The diction and imagery in Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” agitate the reader and create a sympathetic mood, which allows the reader to experience Rainsford’s perspective as a “huntee.” The reader is pulled into Rainsford’s perspective first with descriptions of his “desperate, hopeless flight [through the woods], that carrie[s] him on for several hours” (77). The words “desperate” and “hopeless” have strong connotations of suffering and despair, which evoke sympathy from the reader. Coupled with the visual imagery of Rainsford’s “flight,” this sentence is a strong foundation for the mood that will continue to build as Zaroff pursues Rainsford. The detailed descriptions of Rainsford’s battle against Zaroff show the reader that in