The Mysterious Character Of Zaroff In Rainford's Book Thief

General Zaroff is becoming like an animal because he is beginning to look and act like an animal. When Rainsford was swept on the island he met a man that seemed normal but the more time that he spent there the more he realised that there was something off about him. His eyes ,too, were black and very bright(Connell,pg.4). Zaroff's eyes are becoming less human like and more animal like because he is becoming more dangerous. Zaroff may have done something to his eyes that would intimidate whatever he is hunting. Rainsford asked General Zaroff where him and his servant are from. “He is a Cossack,” said the general, and his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth(pg.4). Zaroff looks like what a dangerous animal would look like after eating their

He is another example that the quote, "You are most yourself when you're alone." does not apply to him. Throughout all of the story, he is shown as honorable, and cunning. All throughout the story, even when he could have died or killed another, Zaroff keeps his hunter prowess and honor. "Rainsford," called the general, "if you are within sound of my voice, as I suppose you are, let me congratulate you. Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher. Luckily for me I, too, have hunted in Malacca. You are proving interesting, Mr. Rainsford. I am going now to have my wound dressed; it's only a slight one. But I shall be back. I shall be back." this shows us that Zaroff, even in the face of death, will still honor the person trying to kill

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

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

No family or friends of Zaroff are mentioned, and the only emotion he shows in the story is when his doorkeeper, Ivan, is killed by Rainsford. This seems to indicate that Zaroff has no emotional ties to anyone, and puts himself first (Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game).

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

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

Zaroff is comparing a game of chess to the killing of another human. He is very excited and enthusiastic about the thoughts of hunting a human being. Throughout the story, Zaroff’s cruel and inhuman characteristics are shown by the way he talked to Rainsford about his hunting of humans. He shows no compassion and is actually excited about the possibility of hunting

In the story Zaroff thinks it's not a problem if he kills the innocent people for fun. This mindset of his is openly showing signs of being a protagonist and going to do evil things throughout the story. In his conversation with Rainsford he clearly states that, "Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong,, andif needs be, taken by the strong.” He states that he should be aloud to kill just because in his mind only the strong people in the world have the will to live. When Zaroff says "Thank you, I'm a hunter, not a murderer." Also states that he thinks that he's not a murderer he's simply a hunter. Which means in his way of thinking or the way he looks at it what he's doing is not wrong he's hunting them, trying to figure out whose strong and who is not. He decides to hunt humans because he says there the only match for him no other animal is enjoyable for him to hunt. He has the sense of superiority that humans were the only thing left. Zaroff then states “The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure.” He thinks his actions are justifiable and that that's what the weak people are here for to give the more stronger and equip people pleasure. Zaroff then says “I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not?” In his mind since he is a good strong hunter why should not he be able to hunt he calls this a gift and takes a lot of pride in it. This is another statement he says showing he thinks what he is doing is good, eliminating what he says “scum of the earth” so the strong are the ones to live.

When he tracked Rainsford to the tree he was hiding in, Zaroff felt that taking Rainsford would have been too easy so he left him for another day’s sport. Near the end of the story, Zaroff continued to see Rainsford is an adversary. The General came to see Rainsford as a formidable opponent. When Zaroff faced Rainsford in his bedroom he had to realize that Rainsford was presenting him with the danger he sought. The General’s view of Rainsford changed from seeing Rainsford as a fellow hunter to seeing him as an opponent he could not defeat.

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

When Rainsford fell off the yacht he found the house that Zaroff was living in. Zaroff was holding “a long-barreled revolver” and he was aiming it directly at “Rainsford's [torso]” (Connell 23). When Rainsford got to the house and Zaroff was holding the revolver to his chest, he would have been shocked to have a radical greeting. When Zaroff figured out who it was he greeted him inside and started to talk about hunting and how Zaroff has so many heads. ...

Rainsford thought what Zarroff did was murder, not hunt. “Hunting? Good God, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder.” (Connell 34). Rainsford was repealed by the fact that general kills humans for fun. Rainsford was shocked that Rainsford kills humans. Rainsford was stating that he was not a murderer he was a hunter. “Thank you, I'm a hunter, not a murderer.” (Connell 34). He'd rather be himself (a hunter) instead of like him(a murderer). Rainsford was shown all the human heads taken by Zarroff. “I want to show you my collection of heads. Will you come to me to the library?” “I hope said rainsford, “that you will excuse me tonight, general zaroff. I’m really not feeling at all well” (Connell 29). Rainsford doesn't like his ways so he wouldn’t want to be like him. Rainsford does not want to be like general Zarroff because the human heads Zarroff had disgusted

When they start to talk about hunting later, Zaroff talks about how he used to hunt since he was five, and then joined the army years later, hunting more animals as the years went by, until they became too easy for him. Zaroff then talks about an ideal animal, saying, “I wanted the ideal animal to hunt. So i said, what are the attributes to an ideal quarry? and the answer was of course, it must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason,” (8). Another is Zaroff mainly hunts for the wrong reason. When Zaroff has been hunting for most of his life, animals became less of a challenge for him, and decided to hunt for humans. Rainsford, who has also been hunting for a long time, was doing so to publish books and tell stories of what he’s done. Later on while they talk about hunting the next day, while Rainsford accused Zaroff for murder, Zaroff is endangering basically innocent sailors, and explains, “Sometimes and angry god of the high seas sends them to me.” When he turned on the lights to show Rainsford, he explains, “They indicate a channel, where there’s none; giant rocks with razor edges crouch like a sea monster with wide-open jaws. They have crush a ship as easily as crush this nut,” (9). So he uses a machine which no one could see, then crush the ship to bring them on to the

Zaroff thought he was going to get the best of Rainsford with everything he told him and everything he had saw. Zaroff was a pretty convincing guy, he wanted Rainsford to stay well he let him stay and start a conversation about him telling him about his self and how he ended up on his forbidden island. Rainsford had no clue of what was going on he just thought he was just a nice guy and everything.