The setting is very important in a short story. It sets the stage for how characters act and feel and provides a backdrop for the plot. In a short story the author has a limited time to get a picture across of what is going on in the story to the reader. "The Most Dangerous Game", by Richard Connell and "Sniper", by Liam O'Flaherty both rely on the setting to describe the characters and develop the plot.
             In "The Most Dangerous Game", Rainsford is in the jungle on an island and has to adapt to his environment. This affects the story because General Zaroff is hunting Rainsford. If they were just in a room or in a busy city Rainsford's behavior would be much different. When Rainsford is in the jungle trying to get away from General Zaroff, he adapts to the ways of life living in the jungle for three days. After Rainsford gets out of the jungle you can definitely tell that a change had occurred while he was in the jungle. His attitude becomes much more aggressive than if he were being hunted in a city where he could go into any restaurant if he was hungry. When he was in the jungle he had to find food on his own. The fact that the story was set in the jungle helped develop the plot because Rainsford is being hunted he becomes like an animal in the jungle. Being hunted in another setting would affect the reader's attitude toward Rainsford. The setting really helped the mood of the story in the sense that it was dark and gloomy in the jungle and I think the author was trying to get us to feel a sense of doom by the end.
             In "Sniper" the setting is also very important. It takes place in Ireland during a war at night. We have to imagine to ourselves how hard it is for the men to fight against each other in the dark. They don't know who is on their side until they are close together. In this story one sniper outsmarts another sniper on the opposite rooftop and kills him, only late...