How Similar are Rainsford and Zaroff ?
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the protagonist, Sanger Rainsford falls off his boat while on his way to South America to hunt jaguars. He washes ashore on of Ship-Trap Island, a retreat owned by the antagonist, General Zaroff. Initially, Rainsford and Zaroff have similar views on the world and about hunting, but the initial admiration Zaroff has for Rainsford turns sour when Zaroff shares with Rainsford his new “big-game” animal: Humans. Zaroff’s view of Rainsford shifts radically when he shares with Rainsford his novel new sport. In the beginning of the story Zaroff regards Rainsford as a like mind and a great hunter. He has read Rainsford’s “book about hunting snow leopards,”
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Rainsford of course is flattered at first. When Zaroff invites Rainsford in to eat and talk, he explained “I was lying in my tent….when a terrible thought pushed its way into my mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me!” (7). Zaroff then explains that he solved this problem finding a new “game” he stocks the island with. Zaroff is proud of his innovation and expects to receive adoration “But what game?… I’ll tell you… You will be amused, I know...I have invented a new sensation,”(6), but instead receives disgust from rainsford “But you can’t mean-- gasped Rainsford...Great Guns General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder”(8). Zaroff’s opinion quickly goes from wanting to “hunt” with Rainsford, to wanting to “hunt” Rainsford after Rainford refuses multiple times to hunt humans with Zaroff “Tonight,...we will hunt you and I...No, general..I will not hunt”(11). Zaroff is offended because this is the opinion of his “hero” and someone whose opinion on hunting he highly respects. After Zaroff sees that Rainsford is disgusted by the thought of hunting a man for sport, he decides that Rainsford is weak. Rainsford does not care “how the jaguar feels?”(1) ,which shows that Rainsford and
There were many ways that showed the similarities between Rainsford and Zaroff. Actually, the two characters were very alike. They were both very smart and intelligent. A person that is not clever could not have come up with the way Rainsford killed Zaroff and the way Zaroff thought of using people to hunt. Another thing, is Rainsford and Zaroff were clever hunters. Zaroff managed to become so experience to the point of having to result to humans because animals were not difficult enough and
In Richard Connell’s, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Sanger Rainsford, a man who likes to hunt for sport, gets stranded on an island called, “Ship Trap Island,” after falling off his ship. Ships that go to this island never come back. Rainsford meets General Zaroff and his assistant Ivan, who is deaf and unintelligent. General Zaroff, who lives on the island with his own rules and thoughts of hunting, shares his ways of hunting the animal he finds the best to hunt. Rainsford has other thoughts and doesn’t concur with Zaroff’s ways. What the General hunts changes Rainsford’s opinion of him. A lesson the story proposes is to not trust everyone you meet.
Rainsford and Zaroff are both amazing and resourceful hunters who are both very sharp and quick witted. They’re both strong in their convictions and ethics. They can go out into the forest and mountains alone and be at peace and harmony with nature. They’re both someone who is attentive to their surroundings and use their the ability to use their conceptual being. They both have taken the time to learn to track and shoot well and have intent of the purpose of the hunt rather than viewing it as a « fun » hobby so it’s very difficult and tough for me having to choose which one is or… was (since general Zaroff is dead now !) the better hunter, as they’re both well disciplined and prolonged hunters. But now that I am assigned to pit them against
To begin, Zaroff and Rainsford can be compared by their most common interest, hunting. Rainford expresses his genuine enjoyment for hunting early on as he states proudly to Whitney, “The best sport in the world.” (Connell 1) When speaking to General Zaroff for the first time, the general seems to already know who he is, justifying it due to his familiarity with Rainsford’s novel on hunting; “It is a very great pleasure and honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter, to my home.” (Connell 5) This demonstrates Rainsford notoriety for the hunt, as well as Zaroffs infatuation with it. Furthermore, Zaroff appears to be obsessed with the hunt as he displays countless mounted heads/hunting trophies, and dedicates his entire island and life to the hunt. We see this to be further evident based on the similar skill levels displayed by both characters in the hunt. Both men appear proficient in tracking prey, identifying weaponry, techniques in killing prey, and survivalist methods. Rainsford effectively identifies the technique and weapon used by Zaroff when we awaked on the island to evidence of a hunt; “A twenty-two…The hunter had his nerve with him to tackle it with a light gun.” (Connell 4) Later within the hunt, Rainsford evades Zaroff with crude trails (recalling the lore of the fox hunt), techniques and traps learned from people of his travels, as well as logical level-headed thinking. These efforts are noted as impressive but seemingly ineffective to Zaroff , as he finds Rainsford at every turn; tracking his path in pitch black darkness within the heart of the jungle, a feat doubted by Rainsford. Finally, their common experience of war, a key factor in revealing Zaroff’s perception of human life, allows us to compare these characters. Zaroff
When Rainsford first arrives on the island, General Zaroff asks him to hunt and explains the unusual nature of his prey. Rainsford agrees to hunting with Zaroff. Rainsford really likes hunting and he knows what to do so he doesn’t need Zaroffs help. The reason why Rainsford doesn’t need Zaroffs help is because Rainsford knows more about hunting then Zaroff does, that’s probably why Zaroff is asking for Rainsfords help. Zaroff likes hunting for human, but there isn’t a lot of human on that island most of the things on the island are animals. Rainsford only agreed to help Zaroff because that’s the only way off the island and Rainsford doesn’t want to stay on the island. He wants to get off. Well another way he can get off of the island is by
Zaroff was fascinated by Rainsford and his work. Both were awestruck by big game hunting. Rainsford was beginning to find Zaroff as a true cosmopolite, but there was something that still bothered Rainsford. The two men commuted for a while and Rainsford was amused when Zaroff said that he was hunting more dangerous game than what Rainsford thought to be the most dangerous big game of all. Zaroff tells Rainsford that, although he hunted the big game, he had to stock the island himself. A little while later Rainsford was told by Zaroff that he hunted humans. He asked Rainsford to join, and Rainsford, scared, agreed. The next night Rainsford refused to hunt. Zaroff tells Rainsford if he didn't hunt he would become the
In the story "The Most Dangerous Game", the two main characters, General Zaroff and Rainsford, met on an island and from there the conflict takes off. Rainsford is a world renowned hunter who has hunted game all across the world. He has also written several books about hunting, which General Zaroff had personally read. General Zaroff, on the other hand, was Russian nobility. He and his assistant, Ivan, were both Cossacks who had fled Russia after the Russian Revolution. Zaroff, who had hunted since he was young, then used his fortune and skills to hunt exotic game all across the world. Eventually, he became bored with animals that lacked the ability to reason, so he turned his hunt toward the one animal who could reason, humans. He then
“The Most Dangerous Game,” centered around Sanger Rainsford, an American hunter, separates characters through distinct views and symbolism. Richard Connell inscribes the mind and thoughts of Rainsford as he fights against a seemingly invincible opponent. While illustrating Rainsford’s feelings, Connell describes the characteristics of various personalities such as Whitney, Rainsford’s hunting friend, and General Zaroff, the antagonist. The remainder of this essay will outline the differences between the characters Connell introduces in a short story,
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, we are introduced to a protagonist named Sanger Rainsford, who is a celebrated hunter, in addition to being a resourceful, logical man with certain moral ambiguities. The story follows Rainsford in a harrowing adventure that pushes the limits of his physical and psychological capabilities as he is pitted against the psychopathic antagonist, General Zaroff, in a hunt for his life. Throughout the story, Rainsford proves himself to be extremely resourceful. His travels all over the world as a hunter gave him a multitude of hunting and survival skills, and even Zaroff is impressed with Rainsford’s Burmese tiger pit and Uganda knife spring, which claims the general’s hounds and servant,
Rainsford is in danger when general Zaroff forces him to play his game. Rainsford is terrified when he learns about Zaroff's sick hunting methods and what he hunts “ It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason”(35). This quote helps the reader understand what Zaroff is hunting. It also provides for a better understanding of how sick Zaroff really is.
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell, Sanger Rainsford, an experienced hunter, falls overboard from a ship heading to Rio to hunt jaguars with his friend and hunting partner Whitney. He swims to an island nearby called Ship-Trap Island. While there, he meets General Zaroff, an avid hunter who has grown bored of hunting animals, so he begins playing a game where he captures then hunts humans. Rainsford and Zaroff have many differences in their opinions and personalities that cause them to become enemies in Zaroff’s game, where the two fight to the death. Although they each believe the world is made of two classes, they have different opinions of who comprises those classes and where each fits in. Rainsford believes
General Zaroff begins his relationship with Rainsford well, but this demeanor is abruptly lost when Rainsford slowly realizes that the general hunts humans rather than animals for sport and that Rainsford himself is expected to be the next victim. Rainsford’s initial reaction is shock, but he eventually has to regain himself if he expects to survive on the island. His first instincts force him to start thinking as a hunted animal would, but he must incorporate his human instincts as well to gain the ability to beat Zaroff at his own game. As a hunter, Rainsford is used to leading the hunt, and doing everything in his power to control it, but when he becomes the hunted, he must learn to focus on forcing Zaroff to lose control of the hunt. “The general was playing with him!
In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” depicts how civilized human beings will change to an uncivilized person if their life becomes endanger. Sanger Rainsford a famous big-game hunter is lost on an island, the island he is lost on happens to have another big-game hunter named General Zaroff. Although General Zaroff and Rainsford’s definition of big-game is completely different. Rainsford like most hunter’s hunts animals, as for Zaroff he hunts humans. Rainsford in the beginning of the story is a civilized person, but becomes uncivilized when he finds his life is at risk.
Things get interesting when the hunter becomes the hunted. Mr. Rainsford in “The Most Dangerous Game” is a world-renowned big game hunter who has successfully hunted and killed the most dangerous of animals, declaring it a sport. He has no regard for his prey and feels superior to them, insisting they have no feelings and are worth more dead than alive. He values the entertainment of going after the kill and takes pleasure in the fear from the animals as he pursues and kills dangerous animals. However, after an encounter with another hunting enthusiast on a mysterious tropical island who forces Rainsford into becoming the prey for his hunting pleasure, Rainsford begins to appreciate the value and feelings of the prey, showing how a person’s point of view about a sport can significantly change when the roles are reversed.
The theme of the story talks about how civilized people will become uncivilized to survive. In this case, Rainsford is the one who has been a hunter for most of his but then learns how it feels to be prey. Plus, Rainsford learned in this story the quote "try walking a mile in my shoes" as he learned to be the prey not the predator. Keep we won’t only be talking about Rainsford we will also discuss the other main characters such Zaroff the other extraordinary hunter and Whitney who is partner Rainsford.