People have many different opinions on the rights and wrongs of hunting which can reveal a person’s true character. There is proof of this in the passage The Most Dangerous Game. In the text a character grows bored of hunting animals and decides to prey upon humans instead, and another character looks down on less advanced beings. General Zaroff is shown to be self-assured while hunting people. Rainsford is perceived as an egotistical person who later becomes a self-deprecating one. The situations the two characters are in unveil their true personalities. By using indirect characterization in the passage, Connell, depicts General Zaroff as a static character and Rainsford as a dynamic character.
Through his actions and interactions with Rainsford,
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To Begin, when Rainsford and Whitney are debating about what animals think about hunting, he is revealed to be conceited. He is not very considerate for others, especially animals. Rainsford states, “Bah! They’ve no understanding!” (Connell 6). Here, Rainsford is implying that animals are not intelligent enough to reason or understand the things humans do. Rainsford can comprehend the concept of hunting for sport but animals cannot. The reader can infer that Rainsford believes he is superior to all animals, because they aren’t as astute as him proving his narcissistic views. On the other hand, as the story continues, Rainsford’s thoughts verify his transition from being a conceited character to being a modest one. To continue, through Rainsford’s thought of being hunted by Zaroff, his change is obvious. The text states, “The cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. Then it was Rainsford that knew the full meaning of terror.” (Connell 19). It is at this moment Rainsford realizes what the animals being hunted are going through. They aren’t worried about hunting being a sport, because they are fighting for their lives. Because he is being hunted, Rainsford now empathizes with the animals and classifies himself with them, which confirms that he has changed into a humble person. All
In the Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett, Homer and Mother Maria both display straightforward, hardworking, and stubborn character traits. Firstly, Homer and Mother Maria both display a straightforward personality by being brutally honest about their opinions. For example, when Mother Maria asks Homer to build a chapel, Homer speaks his mind by telling her he does not want to build it. Mother Maria shows her straightforward behavior during Homer’s stay at the convent. One morning, when Homer sleeps in late, Mother to becomes extremely upset and is not afraid to show how she feels about him. Secondly, both Homer and Mother Maria display a hardworking spirit. Homer is a hardworking man because after finally agreeing to build the chapel,
In The Big Field, author Mike Lupica explores the theme, "Success uses motivation as fuel." Lupica portrays this theme through the main character, Hutch. Throughout the entire book, Hutch, a young boy that has just recently joined a highly talented baseball team, displays moments that exemplify this main theme. Hutch and his team have a chance to play in the stadium of the Miami Marlins, a Major League Baseball team, as long as they can keep winning games and advancing through a challenging tournament; however, Hutch's favorite position on the field, shortstop, the position located between 2nd and 3rd base, has already been filled on the team. Unfortunately, Hutch gets a demotion from shortstop, to second base, the position located between 1st base and 2nd base. Although Hutch was disappointed and melancholy about the switch in position, he was even more upset about the downgrading of leadership, since the
In both film and story, Rainsford expresses his lack of sympathy for his prey. Similar to the story, Rainsford meets Ivan first and can’t get through to him and then, he’s greeted by Zaroff. In the film, Zaroff knows that Rainsford is a famous hunter and has read his books, just like in the story. Moreover, Zaroff reveals that a cape buffalo gave him the scar on his head. In the same manner, Zaroff tells Rainsford how he stocks his island with human prey. Just as the film showed Zaroff has a room filled with human heads, and that’s also mentioned in the story. Furthermore, Rainsford uses the same traps (Malay Mancatcher, Burmese Tiger Pit, and a native Uganda Trick) in the film as he did in the story. In addition, Rainsford kills Ivan with the same native Uganda trick. Both film and movie, unveils that Rainsford kills
Rainsford is known for his extravagant hunting skills, even General Zaroff speaks of Rainsford as is if he has inspired him to become a hunter. Rainsford talks about hunting with passion, while he is speaking to Whitney he tells her it’s “the best sport in the world” (19). Rainsford has no guilt when he kills animals, he even tells Whitney that it’s nonsense when she mention the jaguars have feeling. But Rainsford shows immediate disgust when Zaroff brings up his hunting of humans, “hunting, great heavens, what you speak of is murder” (26). This only the first of many times that he reacts with great displeasure.
If animals were humans, then General Zaroff would almost be as bad as Adolf Hitler. General Zaroff, a character in Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” should be considered a negative character because of the way the author portrays him though indirect characterization, such as what he does, what he says, how other characters react to him, and what he looks like. Although there is plenty of indirect characterization, there is little to none direct characterization.
In the beginning of the story, Rainsford has a conversation with his friend, Whitney, about hunting animals. Rainford does not care about the animals that he hunts. He believes hunting is only a sport to kill innocent creatures. “‘Who cares how a jaguar feels?’” (1) Showing the reader exactly what he thinks of hunting. Rainsford does not understand that the animals he hunts are like the people that Zaroff hunts. They are innocent, and he is murdering them when he hunts them. Rainsford thinks that Zaroff is insane for murdering people, but Rainsford is also a murderer. When Zaroff hunts Rainsford, the protagonist realizes the terror and pain the jaguars must have felt when he hunted them. Now the roles are reversed, and Rainsford is the one being hunted. “The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. The general was saving him for another day’s sport! Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror.” (17) Rainsford has changed his feelings about hunting animals now, and he has become a better person. He now takes into account how his prey feels. His interactions with people will also be different, because instead of being extremely overconfident, he realizes that he is not perfectly adept at hunting, and everyone has feelings that matter. In conclusion, Rainsford is now more humble and less overconfident than he was when he began his
“Indifference to me is the epitome of all evil.” (Elie Wiesel). The short story “The Most Dangerous Games” by Richard Connell relays a shocking exposé of a man who believes that regardless of what is right or wrong, that this should not matter as long as it meets his needs. General Zaroff is an expatriate Russian Cossack who now lives on an island with his henchman and hounds. He is the antagonist or the adversary of Rainsford and remains static throughout the short story always remaining as he did in the beginning. However, it does not take the reader long to discover that Zaroff portrays himself as a “man of the world”, “psychopath” and “egotist”. As the reader proceeds through the short story ‘the most dangerous game’ the idea of General Zaroff being a sophisticated, intelligent, cultured ,well educated, and civilized man quickly changes as his true self is revealed.
Rainsford never really cared how the hunted felt because he was always the hunter and knew that he could kill his game he was hunting and Zaroff changed that. Rainsford was forced to play Zaroff’s game so he could be entertained and to test Rainsfords survival and hunting skills. Rainsford had the difficult choice to either play Zaroff’s game or he gets kill on the spot and is not given a chance to survive. What Rainsford learned made it much better for him to survive Zaroff’s game while being hunted in a jungle. If Rainsford never changed during his experiences he might have not even survived and would have been killed by Zaroff if he never
General Zaroff used hunting tactics when they were eating “the last supper” at Zaroff’s house. Every time Rainsford looked up, he said, “he found him studying him, appraising him narrowly” (Connell 66). By this, the reader can tell that Zaroff is trying to notice Rainsford’s tendencies. Knowing these can make hunting him easier. Also at dinner, Zaroff explains to Rainsford that “God made him a hunter” and how his father believed that “his hand was made for the trigger” since he was ten (Connell 85). Zaroff sharing this with Rainsford is proof that this man is a talented hunter and has been for a long time. Rainsford is quite the hunter himself. So much so, that Zaroff knew who he was when he arrived. The General stated, “It is a very great pleasure and honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter, to my home” (Connell 52). Also during the hunt when Rainsford set up the Burmese tiger pit and claiming one of Zaroff’s dogs, Zaroff tells him, “You’ve done well, Rainsford” (Connell 194). If his enemy believes that he is a great hunter, then he must be. Especially because Zaroff thinks so highly of himself. Going back to when Rainsford was
In the story The Most Dangerous Game a character named General Zaroff has a passion for hunting. He has been hunting since he was born. He has hunted every animal known to man, but, then he gets tried of hunting the same animal over and over. So he discovers a new animal human flesh. General Zaroff is person of bad character because he is cruel, cowardly, and untrustworthy.
General Zaroff is described by Connell from Rainsford’s point-of-view, “Rainsford 's first impression was that the man was singularly handsome; his second was that there was an original, almost bizarre quality about the general 's face. He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very bright. He had high cheekbones, a sharpcut nose, a spare, dark face--the face of a man used to giving orders, the face of an aristocrat.” (Paragraph 56). Here Connell really paints a picture in the reader 's imagination of what Zaroff’s appearance is, showing that he is tall, has a very distinctive face, and looks like a man used to giving orders to others. Later on when Rainsford and Zaroff took place in their hunting game, at one point Rainsford was hiding from Rainsford to avoid being killed. When describing what was going on from Rainsford point-of-view again, it was stated that terror was about to burst from his heart, while he was watching Zaroff smoke below the tree he was in. This really lets the reader’s mind know how much fear was going on through Rainsford during this hunting game. Here Connell really shows how his use of imagery relates to the tone of the story and how is set during
Throughout the story Richard Connell has the readers at the edges of their seats by making the story suspenseful. At first Rainsford is being chased by General Zaroff and the reader doesn't know what might happen next. While Rainsford is being hunted, he keeps his cool until he realizes Zaroff is messing with him. In the story it says,"The general was playing with him! The general was saving him for another day’s sport! The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse.
“I suggest to one of them that we go hunting. I give him supply of food and an excellent hunting knife. I am to follow, armed only with a pistol of the smallest caliber and range” (11). Zaroff explains to Rainsford the game which seems unfair since Zaroff had a gun and the other person had a knife. Rainsford thought that something was wrong when Zaroff was explaining him the game, but Rainsford did not pay a lot of attention. “Rainsford did not believe what his reason told him was true, but the truth was as evident as the sun that had by now pushed through the mists. The general was playing him. The general was saving him for another day’s sport. The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse” (15). Rainsford realized that Zaroff was cheating and lying to him since the beginning. After all the things that happened, Rainsford knew that he should have listened to his instincts. Zaroff showed his real personality which is conceited, rude, crazy, and an hypocrite, even though at the end he ended up losing against
The the story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” a hunter washes up on an island, on which he is hunted like an animal for entertainment; these events cause him to have a shift in opinion and perspective throughout the story. “‘You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how the jaguar feels?’ ‘Perhaps the jaguar does,’ observed Whitney. ‘...They’ve no understanding.’”(replied Rainsford). In this quote, Rainsford shows that he has no empathy for the animal he is hunting, no matter the size, actions, or intellect. When Rainsford says that they have no understanding of what is happening, he feels as if this justifies and solidifies his statement of hunting any animal is morally acceptable. “‘But
While Rainsford is trying to lose General Zaroff, he reveals qualities of a person having a rush for the will of fear to survive. Connell writes “he had plunged along, spurred by the sharp rowels of something very panic like”(Connell 28). Connell highlights Rainsfords conversion on becoming deranged with “plunged along” and “something very panic like”. While Rainsford could've chose to stay tranquill, he let his temper get the better of him. Connell includes “something very panic like” to further draw attention to how Rainsford had been driven mad. Connell emphasizes on Rainsford slowly turning savage to ensure people may become uncivilized if their life depended on