Is Zaroff Mysterious Or Dangerous?

Throughout this journal, Zaroff can be described as mysterious and cruel. First off, Zaroff is mysterious. Zaroff knows everything about Rainsford when he first arrived. For example in the text it says, “It is a very great pleasure and honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter, to my home” (Connell 44). It is strange that Zaroff would know Rainsford’s name before he even met him. He also knew about and read Rainsford’s book about hunting. For instance Zaroff is very calm and acts and looks strange. When Rainsford first met him he thought, “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 (Connell #). He acts strange compared to a

normal person. He walks and talks very calmly as he studies Rainsford. The last reason why he is mysterious is he thinks wild animals are not scary and dangerous.

In the text it states, “Hunting tigers ceased to interest me some years ago. I exhausted their possibilities, you see. No thrill left in tigers, no real danger. I live for danger, Mr. Rainsford” (Connell #). Zaroff does not think that tigers are dangerous. He live for danger, and got bored with animals so he created his new animal to hunt. Secondly, Zaroff is cruel. He purposely lures and traps sailors into his island. For example the text says, “This island is called Ship Trap” (Connell #). Zaroff leads them into his channel that has sharp rocks that destroy their ships. He lures them into his island so he can hunt them. Another example when Zaroff is cruel is when his servant Ivan and his dog die. The story states, “You've done well, Rainsford," the voice of the general called. "Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my best dogs... I'm going home for a rest now. Thank you for a most amusing evening.” (Connell #). He is unsympathetic and does not care about anyone. He is very careless about the lives of people and animals. He continued on with his evening after those deaths and thought it was

amusing. The last example why Zaroff is cruel is because he hunts people for fun. The text says, “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong.” (Connell #). Zaroff has no feelings and feels he has the right to hunt people. He hunts people for recreation because he is bored with animals. Ultimately, Zaroff can be characterized as mysterious and cruel.