Rainsford from "The Most Dangerous Game" and Odysseus from "The Odyssey" share many different traits. Each character has a similar reaction to challenges, and both characters invoke a feeling of cunning. However, while they share many similarities, they also have differences. To begin with, both characters are well-known for their cunning. Rainsford and Odysseus exhibit similar ideas when faced with opposition. For example, when facing down the maw of death, Rainsford assembles traps in an attempt to escape, similarly to Odysseus when he faced Polyphemus, the great cyclops. Odysseus, in a similar scenario, constructs a heated wooden stake, and proceeds to lay out a trap in the form of alcohol, in a successful attempt to inebriate Polyphemus.
