Mbuguah, Martin
Deitche, Marianne
9 English Honors, Period 5
11/1/2016
Rainsford vs Zaroff
Two men from different times and different walks of life both consumed by the lust of greed and adrenaline. One has fallen far more in to the abyss while the other is just on the edge waiting to for the last gust to push him into his decent.
General Zaroff and Rainsford were both word class hunters. Zaroff and Rainsford traveled the world and learned many different hunting tactics like the ones they used in the story. Although they were alike in these ways the way they used their skills were very different. Zaroff became consumed with finding and killing “the most dangerous game” while Rainsford used his skills to protect himself from Zaroff. Rainsford and Zaroff are both very passionate about hunting we see the proof of this in the story when Zaroff says” I have but one passion in my life Mr. Rainsford, and it is the hunt” and when Rainsford said “luckily, you and I are the hunter”
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We see this from the beginning of the story, Zaroff is cold, cruel, and dishonest from the start of the story until the end we can never truly trust what he says. We see examples of his dishonest behavior when he tells Rainsford that he won’t use dogs then he inevitably does. Rainsford on the other hand is a more compassionate individual although he hunts and kills animals for sport we see early in the story he questions these actions when he realizes how the animals might feel when he is put in the same situation as them. Despite the fact he is actively trying to kill Zaroff during the story, he’s only doing it for self-defense even at the end when he willingly chooses to duel and kill Zaroff we can still see he is trying to protect the life pf the next poor soul to come to the island by ending Zaroff’s reign of
Another quote that proves Zaroff shows more diligence is, “The general’s left eyelid fluttered down in a wink.” This describes how the general believes that the gods send him people to hunt. Like Rainsford, General Zaroff is also persistent in waiting to hunt humans. He never gave up on leering humans to the island, I bet even on days when it took forever. This is why I believe that General Zaroff shows off more diligence than Rainsford. Not only does he show effort, but he shows persistent and that is the meaning of
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
The men both have several similarities. Rainsford and Zaroff both are hunters that have savage personalities, which causes them to have no affinity for the animals they hunt. Both men are massively intelligent. Rainsford and Zaroff both have very arrogant attitudes, which had them concluding that they're better than all other hunters in the world.
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
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
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
General Zaroff is similar to Rainsford because they are both Dangerous, and Zaroff shows this in the story because he has hunted a lot. This is seen in the story when it says, “God makes some men poets, Some he makes king, some beggars, Me he made a hunter.” (Page 48). He was born with a gift for hunting. However, Zaroff is different from Rainsford because he is militaristic, which he shows through his past and his looks. An example of this is seen in the story, which states “I went into the military… and for a time commanded a division of Cossack cavalry” (Page 44). He was able to lead a division of the military. Zaroff is also different since he can be described as self-justified, because he is okay with hunting people. In the text, this is shown when it says, “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong.” (Page 49). He feels that is someone can’t beat them they don’t need to be living. Zaroff and Rainsford may both be dangerous, but the fact that Zaroff is self-Justified and Militaristic make him a completely different kind of
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
General Zaroff is similar to Rainsford because they are both intelligent, and Zaroff shows this in the story because of his up-bringing and past experiences. This is seen in the story when it says “I, luckily, have invested in American Securities, so I shall never have to open a Tea room in Monte Carlo, or drive a taxi in Paris.” (Connel 48) This proves Zaroff is intelligent because he foresaw the downfall of the Russian economy, and heavily invested in said American Securities. However, Zaroff is different than Rainsford because he is powerful, which he shows when he explains his quarry to Rainsford. An example of this is seen in the story, which states “To date, I have not lost” … “The most elementary sort of problem” (Connel 50.)This proves Zaroff is powerful, because he fears nothing during the hunt. If anything, he thinks it gets quite boring. Zaroff is also different since he can be described as serious, because of his history with the hunt. In the text, this shown when it says “Hunting was beginning to get boring! And hunting, remember had been my life. I have heard that in America, business men often go to pieces…” (Connel ?) This proves Zaroff is about the hunt because it has sparked a new, welcoming,
General Zaroff admits to having read Rainsford's book, and demonstrates great craft in creating the game that he made for this island. He also says directly of himself that he has an "analytical mind ». He claims that « Now, mine is an analytical mind, Mr. Rainsford. Doubtless that is why I enjoy the problems of the chase, (Connell pg. 100 or 10.) » He has also for a time commanded a division of Cossack cavalry. Which requires someone who willingness allows themselves to be influenced by other people and to share their ideas openly to enhances their ability or apitude, while being psychologically closed can cause problems. Leaders who are psychologically open seek diverse opinions, so they can see and hear more and factor a wider range of information into their decisions (like he did with Rainsford, wanting to know his opinions on him "hunting" humans). He has also a lot of tricks up his sleeve as he was capable of dismissing Rainsford trap that he equally knew off … « The Malay man-catcher » He had said «Not many men know how to make a Malay man catcher (Connell pg.19 ou 109) ». Luckily, for me, I too have hunted in Malacca Connell pg.19 ou 109.With his knowledge of hunting he was capable of tracing and finding Rainsford not once but twice, which proves that he’s very good at what he does and has an impeccable eyesight ! He could’ve killed Rainsford right away and could’ve won the game but decided not to because he is "just so much fun" and always plays his little « games ». Zaroff just simply has a vicious, sadistic and ruthless mind of physically and mentally torturing his enemies or
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
Zaroff hunts people for his own entertainment and does not care about their fear. Zaroff kills many in cold blood, admitting to killing many and being surprised when Rainsford is appalled. Zaroff does not even have value for the life of his own workers. He seems to care little about the death of Ivan, setting his death aside as a minor inconvenience because he must be replaced. Zaroff’s lack of respect for human life shows that he is a villain and gives Rainsford more motivation to defeat Zaroff as a villain. Rainsford, a moral character, understands Zaroff’s evil work, and knows he has to stop Zaroff. Zaroff having this trait also develops Rainsford’s character, because he realizes that killing without considering the feelings of the victim is evil as it is embodied by Zaroff. Rainsford originally thought otherwise. Zaroff’s nonexistent value of life helps develop characters and give reason for his defeat, in turn strengthening his role as
Both protagonists, have similar conflicts which contain having them killed. In the story General Zaroff says, "Your brain against mine. Your woodcraft against mine. Your strength and stamina against mine. Outdoor chess! And the stake is not without value, eh?" (Connell 16). General Zaroff has the intention of killing Rainsford to cure his own boredom. This is the similar to when Frank Miller is coming in town to kill Kane. They also
In the first one they are both smart and good hunters which is why Rainsford could easily become the next general of the island. He already enjoys hunting and is good at it just like Zaroff. In the next example, they both don't care how the person on the other side feels. The example for Rainsford is the jaguar and he says he doesn’t care how it feels. He says this because he is the hunter and it is being hunted so he gets to do that and it doesn’t matter how the animal feels. Zaroff says a very similar statement that he doesn’t care about the weak people because he is strong and they are here to give him pleasure. These are very similar quotes showing that they both don’t care about anything lower than them. The final example shows that they both like killing people which was my other claim statement. All of these show similarities in personality traits of General Zaroff and Rainsford and that is why Rainsford will become the new
But that Zaroff is good. Rainsford uses all of his old hunter’s tricks and then finally just uses his wits: he jumps into the ocean. Resolution: Well, turns out Rainsford survived his leap into the sea, and he’s mad. Real mad. So he does what any good vengeful hunter does especially one who doesn’t believe in killing people he kills