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.
First off, General Zaroff is an expert hunter who has hunted many dangerous game. Unlike average people, General Zaroff is hunting game just for sport; he has no intentions to use any of the animal that he has killed. He’s hunting just to kill. Not to mention that he has killed a lot of animals.
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This is proven when the author describes, “About the hall were the mounted heads of many animals - lions, tigers, elephants, moose, bears…”(Connel 24). He didn’t buy those; they're probably his own kills. In addition to being a killer with no remorse for animals, he also a murderer. General Zaroff believes that the most dangerous game are humans. Zaroff hunts them and he is perfectly fine with it. This is shown throughout the story but especially when General Zaroff says, “I hunt the scum of the Earth - sailors from tramp ships - lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels... “(Connel 27). No matter the race of a person, they don’t deserve to be tracked and killed by a person, which makes General Zaroff a psychopath. Although he’s indirectly characterized in terms of his actions and what he says, he is also indirectly characterized by his appearance and how people react to him.
General Zaroff first appears to be a handsome man past his middle age, but looks can be deceiving. When he smiles, it shows his pointed teeth. This is shown in the story when the author describes, “... said the general, and his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth…(Connel 23). Having pointed teeth isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s connotating that he’s evil because pop culture use attributes such as having pointed teeth or red eyes to show that someone is evil, and this is no exception. Not to mention that Rainsford, the protagonist of the story, decides to kill General Zaroff because he realizes that he’s a threat to everything around him. It’s inferred that Rainsford later kills Zaroff when Zaroff says, “One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford…’ He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided” (Conell 36). Although the fight is never written about, we can assume that there was a fight based off of the dialog and how time passes after the
dialog. All in all, General Zaroff is a rich mass murderer who has no remorse. Even though the author never directly says that about him, we can infer that through his actions, his speech, his appearance, and Rainsford’s interactions with him.
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff. Rainsford is a hunter. He was on a yacht that crashed and he was the only survivor. The island that he swam to was named “Ship Trap Island.” This where General Zaroff lived. He is also a hunter. He has hunted anything you can think of. Even… people. He has the survivors from the ship wrecks “play” his “game.” The survivors go out into the jungle and General Zaroff goes out and finds them. They have three days to survive. If they don’t get caught in those three days, they win. If they lose… they are killed. This happened to Rainsford. Rainsford, thankfully, won the “game.” He shot General Zaroff after his win.
In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, General Zaroff is shown as crazy, Fearless, and Playful. General Zaroff is shown to be crazy in the story when he traps people on his island and then hunt them. “No animal had a chance with me anymore”(. This quote shows that Rainsford is crazy because during this part, he is hunting real living humans. During the story, General Zaroff is also Fearless. He shows that he is when he is hunting Rainsford and he knows he is in the tree but doesn't kill him because he wants a better fight. “His eyes stopped before they got to the limb where Rainsford laid and he smiled”. General Zaroff shows that he is fearless during this scene because he could get killed if he lets him live for a better fight but
Rainsford is an intelligent man. Early in the story, “Rainsford remembered the shots. They had come from the right, and he doggedly swam in that direction” (34). Rainsford had just fallen in the water, swam fifty feet further out, but he kept his senses in the right direction. In total darkness, Rainsford used his intelligence and intellect to reach the land. Also, I don’t think that Rainsford knew he was being sized up when Zaroff was staring at him, but when “Rainsford’s bewilderment showed in his face” (100), he quickly understood what Zaroff was leading too. Rainsford wasn’t a murderer. Sure he liked to hunt game, but he wasn’t bored as Zaroff was. Rainsford never bought into all the old tales. ‘“One superstitious sailor can taint the whole ship’s company with fear”’ (20). He never got worked up or stressed out.
In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Gen. Zaroff is shown as insane, intelligent and competitive. Zaroff is shown to be insane in the story when he explains who he hunts. “So I said: ‘What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?’ and the answer was of course ‘It must have courage, cunning, and be able to reason… My dear fellow, there is one that can… Why should I not be serious, I am speaking of hunting” (Connell 69-70). This quote shows that Gen. Zaroff demented is because during this part, he is hunting humans for fun. During the
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff. Rainsford is a hunter. He was on a yacht until he fell off the boat. He swam all the way to shore because Rainsford heard three gun shots. He walked upon a gigantic mansion. This house was for a man named General Zaroff. He was an hunter just like Rainsford in a hunt , but hunted humans instead of animals. General Zaroff wanted to kill Rainsford in a hunt with the General. Also, the General threaten Rainsford if he doesn’t hunt with him; he will be sent with Ivan.
Robert Rainsford from “The Most Dangerous Game” is a very open character. He always shows what he’s thinking verbally or just with facial expressions. When he landed on Ship-Trap island and was lost in the woods, he found a pathway. “They pointed along the cliff in the direction he had been going.” Rainsford’s attitude toward the pathway is what brought him and General Zaroff together. Rainsford had the opportunity to just not follow the hunting boot tracks and walk down a different trail but then the story would never have ended the same. “‘Thank you, I’m a hunter, not a murderer.’ ‘Dear me,’ said the general, quite unruffled, ‘again that unpleasant word. But I think I can show you that your scruples are quite ill founded.’”This quote signifies the start of conflict for the two characters.
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
In the short story “the most dangerous game”, Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff.
Zaroff is extremely pleased when he gets to host Rainsford at his house, as if it's an honor to host this world renowned hunter in his home. He is so pleased when he has the chance to tell Rainsford about his new hunting style. “Dear me. Again with that unpleasant word. But I think I can show you that your scruples are quite ill founded” (26). Zaroff believes that he can change Rainsfords view on his hunting style when he reacts immediatly with great disgust.
General Zaroff is the better hunter because of the fact that there are no other animals that are challenging, hunting was becoming boring. “I was lying in my tent with a splitting headache one night when a terrible thought pushed its way into my mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me! And hunting, remember, had been my life.” Cause of this thought he needed an new animal that can reason and be a greater challenge. Rainsford can not relate because he has not hunted as much as General Zaroff and is much younger. Hunting to Zaroff become too easy. “There is no greater bore than perfection.” The new animal Zaroff has invented to hunt are, men. “ No other hunting compares with it for an instant. Every day I hunt, and I never grow bored now, for I have a quarry with which i can match my wits.” Rainsford knows there are no animal that can reason and figures out that he’s hunting men on his island and asks is this a joke, but knowing General Zaroff everything he says about the hunt is to be taken
In “ The Most Dangerous Game,” Connell portrays several instances in the text indicating that Zaroff is indeed evil. Close to the beginning of the story Connell writes, "I want to show you my new collection of heads. Will you come with me to the library?"” (76). In this quote Zaroff is boasting about his collection of human Heads, this instance in the story shows that Zaroff collecting ...
Richard Connell, the author, does an incredible job of portraying the insane, however experienced hunter, General Zaroff as a man who hunts man for fun. The portrayal of a sophisticated, educated, cultured man with psychopathic tendencies was evident in many different instances. Interesting enough, I discovered that paintballing was actually inspired in part by the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Most_Dangerous_Game), which leaves us to think “Man is the cruelest animal.” (Friedrich Nietzsche).
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
Richard Connells “The Most Dangerous Game” is a short story which illustrates that calm analytical thinking can increase your odds of survival and controlling panic.
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.