General Zaroff Quotes

I have read the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. In this story, Rainsford was thrown from his ship, and wound up on Ship-Trap island. There he meets General Zaroff. He is an unusual character who likes to hunt. His main game just so happens to be people. Rainsford is put against him and has to survive three days in the wild avoiding Zaroff. He uses his skills to try and beat him at his game. In this story, Zaroff can be described as confident and crafty. There are, of course, reasons for each of these. First, General Zaroff is confident. One reason for that is that he believes that he is the best hunter, and cannot be defeated. On page forty-eight he says, “They were no match at all for a hunter with his wits about him.”

A second reason is that he gives all of his prey a three hour head start. On page fifty he states, “I give him three hours’ start. I am to follow, only armed with a pistol.” (Connell.) He knows that he will win, even if he gives his opponent a whole three hours more. One last reason for Zaroff being confident, is the fact that he finds Rainsford on the first day, but leaves him alone. The quote on page fifty-three says, “But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limb where Rainsford lay; a smile spread over his brown face.” (Connell.) This hints that General Zaroff knew that Rainsford was there. A few lines later, on the same page, it says, “Then he turned his back on the tree and walked carelessly away.” (Connell.) Secondly, Zaroff can be described as crafty as well. Primarily, he had picked this island and place for his house knowing that