Personification, By Rainsford And Rainsford

The authors use characterization to show how the attitudes of both General Zaroff and the narrator of “Porphyria’s Lover”are taken over by this desire of power over other people. In the story “The Most Dangerous Game”, General Zaroff and Rainsford are talking about hunting. Zaroff says how he has gotten bored of hunting just animals, even the vicious jaguars. He thinks no animal is a match for him. Zaroff then leads into telling Rainsford that he hunts man. Zaroff then says, “The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of the earth…” (Connell: Page 35). General Zaroff believes that the weak people of the world were put here to entertain the strong people. He believes in the power that the stronger people have over the weaker people. He is a very cocky person, particularly over his hunting, making him feel even more entitled to that power. Zaroff loves the power he thinks he has over people, especially over whom he is hunting. In the poem “Porphyria’s Lover”, Porphyria comes home from a long day. Her presence warms the cottage as she sits down next to her lover. The narrator then starts saying weird things about Porphyria. He then says,“Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour, To set its struggling passion free From pride, and vainer ties dissever, And give herself to me for ever” (Browning: Lines 22-25). The narrator wants Porphyria all to himself. She seems to be the one in control of their relationship but, the narrator wants to be the one in control and have that power over her. He is very obsessive and psychotic, which are the characteristics that led him to murdering his lover. Both characters have many characteristics like obsession and cockiness, that makes them want that power and control over the people around them. This characterization shows how needing that power and control leads them to making bad decisions.

If not for these similar hunting experiences then General Zaroff would’ve been killed early on in the hunt.The characters also have some similar beliefs on the classes of the world, initially. The belief that there are two classes, one superior and one inferior, is a belief shared by Rainsford and Zaroff. According to Rainsford Whitney, his hunting partners, should,”Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes--the hunters and the

On this island, he meets Zaroff, a fellow experienced hunter coincidentally familiar with Rainsford’s books, “I’ve read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet, you see.” Although Rainsford had escaped death at sea, he had now run into a more complicated situation. General Zaroff, having his whole life as one prolonged hunt had become obsessed with the hunt, over the years he had completely changed the hunt by making humans his prey. Now, Rainsford happens to be the next prey. Zaroff is very similar to the protagonist of the story, they both lack a form of sympathy for their game, unlike Whitney who has compassion. Then again, through Rainsford’s experience with Zaroff, he learns what it feels like to be hunted and realizes the truth behind Whitney’s point of view. He feels that Zaroff is a murderer. It never occurred to Rainsford that he was also a murderer to the animals he killed, as Richard Connell wrote in his book, now Rainsford knew how an animal at bay

One of the quotes that best explains this is how Rainsford disagrees with Whitney in the beginning. “‘ Nonsense,” laughed Rainsford. ‘ This hot weather is making you soft, Whitney. Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are the hunters.’” (Connell 62). This relates to the theme because in the beginning of the story he is unfluctuating in his ways, not caring about what the huntee thinks. But, after he has gone through living as prey, he understands the prey. In like matter with this is another quote where Rainsford is disagreeing with another person immutable in his ways. “‘ Hunting? Good God, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder.’” (Connell 70). This is what Rainsford thought in the beginning, but in the end, he actually killed another man. This shows his change after walking through the prey’s shoes. Rainsford always thought Zaroff was insane for killing men but in the end, Rainsford has different views. “Rainsford did not smile. ‘I am still a beast at bay,’ he said, in a low, hoarse voice. ‘Get ready, General Zaroff.’”(Connell 80). This shows that he now is okay with murdering another person. The theme of “walk a mile in another's shoes” is driven home in the ‘Most Dangerous

General Zaroffs sense of cruelty is proven when he explains that he hunts people. In the story, General Zaroff states, “I wanted the ideal animal to hunt,…“So I said, `What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?' And the answer was, of course, `It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason." (pg #7) Rainsford is quick to point out that no animal can reason but Zaroff replies, “My dear fellow," said the general, "there is one that can.” (pg #7) Zaroff is implying that he hunts

This depicts that Zaroff is the predator hunting his prey, Rainsford. His goal is to hunt down his target and kill it (Rainsford). Personification was also represented in the quote when it describes that the trap had caught something. The Burmese tiger pit had caught its prey, a hound, showing to Rainford that his trap was quite successful. These quotes show that because General Zaroff underestimate Rainsford the other day by letting him live, he made a huge mistake. That caused him, one of his best hounds to die and that was his fault for not killing Rainsford when he had the perfect chance. This is what he deserved for hunting the most dangerous game for quite a long time and not taking the game seriously at the beginning. From what both symbolism and personification can depict, repetition can show that as well.

When Rainsford is put into the game, he thinks of a plan to throw off General Zaroff and says to himself, “‘I'll give him a trail to follow,’ muttered Rainsford, and he struck off from the rude path he had been following into the trackless wilderness. He executed a series of intricate loops” (Connell 34-35). Then Zaroff talks about his life, the war, and brags while saying, “‘I have hunted every kind of game in every land. It would be impossible for me to tell you how many animals I have killed’” (Connell 29). Not only are Rainsford and General Zaroff both hunters, but also they are very good and smart hunters. Rainsford says this during the hunt and it describes him making an intricate trail for Zaroff. He is using all of his skills and being very smart to try to lead Zaroff in the wrong direction. Likewise, General Zaroff says that he has hunted every type of animal. This shows that he is a good hunter and he has hunted so many he couldn’t even tell him how many he’s killed. This displays their similarities as hunters and people because they are very smart. In the very first scene, Rainsford and Whitney discuss hunting in the Amazon and they begin to say, “‘The best sport in the world,’ agreed Rainsford. / ‘For the hunter,’ amended Whitney. ‘Not for the jaguar.’ / ‘Don't talk rot, Whitney,’ said Rainsford. ‘You're a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?’ / ‘Perhaps the jaguar does,’ observed Whitney. / ‘Bah! They've no understanding’” (Connell 22). Later, Zaroff tries to persuade Rainsford into hunting humans because he thinks, “‘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 30). Another similarity the two hunters have is that they don’t care how others feel. Rainsford doesn’t care

Personification is a great way to make the story very lively and exciting. One example of personification, the muttering and growling of the sea breaking on a rocky shore (Connell 19), is a great representation of this device because it adds a mysterious and human-like quality to the sound. That’s what the author was trying to accomplish; a mysterious feeling. Connell effectively used personification because when reading that, it made the sea breaking on the shore seem alive

After the General allows small glimpses into his psyche, the fact that he is a disturbed person is temporarily forgotten about as the battle between him and Rainsford begins. In “Hunters in the Snow”, the situation with the shooting occurs early on, but the main focus of the story then transfers to the characters' and their issues for the remainder of the story. Rainsford is the typical hero: He is clever and moral, as opposed to Zaroff who is immoral. Though he claims to be "a beast at bay," Rainsford has now fully reverted to hunter mode, swimming across a small bay to Zaroff's chateau to arrive there before the general can make it back through the jungle.… out the shadowy outlines of a palatial chateau; it was set on a high bluff, and on three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows”. Rainsford claims that no animal can reason and when he realizes what Zaroff is doing, he calls it cold-blooded murder. Zaroff retreats to the chateau, assuming he has won the game. The General explains, "hunting was beginning to bore him," and reveals that he had to invent a new animal to hunt, one that must have "courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason. Rainsford survives, winning the game. A story, which relies on action, coincidence and surprise, is precisely the motivation that Connell needs to create a memorable commercial fiction. Rainsford is given the impression that General Zaroff is a wealthy and prominent hunter. "

General Zaroff is clearly not under control with his hunting habits. General Zaroff creates for himself, a dangerous hunting game. More dangerous than all the rest, an animal can reason and feel.This animal is a human. The general has gone over the edge. By following his instincts and making his desires reality, general Zaroff now has access to this dangerous game. He hunts and kills them with a pistol, disregards their feelings, and treats them like animals. Some people, such as Rainsford, have decided that obeying the law and sticking to the principles is better than following nature. Rainsford says,“Thank you, I'm a hunter not a murderer.” Rainsford chooses to be civil and lawful. Rainsford quite obviously has more control over his actions than the general. The general gives into his dark side and gives into his guilty desire to hunt animal that has reason, courage, and cunningness. Rainsford chooses not to because he knows wrong from right. But perhaps, when dealing with your human nature you must succumb to your darkest

General Zaroff states, “ Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes- the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are hunters.” ( pg 49) In this quote General Zaroff doesn’t think of hunting as a sport but as a correlation straight to real life. The quote shows that General Zaroff has an incredibly disgusting way of looking at life and everybody in it. General Zaroff’s insanity is shown because he think of everything besides himself as huntees and this shows he is a murderer. “ I hunt the scum of the earth- sailors from tramp ships, lascars,blacks, chinese, and mongrels.”( pg 49) This quote is saying that General Zaroff thinks that murder is a game, and he doesn’t feel bad about killing anyone of his hunts. This tells us that hunting/killing humans is a normal hobby for him and he does it often. The quote shows that General Zaroff’s mind is unstable and his thoughts are very distasteful. “ This is why I use them. It gives me pleasure. They can reason, after a fashion.” ( pg 50) General Zaroff is basically saying that he likes using humans for the hunt because it gives him pleasure. He is unbothered at the fact he is taking a human life away for a exhilarating game. When he says killing people because it brings him pleasure since they try to reason with him, but he puts himself in a position where he looks insane and murderous. It shows General Zaroff’s insane way of thinking and his thoughts on

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

Rainsford, from the beginning, reveals his arrogance to the readers. “This hot weather is making you soft, Whitney. Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are the hunters.” (Connell 63). The context is that Rainsford is speaking with Whitney and he believes that the animals have a sense of understanding and fear, but Rainsford does not. Rainsford is impudent towards his friend by criticizing his beliefs. He is moreover conceited when he places himself in the higher class of society. The protagonist is being insensitive to Whitney and to the living, fearful animals, commencing the separation from morality, shown throughout this short story. The antagonist, General Zaroff, numerously illustrates his hubristic personality.

I am speaking of hunting.” “Hunting? Great Guns, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder.” (10) (AN) In this quote, General Zaroff displays his relaxed and carefree attitude towards the killing of other human beings in this quote by the implied connotation of his words. By having such nonchalant tone on such an insidious viewpoint proves that Zaroff has a much different mindset than mainstream society who views his actions as sinister. Zaroff’s internal aspirations and ideas on murder are very present in his non-conformist style of “hunting.” (Trans) While hunting Zaroff also shows his motivations for doing so. (CD) During the first day of the hunt Zaroff unknowingly has Rainsford cornered up a tree, however, once Zaroff sees Rainsford he pretends not to notice, “It was General Zaroff. He made his way along with his eyes fixed in concentration … the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limb where Rainsford lay; a smile spread over his brown

Rainsford and General Zaroff are alike in many ways. In the text it said that General zaroff was talking to Rainsford about how god made him a hunter, and how his hands were made for the trigger. Whitney told rainsford that they were big game hunters. They also have unique skills when it come to hunting. For