When you think about yourself in day-to-day life, how would you rate your character? Most people I'm sure would agree that they were good people who did good things for others all the time; and if not that, at least they were nice to others when confronted. But what does character really mean? Is being nice to others faces a true representation to how you feel, or rather a facade? In Dwight Lyman Moody's quote, "Character is what you are in the dark", the word "character" is being defined as more important the way you act when nobody is around to applaud you versus being good for the attention or recognition or some other motive. This, however, isn't always clear. I personally agree with the quote's message and this is perfectly represented …show more content…
When Zaroff took in Rainsford that night he washed up on the island, there was no evidence that pointed to him being a bad guy. From his admiration and recognition of Rainsford as an author to touring him around his house and treating him to dinner, everything Zaroff made himself out to be was painting him in a good light. However, the quote refers to how you act in the dark as a true show of character, and this is where Zaroff differs from Rainsford. In "The Most Dangerous Game", Zaroff represents the deceitful side of what this quote means. While he acted very nice and hospitable to Rainsford in his presence, the reveal of Zaroff's favorite activity foreshadowed that come tomorrow, that same attitude might not be there. Surely enough, it wasn't. From the beginning, General Zaroff had every intention of hunting Rainsford for sport, just as he did for any other unlucky person who happened to wash up onshore, but he kept that to himself only. In front of Rainsford's face he was only nice and charming, but in the dark, Zaroff looked at Rainsford as nothing more than he would another animal he could hunt. For this reason, Zaroff was the perfect example of a different, more negative meaning this quote could take
Character by definition is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. My character is something that my parents always worked hard towards so I would grow up and be the best possible person I could be and I like to think that is distinctive to me. My character is seen in the ways that I deal with everyday life situations. Over the last few years I’ve paid more attention to the things I say after I read a book on suicide that had a large impact on me; I’ve started to stand
In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, General Zaroff is shown as a murderous, uncaring, and creepy. Zaroff is shown to be murderous in the story when he tells Rainsford that he kills people for fun. “I hunt the scum of the earth–sailors from tramp ships–lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels” (Connell 78). This quotes shows that Zaroff is murderous because he created his own game to kill people. During the story Zaroff is also uncaring. He shows that he is uncaring when he says it gives him pleasure to watch men die. “That is why I use them. It gives me pleasure” (Connell 70). Zaroff shows that he is uncaring during this scene because he does not care about how people he kills feel. Lastly, Zaroff is also creepy in the story.
One reason that I think that General Zaroff is a villain is that of his cruel actions against other people. General Zaroff tells Rainsford that he has the best animal to hunt and it “ supplies me with the most exciting hunting in the world” (Connell page 11). When Rainsford hears this, he thinks of an animal that cannot be found anywhere
Zaroff is purely unconscious, and has no compassion or remorse for his actions. His demented mind forces him to believe that it is moral to hunt all living creatures, when in reality he is actually murdering a human soul. The general is sadistic as well as arrogant. He is mentally unstable, insane, and he denies the fact that he is committing something as bad as what he is doing. According to General Zaroff, hunting for him has been consumed by boredom and he no longer sees hunting as a challenge. Consequently, he chooses to hunt a certain “creature” with a higher mental stability of the creatures he has hunted before.(Connell 21) As Zaroff became comfortable with Rainsford, he
Character is defined as one’s moral qualities. I have very high expectations for my character, and I hold myself to them. Every time a person isn't the nicest to me or someone else, I remind myself not to stoop to their level. I tell myself, “Treat others how you would want to be treated.” I will always treat myself and everyone around me with respect, courtesy, and kindness.
This quote shows that Rainsford is insane because during this part, he is saying that he wants to hunt something that can reason with him, and only one animal can do that. That animal is a human. During the story, General Zaroff is also competitive. He shows that he is competitive when he fights to win the game over the humans. He always believes he will win. “If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. If I find him”... “he loses.” (Connell
Throughout this journal, Zaroff can be characterized as mysterious and evil. First off, Zaroff is mysterious. One way he is mysterious is that he knows Rainsford’s name and he read Rainsford’s hunting book. In the book it says, “I’ve read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet…” (Connell 3). This quote shows that Zaroff is interested in hunting dangerous animals and knows that Rainsford is good at hunting
In “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford is terrified to find that General Zaroff is actually a murder. Rainsford is listening intently to the new “species” that General Zaroff is describing as hunt for his game. General Zaroff has a passion and has become obsessed with hunt because it “had been (his) life”, but sadly “hunting was beginning to bore (him)”. He was eager to continue hunting because of how much he enjoyed it. He needed a new way to satisfy himself while still involving himself in hunting. He decided to go to the extremity of killing people to satisfy himself and make him find new excitement in the one hobby that used to be his life and his source of happiness. General Zaroff’s love and passion for hunting cause him to kill and murder because hunting animals was not satisfying him anymore. Rainsford realizes that he is in the presence of a murderer and when General Zaroff is describing how he has found a new hunt for killing Rainsford figures out that “what (General Zaroff) speak of is murder”. While Zaroff is defending himself by saying that he is not murdering, he does not realize that he sounds foolish because he is saying that he has fallen in love with hunting of humans’ The idea that someone is no joke, but General Zaroff thinks “it’s a game”. Consequently, General Zaroff’s dark side comes through because his love for hunting
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, General Zaroff is characterized as a cold blooded, devious, and murderous man. Zaroff shows little remorse for human life as he does not care that he kills hundreds of sailors.When he is talking to Rainsford, he says this, “I hunt the scum of the earth.”(49)Rainsford is horrified by this, as most other humans would be. Zaroff does not seem to bother how he kills his victims, and he does not even give them a fair chance. Zaroff says multiple times throughout the story that he values his dogs more than the humans he kills. He treats them like livestock, training them and feeding them well, until eventually he makes them play his game, which is nothing more than an entertaining way to kill the lowest
One reason that the quotation disagrees with Rainsford is because he uses his courage to stand up to the General by not changing his mind knowing he can get killed. Rainsford did this by stating, “Hunting? General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder." Clearly Rainsford is not afraid to point out to General Zaroff that what he is doing is wrong. The next day Rainsford said to the general," No general I will not hunt."
Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, though morality is subjective, in today’s society it is predominantly agreed upon that someone who is of good character has certain qualities that contribute to their decision making, trustworthiness, and intelligence. I previously mentioned prudence, which is the ability to govern oneself by the use of reason to make good judgements that allow you to avoid troublesome situations, which allows one to face the adversities of life while only encountering necessary risks. This is the ultimate show of genuine character, those who can judge for themselves and aren’t afraid to admit their faults, or
He is a philosopher and shares his view of the world with others; “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong and, if needs to be, taken by the strong.” He imposes his ideology of how the world works. Zaroff looks positively on the cruel and foul acts he committed with reasoning: “I assure you, I do not do the things you suggest… I treat these visitors with every consideration…” He justifies his acts and tries to convince Rainsford that he is right. He makes it sound like he is not setting his victims to their deaths and that it is all fun and games. However he puts it, Zaroff is still an evil yet ingenious mass
“The General was playing with him; the general was saving him for another day’s sport”. With that saying, the General saw where Rainsford hid, but he didn’t want to kill him yet because it would have been too easy. It seemed like General Zaroff wanted to suffer Rainsford until the last day of the games. And finally he is a tortures man because he treats humans like nothing; he does not care about them.
In Richard Connell's short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” he characterizes General Zaroff indirectly through Rainsford’s thoughts. The General feels that hunting is his life, and so when he becomes bored of hunting animals, Zaroff decides to abandon his morals and make his prey the smartest of them all; fellow humans. Zaroff challenges Rainsford, a renown hunter trapped on Ship Trap Island, to a hunt to the death. After many close calls, Rainsford kills Zaroff, winning the competition. Rainsford has a near miss with Zaroff that fills him with dread and makes him think,“The General was playing with him. The General was saving him for another day’s sport,” (pg 9). This quote shows one of Zaroff’s traits, his confidence, which is implied because
In the story "The Most Dangerous Game," There are multiple dark moments. One dark moment in particular was when Rainsford came close to capture, and discovered that General Zaroff was playing with him. This is very dark because this is the moment that confirms that Zaroff sees him as no more important than a deer. This adds to how dark the fact is that Zaroff hunts humans. Zaroff had been hunting Rainsford, and even though Rainsford did everything he could to throw Zaroff off his trail, he still was found.