Intro “From the beginning men used God to justify the unjustifiable.” -Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses. Salman Rushdie points are truly stated and are seen in literature work. The two stories “The Most Dangerous Game” and “Porphyria’s Lover”, both portray the characters, General Zaroff and Porphyria’s Lover, as murderers who think they have done nothing wrong. The authors Connell and Browning use conflict and characterization to convey that some find it easy to justify murder.
DP 1 Through the use of external conflict between Zaroff and Rainsford’s hunting prowess, and Porphyria’s Lover strangling Porphyria, the authors show how each can easily justify murder.
Rainsford, the main character, fell off his boat and swam ashore a mysterious island. When he arrived he came across a fortress of sorts, and meet the man incharge, General Zaroff. Zaroff is talking to Rainsford about his past and the island he lives on. Zaroff tells Rainsford about his hunting experiences when he says “Hunting was beginning to bore me! And hunting, remember, had been my life(33).” This is when Zaroff’s internal conflict arises, suffers from ennui in hunting and wants something more of a challenge to kill. He has been hunting for as long as he can remember and every beast he has faced, he overcame and killed it, until there was no animal he couldn’t kill. This is what caused Zaroff to want a challenge, something that . “‘must have courage, cunning and, above all, it must be able to reason.
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.
After reading The Most Dangerous Game and Porphyria’s Lover, one cannot help but think of how they killed someone. In Porphyria’s Lover the speaker kills Porphyria because he can’t be with her. This proves my thesis that they can’t be together so he kills her. After reading The Most Dangerous Game and Porphyria’s Lover, one cannot help but think of how they made friends with someone and then killed them. Rainsford made friends with general Zaroff and then killed him because Zaroff was going to kill him. This detail proves my thesis because they are fighting against each other. Both of these writers use character development and dynamic conflict in such a way the reader is able to see the validity of their assertion about
Underestimation and cruel actions lead to many things. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” author Richard Connell reveals a conflict between the main characters, General Zaroff and Rainsford. Rainsford was to play the most dangerous game created by Zaroff, because the only way to survive, is to win it, otherwise death is the only other option. As demonstrated through the use of personification, symbolism, and repetition in the story, it conveys that one should understand to never underestimate another person and remember that there will always be a consequence for the wicked things that one has done.
The Most Dangerous Game Argumentation Paragraph In the story, The Most Dangerous Game Sanger Rainsford was justified in killing General Zaroff for many reasons. For example, when Rainsford and General Zaroff are having a conversation about hunting over borsh shortly after Rainsford had found the General's home, the General tells him what he hunts and Rainsford states, “Hunting? Great guns, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder!” (Connell 5). This piece of evidence is important because Rainsford figures out General Zaroff is hunting people. Because the General is killing many people, Rainsford is justified in killing General Zaroff because he is killing other people just for the fun of it.
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
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. "
Specifically, “The Most Dangerous Game”, exemplifies General Zaroff as egocentric through his unethical actions that he thought would benefit his self worth, but really the actions destroyed his life. Zaroff feels “The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong… I hunt the scum of the earth: sailors from tramp ships--lassars, blacks, Chinese, whites,
A man gets hunted by another man on the deserted Ship-Trap Island in the middle of the Caribbean. Rainsford, the protagonist in “The Most Dangerous Game”, a short story written by Richard Connell, gets hunted by General Zaroff. Rainsford abounds with fear, making him crazy. General Zaroff’s arrogance causes him to feel that he possesses the right to hunt the people he captures. His arrogance causes him to commit gruesome things; in this case, murder. Prior to becoming another man’s prey, Rainsford feels that animals have no feelings, but he sympathizes for animals being hunted after he himself becomes prey. His feelings and opinions transform after this experience. “The Most Dangerous Game” consists of three central themes: fear makes an individual crazy, arrogance causes hurtful actions, and some experiences have the potential to alter an individual’s opinion.
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
Being lost in an island, hungry, and tired is not an everyday thing. So Rainsford being in that situation, had no other choice than except Zaroff’s generosity. Zaroff gave Rainsford clothes, food and, a place to sleep. Zaroff tells Rainsford to join him for dinner, and Rainsford went to the dinner room as told. Sitting down eating there meal. The two men’s starts a conversation and starts to talk about their lives. Zaroff learns a lot of things about Rainsford and so does Rainsford. Rainsford learns that Zaroff is a smart man and a hunter just like him, but Zaroff him hunting people is part of things that he hunts for. Zaroff on another hand learns that Rainsford is a pretty smart, educated man and lastly a hunter.4
Connell first demonstrates the General’s proud heart on page seventy. There is a conversation between Rainsford and General Zaroff and Rainsford starts with the question, “But the animal, General Zaroff? Oh, it supplies me with the most exciting hunting in the world… But no animal can reason, … there is one that can. But you can’t mean - And why not?” The General is referring that he resulted into hunting humans. Earlier, he expresses how this sport was becoming tedious and needed something that can reason, which no animal can do, except humans; without reluctance, he turns to them to fulfill his personal needs. General Zaroff is a part of World War I before he returns to hunting. Because of his experiences in the war, he believes that it is acceptable to murder human beings out of pleasure, while Rainsford disagrees. Overall, General Zaroff is betraying his egotistic side by being willing to kill humans for his
Nevertheless, their morals are oxymorons that take deviating approaches in regards to humanity. With this intention, “Must’ve been a fairly large animal… hunter had the nerve to tackle it with a light gun”(20). In like manner, “Not many men know how to make a Malay man-catcher”(32). Rainsford's knowledge of hunting proves that he had a passion for learning how to hunt, because when you choose to learn more about something you retain information easier. Likewise, “I have but one passion in my life, Mr. Rainsford, and it is the hunt”(22). In the same fashion, “My hand was made for the trigger … I have hunted every kind of game in the land”(24). Zaroff, in the same way, has his own love for the hunt but Zaroff focused more on his natural talents and his results in hunting. Be that as it may, Zaroff and Rainsford also have their differences; “ Hunting? Good god, General Zaroff what you speak of is murder” (25). Rainsford was repulsed by Zaroff’s morals in regards to humanity illustrating Rainsford's compassion and love towards humanity. On the contrary, “The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure… I hunt the scum of the earth”(25). Zaroff Believes that Rainsford’s compassion towards humanity is his weakness. Zaroff’s maverick originates from his moral viewpoints on humanity and that he is performing his civil duty when hunting. Consequently, the exploited differences in Rainsford’s and Zaroff's morals outweigh their mutual love for
Considering the fact that murder seems to be a big issue in today's world, it is something we need to talk about in many senses of the word. The number of homicides seem to be a record high, at least in Topeka, Kansas. In other places, murder, in many senses of the word, has been an issue. The new class Why People Become Murderers (or Resisting the Urge) needs pieces of literature to help understand the topic of murder. Literature to consider at this point is “Killings” and The Cow. These are great literary examples to consider because of the contrasting viewpoints.
In the story the most dangerous game the character Rainsford and general Zaroff are similar and different. One thing similar is that they are both hunters. Rainsford feels that there are two types of people in the world the hunters and the hunts general Zaroff believes that life is for the strong, this show that both character view world in block and while. Rainsford perspective change, Zaroff the general is a cruel person. Rainsford was knew what animals is going to hunting but