New York.

This year at the Olympic Games, there’s one sport that’s on stage for the first time — breakdancing.

I’m excited that people are going to be exposed to it on that kind of stage.

They’re going to see breaking. They’re going to see hip-hop. They’re going to feel it. They’re going to — you know what I’m saying? So it’s going to be an experience.

Today, my colleague, Jonathan Abrams, tells the story of how it went from the streets of New York all the way to the Paris games.

But I’m also concerned that it’s not being represented at its fullest cultural capacity.

People are clueless to what this even is. And people are going to be really surprised.

And the debate that journey has inspired about whether treating breakdancing as just another sport might be a mistake.

This comes from a culture that had to go through so much just to exist. So are you going to do right by us?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It’s Friday, August 9. Jonathan, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Sabrina.

So, Jonathan, we’re going to talk today about the Olympics. And I think something that catches people’s attention is when the Olympics adds new sports. The Olympics is this ancient thing. So, I find that kind of surprising when new things pop up. And you’ve been writing specifically about the new event that is debuting this year in Paris, and that is breakdancing.

Yeah, a lot of people in the community refer to it as “breaking.” Breakdancing is kind of a term that they have said was created by mainstream media and not a term that they use. So it’s almost frowned upon.

Ah. OK, breaking. Got it.

So it’s been a little bit of a journey these last few years to get it to the Olympics. And this is such a special watershed moment. It’s kind of crazy to think that breakdancers are going to be at the Olympic Games. They’re going to be mixing along with LeBron James, with Kevin Durant, with Simone Biles, all these athletes you historically think of being involved and intertwined with the games. You’re going to have a component of hip-hop right there alongside with them.

And it’s joining a class of new sports recently added to the Olympics, like skateboarding and rock climbing and surfing. And if you look at these sports, what they all have in common is that they’re trying to get a younger audience to watch the games.

And what the International Olympic Committee — they’ve been frank about what they’re trying to do — is that they’re trying to go for that younger audience because viewership has been way, way down. And so these ancient games are trying to modernize themselves by changing the rules and welcoming these new events to have a newer, younger, more diverse viewership.

OK, so breakdancing — oh, sorry, breaking — is here to try to breathe some new life into the Olympic Games — expand the audience, as you say. But I don’t really think of breaking as a sport, I mean, never mind a competitive Olympic sport.

Lots of people make that argument, Sabrina, but competition has been part of breaking since its inception in the Bronx in the 1970s. At that time, New York City is basically in this state of disrepair. The construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway cuts through the heart of the South Bronx, and it displaces thousands of residents. Crime levels rise, unemployment increases. These large buildings are sitting vacant because of white flight. And property owners, some are facing default, and they start burning their buildings in order to cash in on the insurance value. And people, especially the Black and Brown people in the Bronx, they’re feeling this sense of utter hopelessness. And the culture of hip hop grows out of that despair. It was a way for these marginalized communities to take something back and to have something for themselves.

And breaking is a key component of hip-hop, because when hip-hop first formed and came along, it was presented as this vivacious, multifaceted gem, where you had four distinct tenants and components. One was lyricism, the artists words going along a track of music. One is turntablism, or being a DJ, and that’s scratching records. The other one is graffiti, or writing. And then the last one is breaking. And that’s the physical expression of hip-hop, dancing to the music.

And so these latchkey kids in the Bronx would throw these massive parties where breaking was born. And people, they came together, and they formed crews. And they competed against one another. And they danced to make a name for themselves. They danced to earn respect in their street, in their neighborhood, and in their city. And that was how they cultivated self-esteem and made something of themselves when they really had nothing else.

OK, so in these poor neighborhoods in the Bronx, in this very turbulent time, kids were finding themselves finding inspiration in breaking. Why exactly did they call it breaking? Why that word?

Breaking comes from these pioneering DJs being able to figure out how to extend the breaks for songs. So say there’s a drum break in a famous song where it’s a snippet, and then the song will continue.

And they were the most popular parts of the songs, where kids would dance for 10, 15 seconds and then stop.

DJ’s like DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash. They were innovators and engineers because they figured out how to extend those breaks.

And once they were able to loop them endlessly, then kids were able to extend their dances and be able to dance and be creative with it and form the circles. And that’s where breaking came from.

So what did it actually look like?

There is no way I can accurately describe breaking just through words. I can try to say that it’s graceful or powerful or athletic, and all those words seem to fall flat. Breaking is a call and response. It’s a back and forth conversation. It’s almost like trumped up jazz.

Picture this. You’re going into a crowded party. There’s people everywhere. Music is thumping. If you’re walking to the cypher, which is the circle where breakers perform and compete in, you finally get to the front and what you see is people doing these most amazing moves, moves that you don’t think are possible with the human body.

They’re spinning, contorting their bodies into pretzels, stopping on a dime, bending backwards, and doing windmills and airflares. And then the next person is going to come in and challenge them. And what breaking is, it’s attitude. It’s an expression of yourself. It’s energy balled up.

And when did breaking go beyond the streets of the Bronx and really kind of emerge as a sport?

Well, before it got to that level, it had to become part of the mainstream culture. And breaking started to hit that level around the early to mid 1980s. And at this point, people may know “Rapper’s Delight.” They can maybe say “a hip hop, the hippie to hippie, hip hop.” Everybody knows that song by then.

But these movies, like “Flashdance” and “Wild Style,” are also starting to come out, and they’re starting to capture hip-hop’s infancy. And one of the main ones that comes out in 1984 is “Beat Street,” and that’s pivotal.

Bronx rockers. Gino, hey, come on.

Yo. Let’s serve.

There’s a scene of the movie with these crews coming together in a club.

And there’s anticipation. There is adrenaline. It looks like they may fight. But no, instead of fighting, a dance battle breaks out.

And if you’ve never seen this, like I said earlier, about words and being able to describe it, if somebody described breakdancing to you and you had never seen it in person, you wouldn’t have a good clue as to what it was.

But now, for the first time, in movie theaters from LA to New York, you can actually see what it is. And then you have these pioneering groups, like Rock Steady Crew and Dynamic Rockers, Zulu Kings, New York City Breakers, they all start to be in these movies and do these demonstrations globally. And that inspires a whole generation of kids to get into breakdancing.

This is the newest craze. It’s called breakdancing.

So as the popularity of breakdancing continues, experts say it’s OK to dance, as long as you just watch your step.

It’s the Big Breakdance Contest from the Roxy, with host Leslie —

And at this point, we’re starting to see judges and prizes be introduced into breaking. Then in 1990, a German breaker set up a breakdance competition in Germany known as Battle of the Year. And 2001 was a pivotal year because it’s the first year that Red Bull has its Lord of the Floors competition.

History in the making, y’all.

And that, again, convened all the best breakers to be able to compete against one another to measure themselves up. But there’s also the carrot at the end of the stick.

The runner-up of the 2001 Red Bull Lords of the Floor is —

There’s a multi-thousand dollar cash prize that’s awarded to the top talent.

The winners, Los Angeles Breakers. Come and get your checks.

So you start to see the trappings of this thing that was created in New York City in the Bronx in the 1970s start to leave its beginnings a little bit and become more of a competition and more of a sport through Red Bull and these other entities that are sponsoring it.

Y’all loving it or what? Give a big round of applause to all the contestants.

We’d like to thank Jaimeson Keegan and the whole Red Bull crew.

OK, so breaking is going mainstream in a very big way. But in my mind, there’s a big difference between a Red Bull event and the Olympics. So how do we get from here to there?

It’s actually a bit of a wild story. So nearly three decades ago, this global governing body of dance, International Dance Sport, is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, and they want to bring dance to the Olympics. So they want to have ballroom dancing. And they suggest that, and they get rebuffed.

So they eventually rebrand themselves as World Dance Sport Federation, and they find out that it’s not foxtrot or salsa or ballroom that the Olympic thinks could have a shot. It’s breaking. Breaking is highly watchable, easily viewable on social media. And it comes along as the Olympics is reevaluating what they’re going to use as a sport to try and gain that younger audience.

There was a testing period in 2018.

Winter Olympic Games just got a little more exciting. Breakdancing will now be part of the Youth Olympic Games. And there’s still a search for —

They debuted breaking at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.

3, 2, 1! It’s battle time!

And what happens is that it exceeds almost every expectation by every metric possible. There was more than 50,000 people who attended the two-day event in 2018. There was over 2.5 million social media impressions, according to the International Olympic Committee. I mean, it seems like it aligns itself perfectly with the Olympics mission of trying to skewer to a younger audience. And once you see those numbers, that pretty much locked up breaking for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The Olympic Games are changing, and the future of breaking is coming.

We’ll be right back.

OK, so now we’re at the Games. Everybody’s watching how this is going to go, which must be pretty exciting for breakers.

You would think so. But there’s a lot of skepticism and tension from many of these veterans and pioneers and purists of breaking.

And what do they say? Why do they not feel excited about this?

Well, I think anytime you take something and strip it away from its roots — and let’s be honest, Paris 2024 is very, very, very far away from Bronx 1970s.

[LAUGHS]: That is true.

It is not going to be the same thing or presented in the same thing. I think that’s what the purists and the pioneers are afraid of.

But Jonathan, couldn’t you also make the case that skateboarding is also a specific kind of culture and that it also has all of its own peculiarities and is also potentially hard to judge by a bunch of Olympic judges?

To some extent, yeah. But breaking, it’s just different in a lot of ways. The pioneers and the purists, the ones who invented this thing will argue that it’s more than just a hobby or even a sport. It’s a lifestyle. It’s the product of a culture. It’s something that was born from Black and Brown people’s struggles in a deeply turbulent time in American history and is a way for people to express themselves, to tell their stories, to build self-confidence.

And on top of that, there’s a lot of breakers who just aren’t happy with how this arrived at the Olympics in the first place. It arrived in the hands of the World Dance Sport Federation. And remember, that’s an organization that wasn’t even associated with breaking. They were trying to put ballroom dancing into the Olympics way before they ever thought about breaking.

So back in 2017, a bunch of breakers, they got together and they signed a petition essentially protesting this organization. And they were saying, you don’t represent us. You’re not from our community, but you’re taking our art form and using it to advance your own goals. And all of this has left a lot of breakers really worried and concerned about what exactly this weekend is going to look like for breaking.

OK, let’s dig into that. What will breaking look like on stage in Paris? What can we expect?

Right, so there’s a lot of questions about how it’s going to actually look. In Paris, you’re going to have some of the crucial components of breaking. You’re going to have attitude. You’re going to have breakers. They’re going to be challenging each other. There’s going to be athleticism. [MUSIC PLAYING]

But there’s also going to be judges. A breaker is going to go get a score. Then the next breaker is going to go and get a score. So you can kind of see those seeds of the origin of this thing that was born in New York in the 1970s. But it’s definitely something different, and it’s more sterile and sanitized.

There’s going to be 16 men and 16 women who will go across two days of competition. There’s going to be nine judges, and they’re going to score the breakers based on five criteria — vocabulary, technique, execution, originality, and lastly, musicality.

And break those down for me. What do they actually mean?

The vocabulary is not how many words somebody can say. It’s the array of moves that a breaker deploys. And technique covers the breaker’s body control and their use of space. Execution consists of the cleanliness of one’s moves.

Then originality is improvising during their rounds, being able to react to what their opponent is doing. And then musicality is staying on beat with the music. They’re not going to know the music beforehand, so they’re going to have to really tune their moves to what’s going on to the beat.

OK, so this is how the judges are actually going to do it. But what about kind of what we know about breaking, the spirit of competition, the kind of outdoing each other, the attitude it brings, like the showboating? Is that taken into account in how it’s going to go with the Olympics?

Yeah, I can guarantee you this, Sabrina, that this is going to be the only Olympic sport with the misbehavior button.

What’s that?

The judges will be able to hit a misbehavior button if competitiveness crosses into crassness, if they deem that to be the case.

What’s an example of something that would get a misbehavior button?

Say if you finish off a move with the freeze and stick up your middle finger at your opponent.

[LAUGHS]: OK, fair enough. Got it. OK, misbehavior button. So this sport, of course, started here in the US. I have to ask, who are the Americans competing this year? Tell me about them.

Yeah, somebody that I’ve talked to a lot leading up to the Games is Sunny Choi, who was the first American woman to qualify for the Games.

All right, switching it up, all the way to USA, first entry, Sunny.

She’s Korean-American. She’s from Tennessee. She’s ironically the only New Yorker — she now lives in New York — who is competing in Paris at the Games.

All right, Sunny slay. Oh, you started as a gymnast? Is that true?

Yeah, so I actually, I watched the Olympics growing up.

She has a background in gymnastics, and she was working at Estée Lauder when she decided to go into breaking full-time.

Some people have been like, you’re a very unlikely Olympian. And I’m like, yeah, kind of. I had always envisioned myself going to the Olympics as a gymnast, and then I never thought I would have the chance again. And so it coming back full circle is amazing.

Woo! Victor.

OK, Victor.

What you got?

On the men’s side, you have Victor Montalvo, who goes by “B-Boy Victor.” And he’s a two-time Red Bull World One champion. He’s from Florida.

So my dad and his twin brother used to break back in Mexico. And they actually taught me, my brother, and my cousin.

His father was a pioneer in the Mexican breaking scene.

I was introduced into breaking at the age of six years old. And I took it serious at the age of 10.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, yeah.

So breaking is really in Victor’s blood. And he’s definitely a favorite to medal on the men’s side.

Heavy round.

Still go where the action is.

Victor, what you got?

Victor with the eye contact, going straight into it. He’s like, I see you, and I got you.

OK, so I’m assuming these Americans are poised to win this fundamentally American sport.

Eh, not necessarily, Sabrina.

Breaking is such a global entity now that I feel like America has really fallen behind some of these other countries and when it’s more popular and when people do it more often. So you look at this field and there’s breakers from Japan, from the Netherlands, from France, from Kazakhstan, from all over the world. On the women’s side, there’s B-Girl Nika from Lithuania.

And last year, she won the 2023 world title at the age of 16.

Wow, amazing. A Lithuanian girl has the world title, actually.

Yeah, and she’s an amazing story. And I think she’s emblematic of breaking and its evolution because she discovered breaking on YouTube at the age of five and within just about a decade is one of the world’s best breakers in the world and will be heavily favored to win a gold medal at the first Olympic breaking competition.

Just to go back to the tension around breaking in the Olympics that we started with, Jonathan, and the question of it leaving its roots, becoming detached from the place and the culture it sprung from, is there an argument that that’s already happened, that as people are kind of wanting to pull it back toward where it came from, it’s already gone. It already went out there. Is there any going back?

Yeah, that’s a great question. And I think we’re at this crossroads where you have breaking’s authenticity at stake. And breaking is about that expression from the heart. It’s about being able to show your attitude, your charisma, who you are as a person through your dance. And the pioneers and the purists are going to be watching this to see what part of the soul and the struggle exists as this thing that they invented, nurtured, and cultivated reaches its biggest stage ever.

But it is out there. And for somebody to be able to be in a foreign country and just study the art form on YouTube and be able to become world class leaders in it, it says something, one, about the art form and how wide-ranging and impactful it can be. And it also just says that this isn’t just New York’s anymore. This is global.

And perhaps the people performing on that stage are what breakdancing is now, right, in some ways?

Yeah, and we’re going to see people, men and women from different countries all over the world represented in Paris. And in some ways, it’s very, very far away from what was invented in New York in the 1970s.

But at the same time, seeing people from different countries and men and women be the best at breaking that they can possibly be is also exposing breaking to a whole new generation. And exposing breaking at the Olympics could be the vessel that keeps it alive for the next generation.

Jonathan, thank you.

Sabrina, anytime.

Here’s what else you should know today. On Thursday, former President Donald Trump held a news conference at Mar-a-Lago. It was his first public appearance since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee.

And I look forward to the debates because I think we have to set the record straight.

In his remarks, Trump proposed three dates in September for debates with the vice president.

I haven’t recalibrated strategy at all. It’s the same policies — open borders, weak on crime.

Trump insisted that little had shifted in the contest, despite polling showing a tightening race.

Listen, I had 107,000 people in New Jersey. You didn’t report it. I’m so glad you asked. What did she have yesterday? 2,000 people? If I ever had 2,000 people, you’d say my campaign is finished.

It was an effort by the former President to recapture some political momentum, as the new Democratic ticket has continued to dominate the news coverage. During his remarks, ABC confirmed that it would host the two candidates for a debate on September 10th.

A quick reminder to catch a new episode of “The Interview” right here tomorrow. This week, Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Republican Senator James Lankford, including about Republicans who turned on him when he tried to pass bipartisan immigration reforms.

I did have several folks saying, I’ll destroy you if you do this, because although I like you, I like President Trump better. And he’s got to be elected for the future of the country. And you can’t take this issue off the table.

Today’s episode was produced by Sydney Harper and Luke Vander Ploeg, with help from Shannon Lin and Will Reid. It was edited by Lexie Diao and MJ Davis Lin, with help from Ben Calhoun, contains original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, and Diane Wong, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you on Monday.

Apple Podcasts
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Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Featuring Jonathan Abrams

Produced by Sydney Harper Luke Vander Ploeg Shannon M. Lin and Will Reid

Edited by Lexie Diao MJ Davis Lin and Ben Calhoun

Original music by Dan Powell Marion Lozano and Diane Wong

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

More than 50 years after its inception, “breaking” — not “break dancing,” a term coined by the media and disdained by practitioners — will debut as an Olympic sport.

Jonathan Abrams, who writes about the intersection of sports and culture, explains how breaking’s big moment came about.

On today’s episode

Jonathan Abrams , a Times reporter covering national culture news.

A person practicing breaking balances with his head and one hand on a concrete floor; his other hand and his legs extend into the air at various angles.

Background reading

The Olympic battles in breaking will be a watershed moment for a dance form conceived and cultivated by Black and Hispanic youth in the Bronx during the 1970s.

Breakers are grappling with hip-hop’s Olympic moment. Will their art translate into sport?

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam and Nick Pitman.

Jonathan Abrams writes about the intersections of sports and culture and the changing cultural scenes in the South. More about Jonathan Abrams

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The arrival of rainsford on ship-trap island, zaroff's hospitality and hunting passion, the twist ending.

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Money blog: Trendy area in uproar over Gail's potentially coming to high street

Welcome to the Money blog, a hub of personal finance and consumer news/tips. Today's posts include a look at the discounts available to students, and local a revolt against Gail's. Leave a comment on any of the stories we're covering in the box below - we round them up every Saturday.

Thursday 15 August 2024 18:43, UK

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British pubs are in trouble, with more of them closing every year.

Once the beloved watering holes for many communities, they have fallen victim to higher costs, changing habits and "the real estate incentive".

Some 239 pubs closed in England and Wales during the first three months of the year, according to government figures – 56% more than in the same period in 2023.

Our Money reporter Brad Young has been exploring whether this is the end of the British pub as we know it.

Earlier this week, he spoke to communities and experts about the reasons behind recent closures - you can read his piece here .

In the video below, Brad explains three reasons why pubs are struggling.

Amazon has been cleared for take-off with the testing of new drone delivery in the UK.

Amazon Prime Air already offers drone deliveries in the US with drones able to fly 12km from their fulfilment centres.

But the service could now come to the UK, with Amazon hoping to launch it by the end of the year. It has ambitions of delivering small packages within an hour of an order being placed.

The online retailer is one of six organisations taking part in a new trial from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - with other projects including using drones to inspect offshore windfarms, for policing and delivering medical supplies.

The trials will gather safety data and look at how drones can detect and avoid other aircraft while up in the air.

"Our goal is to make drone operations beyond visual line of sight a safe and everyday reality, contributing to the modernisation of UK airspace and the incorporation of new technology into our skies," said Sophie O'Sullivan, from the CAA.

Octopus Energy is launching "free electricity sessions" for its customers when wholesale prices plummet.

Starting from today, those who are signed up to the "Octoplus" rewards scheme can take part.

The one-hour-long sessions will be available whenever the wholesale electricity price hits zero or goes into negative figures, the energy firm said.

Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product officer at Octopus Energy, said: "Free electricity sounds like it's too good to be true but it's real.

"By using more when there is plenty of renewable energy instead of when the grid is dirty, our customers can save money while making the grid greener and more efficient. It's a win-win for our customers and the planet."

How does it work?

Those who have signed up for the free electricity will be notified the day before the session will take place.

On its website, the company said the free period will generally be between 1pm to 2pm.

During that time, customers can use as much electricity as they want, with all the power used above their typical usage not costing anything.

Within a week, customers will receive an email telling them how much extra power they used, and within two weeks, they will see that amount paid into their account as bill credit.

How many sessions will there be?

There are no set amount of sessions planned to take place as they are based on dips in the market, which is changing all the time.

However, Octopus Energy has said it is hoping for at least two or three before winter.

In the last year, it said there had been 14 days when electricity prices dropped below £0 due to excess renewable energy being generated.

"During these times, wind farms are often paid to shut down to prevent grid overload, meaning valuable green electrons go to waste," it added.

"By powering up during these periods, households can maximise green energy availability - making the system more efficient and lowering system costs for all."

It's important to know that you must have a working electric smart meter in order to take part.

You can read all the terms and conditions here ...

Drivers are being told to avoid scanning QR codes to pay for parking in light of a spate of scams.

Motorists should only make payments with cash, cards or using official apps, the RAC has warned.

It comes after fraudsters placed stickers with fake QR codes on parking signs in Barking and Dagenham, Northumberland, Northamptonshire, South Tyneside and Pembrokeshire (among others).

When drivers scan the codes, they are taken to a scam website where they are asked to enter their card details, which the criminals use to take money from their accounts.

"As if this scam isn't nasty enough, it can also lead to drivers being caught out twice if they don’t realise they haven't paid for parking and end up getting a hefty fine from the council," says RAC head of policy Simon Williams.

And depending on where you are in the UK, that fine can be anything from £50 to £300.

Thousands of prosecutions for alleged fare evasion are set to be declared void after a judge ruled they were wrongly made.

It means people who previously paid fines for fare evasion could be due a refund, with a team being set up by the end of November to identify everyone unlawfully prosecuted.

Four train companies including Northern Rail and Greater Anglia brought prosecutions against thousands of passengers using the single justice procedure (SJP) - despite not being permitted to do so.

The SJP was set up in 2015 to allow magistrates to decide on minor offences, such as using a television without a licence or driving without car insurance, without defendants going to court.

But concerns have been raised that cases are being brought before magistrates without prosecutors, or without any mitigation being taken into account.

Rail companies were permitted to use the SJP in 2016 to prosecute privately fare evaders, but the Evening Standard reported that several of these cases were brought under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which is not allowed under the procedure.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told Westminster Magistrates' Court in June that thousands of prosecutions were "probably unlawful".

The exact number of those affected is currently unknown, with a previous hearing told around 75,000 people could have been prosecuted for fare evasion offences under the SJP.

Northern Rail, just one of the companies involved, said it apologised for the errors involved.

Greater Anglia also said it acknowledged "a series of significant errors" had occurred.

Locals in a trendy London neighbourhood have signed a petition against Gail's bakery setting up shop in their area.

After (unconfirmed) rumours began circulating that the chain was looking to open a site in Walthamstow village, more than 600 have signed a petition opposing the plans.

The petition, which features a cross made out of two baguettes over the company logo, says the village "faces a threat to its uniqueness" should Gail's move into the area.

"Gail's, although respected for their quality, bring a risk of overshadowing our much-loved local stores due to their massive scale and advertising reach," it continues.

"This could lead to decreased visibility and pedestrian traffic towards independently run businesses, threatening their very existence and dismantling the character and diversity crucial to Walthamstow's charm."

Local business owners have also said they oppose the plans because of the pro-Brexit and anti-lockdown views of Luke Johnson, the company’s minority investor.

Adrian Spurdon, a barista at an independent coffee shop, said Mr Johnson's views clashed with the politics of Walthamstow.

He told The Times: "We've just had this big, diverse counter-protest to protect Walthamstow from the far-right and I doubt Luke Johnson would support that.

"He is very different to the people here. His views are not the same."

The opening of a Gail's - where a regular latte will set you back £4.10 - has become a mark of prosperity in the area.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said the party looked at where the bakery chain had opened as an indicator of constituencies that could turn yellow, while the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton is known to be partial to their chocolate brownie finger.

A spokesman for Gail's said: "We understand the concern around chains, but our view is that a healthy high street is one with a diversity of quality offers, each delivering their best.

"High streets evolve over time and we open our small bakeries often in closed banks or stranded restaurants.

"All of our bakeries exist in areas where the choices are wide and growing – we should be celebrating the improvement in our food landscapes."

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire , business reporter

Despite the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine tension, the benchmark oil price has come down from the highs of Monday to just over $80 a barrel, good news for motorists.

The value of a pound is down from the highs of July but still better than most of the last six months, with £1 equal to $1.2856. Sterling has done worse against the euro with one pound buying €1.1663, less than could be bought for most of the last three months.

Following news that insurance company Admiral will up payments to shareholders, the price of its shares increased nearly 8%, the most of all the companies on the London Stock Exchange's benchmark index, the FTSE 100.

As a whole, the FTSE 100 grew 0.06% while the larger and more UK-based FTSE 250 index of valuable London-listed companies grew 0.28%.

Whether or not results day goes to plan today, you can always console yourself with some free chicken, pizza and nachos.

Major chains like Nando's, Pizza Express and Frankie & Benny's are offering some great freebies for students picking up their A-level results. Most you can get simply by showing a copy of your results to staff. Some have a few extra steps - but we've outlined this below, and most usually just involve signing up for some kind of free app or reward programme.

(And don't worry year 11, many of these offers will also be available when you receive your GCSE results next week).

Nandos: Chicken Bring your ID and results and you will get a free starter or quarter chicken, provided you also spend £7 or more.

Frankie & Benny's: Pizza Each restaurant is giving away 50 free pizzas - you just need to purchase a large soft drink (and show off your results).

Pizza Express: Dough balls You'll get one free portion of dough balls when you purchase a main - for this one you also need to present a valid UNiDAYS offer code.

Wagamama: Free side and drink You need to sign up to the Soul Club app to get this one, but you'll get a free side dish and free soft drink, or cider can, if you order between 11am and 3pm.

Bill's: Dessert To qualify for a free dessert you also need to purchase a main course, or brunch.

Banana Tree: Pad Thai You need to purchase one starter (excluding edamame) and a drink, but you then qualify for a free main meal. Just make sure you sign up here first.

Chiquito: Loaded nachos You have two options for this - Chicken & Chorizo or Pibil Pulled Jackfruit, as long as you order at least one large soft drink. There are only 600 available, so you'll want to head down early.

Bird & Blend: Drink Get a magical matcha, refreshing ice tea or a herbal brew if you present your results and your student ID between 11am and 5pm.

Showcase Cinema: Popcorn If you have a ticket for a film today, just show proof you received your results and you qualify for a free popcorn.

Starbucks: Cookie Grab a free cookie with any beverage today.

Bella Italia: 30% off Students get a very decent 30% off their food bill - but you will need to sign up here first.

TGI Fridays: 24% off your bill You need to be a free Stripes Reward member to get this one, and bring a copy of your results.

In a little over a month, hundreds of thousands of young people will once again descend on university towns across the UK - armed with maintenance loans and newly found financial freedoms.

With their arrival comes their business - and retailers and restaurants all fight for the chance to part students with their cash in the form of special discounts.

It would be a pretty long post were we to list every single student discount, so for this guide we'll go through some of the most notable and our favourites.

Let's start with the world's most valuable company, which offers various deals to students.

Buying a new iPad or Mac will land you a gift card worth £120, while you're able to access a cheaper Apple Music plan with Apple TV+ included.

It's available through discount portal UNiDAYS , or you can read more about the offers here .

Another student essential - bag yourself six months of free Amazon Prime (which offers next-day delivery on thousands of items and Prime Video).

Once that ends, students only need to pay half price for their membership (£4.49 a month).

Check out the offer here .

If you didn't opt for the Apple Music offer outlined above, then getting 45% off your Spotify subscription might be worth it.

It's this link to sign up.

If you want 10% off clothes from one of the world's biggest online fashion retailers, you simply need to fill in this form .

Another top tip: ASOS often drops prices, starts sales or increases discount when your student maintenance loans hit your account.

It might be worth waiting for then to use your codes to maximise your savings - you'll get your first loan at the end of September/start of October, one at the start of January and the last will be at the start of April.

YouTube Premium and Music can be yours for £7.99 (plus a free trial month) - allowing you ad-free watching, downloads, background play and unlimited tunes.

Click here for more.

An unequivocal student essential.

Railcards are a must while you're moving around the country visiting friends, family or just making your way home for Christmas.

They cost just £30 and give you a third off expensive rail fares for the full year.

What To Know About The Olympics Closing Ceremony: What Time—And Who’s Performing

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This weekend’s Olympics closing ceremony is expected to include more than 100 acrobats and aerial performers, award the final Olympic champions their medals and include a sneak peak of what’s to come for the 2028 games in Los Angeles—which will reportedly feature an action movie-worthy stunt from Hollywood star Tom Cruise.

The Eiffel Tower and the Place Du Trocadero during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris ... [+] 2024 on July 26, 2024.

On Thursday, Team USA announce that swimmer Katie Ledecky and rower Nick Mead will carry the American flags at the closing ceremony.

Grammy winning artist H.E.R. is set to perform the U.S. national anthem, multiple outlets confirmed, as part of the hand-off to the 2028 Los Angeles games, and rumors are flying about what other big-name acts will make an appearance.

Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 committee, said the ceremony will be "solemn and emotional, but it will also be a time for celebration... Innovative, surprising and brilliant, these ceremonies already promise to be very powerful."

Other than promises of a dazzling stage performance and hints about several pre-filmed Cruise stunts, most of the ceremony remains shrouded in mystery.

What Time Is The Olympics Closing Ceremony—and Where Will It Air?

The closing ceremony will start at 3 p.m. EDT at the Stade de France, the country’s national stadium, where rugby sevens and track and field events have been hosted, and broadcast live on Peacock, with an edited version airing at 7 p.m. on NBC.

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here .

When And Where Can You Watch The Olympic Closing Ceremony?

Live coverage will start at 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 11 and the closing ceremony will start at 3 p.m. It will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock and re-broadcast during primetime coverage at 7 p.m. EDT on NBC and Peacock.

What Will Happen At The Closing Ceremony?

Thomas Jolly, the same creative director who managed the much-buzzed about opening ceremony, has named the closing show " Records ." Performers will include acrobats, circus artists, dancers, gymnasts and aerial ballet dancers who are expected to perform atop metal structures representing the Olympic rings. The ceremonies will also include the traditional parade of flags and athletes, speeches, a final medal ceremony and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame before the Olympic flag is ceremoniously handed over to Los Angeles, which will host the summer games in 2028. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will attend the ceremony.

Who Will Perform?

"World-renowned singers" will take the stage, according to the official Olympics website . American R&B singer H.E.R., an Oscar and five-time Grammy winner, is set to sing the American national anthem. Variety on Thursday reported —citing multiple anonymous sources—that Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are among those will will take the stage. The artists will be seen in a mix of live and pre-taped performances, according to the report.

Why Is Tom Cruise Involved?

This week it was reported that Cruise, who is filming “Mission: Impossible 8” in Europe, will perform a stunt at the closing ceremony. A clip of the movie star skydiving to the Hollywood sign is expected to play a role in the handoff to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics, according to The Hollywood Reporter , and Cruise was reportedly spotted filming a scene—possibly for the ceremony—in May that included a motorcycle and large flag.

Will Beyoncé Perform At The Olympics Closing Ceremony?

There’s no evidence to support this rumor. Hosts of Britain's " This Morning ," Craig Doyle and Jordan North, said on-air Thursday that they'd heard Beyoncé may perform at the closing ceremony. "Don't quote me on that," North said, to which Doyle responded, "I can double up on that rumor, I did hear that as well." The claim has since circulated on social media, but no performers have been confirmed for the event. Rumors spread for weeks that Celine Dion or Lady Gaga were planning to perform at the opening ceremony in Paris before the pair dueted “L'Hymne à l'amour” by French singer Édith Piaf.

Who Will Carry The U.s. Flag At The Closing Ceremony?

Ledecky hit major career milestones in Paris, winning gold in the 800m and 1500m freestyles, silver in the 4x200m relay and bronze in the 400m free. Along the way, she became the the most-decorated U.S. female Olympian ever and the second-most decorated U.S. Olympian of all time, behind Michael Phelps. Mead, a former Princeton rower, is a two-time Olympian who won his first gold medal in the men's four rowing competition in Paris this year.

Who Is Hosting The Closing Ceremony?

Jimmy Fallon of "The Tonight Show" and longtime sports reporter Mike Tirico will co-host the ceremony. Former Olympians Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski—who have built a loyal fan base as commentators since they retired—and NBC Sports' Terry Gannon will be commentating .

What Medals Are Given Out At The Olympics Closing Ceremony?

The final medal ceremony is expected to award winners in the women’s marathon from earlier in the day.

Why Is The Romanian Prime Minister Boycotting The Closing Ceremony?

Marcel Ciolacu said he will not attend the Olympic closing ceremony after a last-minute score change kept Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu from winning bronze in the women's floor exercise. Celebrating of the medalists had already begun Monday—Barbosu was proudly carrying a Romanian flag—when coaches for Jordan Chiles, an American, made an appeal to judges to raise her score. The judges did so, and the 0.1-point boost was enough to push Chiles to bronze and knock Barbosu off the podium. Ciolacu said the Romanian athlete was "treated in an absolutely dishonorable manner" and promised Romania would honor her as an Olympic medalist. “To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal … is totally unacceptable!” he said on Facebook .

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How Tom Cruise’s Death-Defying Stunt at the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony Came Together

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It’s hard to top much of what we’ve seen come out of this summer’s Olympic Games . (The gymnastics friendships! The sweet parent-child moments ! The jewelry! ) Yet Sunday’s spectacular closing ceremony—which featured a one-of-a-kind stunt courtesy of Tom Cruise that took executive producer and creative director Ben Winston of Fulwell 73 Productions over a year to put together—was a definite contender for the most exciting moment of Paris 2024.

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Tom Cruise on the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony.

Shortly after a performance of the national anthem by H.E.R. at the Stade de France, Cruise could be seen rappelling from the roof down to the ground; accepting the Olympic flag from Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass; boarding his motocycle, and riding off into the Parisian night. Then, all at once, he was on a plane, jumping out of said plane, and turning the double Os of the Hollywood sign into the Olympic rings. All the while, the Olympic flag was being handed off to a series of athletes including mountain biker Kate Courtney, former sprinter Michael Johnson, and skateboarder Jagger Eaton.

Image may contain Flag Person Arch Architecture Bicycle Transportation Vehicle Amphitheatre Arena and Building

Kate Courtney biking down the steps of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum with the Olympic flag.

A day before the ceremony, Vogue spoke to Winston about the Olympic flag’s journey from Paris to Los Angeles; organizing a live (and secret!) beach concert featuring the likes of Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; and the mind-bending travel schedule Cruise kept in order to close out the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Vogue : I’d love to hear a little about how this video came about.

Ben Winston: We’ve been planning this for a year and a half, and we had this idea that it would be so beautiful if we could take the flag from the Paris stadium and make it travel all the way to Los Angeles and then go live and do something spectacular here. The thing about Paris is that there are so many iconic elements we saw in the opening ceremony, from the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. One of the things LA is best-known for is its beaches, so we thought, what if we could steal that flag, bring it to LA, and do a massive, amazing concept on the beach with all these amazing LA artists? It’s been incredibly exciting.

Image may contain Clothing Footwear Shoe Grass Plant Adult Person Face Head Photography Portrait Pants and Coat

The first thing we did was pitch Tom, because there’s nobody better to do an incredible stunt. I pitched him on the idea of a stuntman grabbing the flag, coming down from the roof of the Stade de France, and then taking his mask off and you see it’s Tom Cruise, who then jumps out of a plane and lands in LA. Tom said, “I’m in, but I want to do the whole thing,” so it was this huge undertaking of this live stunt with Tom jumping off the roof. We wanted to keep Tom doing this daredevil jump off the roof a surprise, and then cut to this video we’ve been making where Tom gives the flag to these Olympic athletes, who then take us to a massive live concert on the beach with Billie Eilish, Snoop, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Every element took a lot of work!

How does it feel to be so close to seeing your project come to life?

This story will be going up just after it’s happened, so right now I’m still nervous because we’ve got all these elements lined up and it is live TV. But it’s been an amazing coming-together of wonderful people making it happen. I’m so grateful to Tom and to the artists and athletes taking the flag on its journey from Paris to LA.

Did any part of the planning process take you by surprise?

We really wanted to dream big. Once everyone had signed off on the idea, we were confronted with the reality of: How do you do a stunt with Tom Cruise at the Stade de France and then a massive concert on the beach with some of the most famous artists in Los Angeles? That’s been quite nerve-racking, because we aren’t in the safety of a stadium and the audience doesn’t even know what they’re showing up for. We have fencing at the perimeters of the beach, and hopefully by the time people realize what’s going on it will be over. [ Laughs .] The secrecy was tricky and there were lots of leaks, so it was a lot to live with for a year and a half, but I’m feeling very excited and proud.

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Flea, Chad Smith, Anthony Kiedis, and John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers performing during the closing ceremony.

Were there any LA-centric aspects of this production that you particularly loved as an Angeleno?

When you first arrive in LA, you always look for the Hollywood sign, and one of the coolest things about this was the city giving us permission to film on the sign. Tom being up there six or seven months ago with nobody knowing what he was doing was amazing; I’ve been up there a lot with my team, and sitting in the middle of the Os was a pinch-me moment. Working with all this talent was, as well; the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing “Can’t Stop” over the transition of the flag going from Paris to LA is so cool.

Image may contain Crowd Person Teen Clothing Hat Electrical Device Microphone Audience and Speech

Billie Eilish

Is there any other BTS detail you can share with us?

Well, I can tell you that Tom was filming Mission: Impossible in London, then got on a plane, flew 11 hours to LA, got off the plane, shot with us, then got right back on the plane and back to set. The commitment from him and the musical artists to keeping the beach aspect a secret was really amazing.

Image may contain Person Accessories Bracelet Jewelry Clothing Hat Flag Adult Camera and Electronics

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg

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In conclusion, "The Most Dangerous Game" ending leaves readers with a lingering sense of unease and raises thought-provoking questions about the depths of human nature. Through Rainsford's transformation, the moral quandary surrounding hunting, and the ultimate twist of the hunter becoming the hunted, Richard Connell crafts a powerful narrative ...
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The Most Dangerous Game, written by Richard Connell, is a classic short story that has captivated readers for generations. This thrilling tale of suspense and survival has been the subject of much analysis and interpretation, and its themes and symbols continue to be relevant in today's world. In this essay, we will delve into the various ...
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The Most Dangerous Game Ending Analysis. 204 Words 1 Page. The Most Dangerous Game Alternate Ending Twenty feet below him the sea rumbled and hissed. Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then he leaped far out into the sea…. Rainsford knew he made a bad decision, he didn't know if he was going to make it, but it was too late.
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Reflection Essay on The Most Dangerous Game. To hunt is to search for animals in hopes of killing them. To murder is to kill another human being. In the story "The Most Dangerous Game", Richard Connell combines these two for a stunning and unpredictable plot. It tells the readers how the topic is introduced, displayed, and comes to a climax ...
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The most significant instance of situational irony in "The Most Dangerous Game" is the twist ending. Throughout the story, Rainsford is portrayed as a resourceful and intelligent protagonist, who manages to outwit his pursuers at every turn.
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Richard Connell's story "The Most Dangerous Game," offering a tightly-knit narrative of adventure and melodramatic suspense, would seem a likely vehicle for cinematic adaptation.
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What To Know About The Olympics Closing Ceremony: What Time—And Who’s Performing

What Time Is The Olympics Closing Ceremony—and Where Will It Air?

When And Where Can You Watch The Olympic Closing Ceremony?

What Will Happen At The Closing Ceremony?

Who Will Perform?

Why Is Tom Cruise Involved?

Will Beyoncé Perform At The Olympics Closing Ceremony?

Who Will Carry The U.s. Flag At The Closing Ceremony?

Who Is Hosting The Closing Ceremony?

What Medals Are Given Out At The Olympics Closing Ceremony?

Why Is The Romanian Prime Minister Boycotting The Closing Ceremony?

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How Tom Cruise’s Death-Defying Stunt at the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony Came Together

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