The Most Dangerous Game

The character General Zaroff in The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell is presented With contrasting personality traits. [Discuss two of these traits that illustrate this contrast and how the two traits contribute to the total picture of the character] In Richard Connells story The Most Dangerous Game the character General Zaroff is presented With contrasting personality traits. Two of these characteristics are his[refinement] and his [savagery] [Zaroffs characteristic of refinement made him to become so good of a hunter, that he could hunt anything and still get bored] (Zaroff lives on an island called Ship-trap Island With a servant and dogs.) {His house is a huge castle-like house surrounded by aJungIe, in which he hunts.) (Connell describes Zaroffs refinement here, I do not feel so well. I am worried Mr. Rainsford.

Last night | detected traces of my old complaint. .,.Ennui, Boredom. …The hunting was not good last night. …He made a trail that offered no problems at all.) (This passage shows how refined Zaroff is by that he has perfected himself as a hunter.) (It said in the passage that he had detected old traces of his boredom, which relates to him being refined because Zaroff has polished his hunting up so much that he gets bored when he does it.) (Zaroffs refinement plays a vital role in contrasting his personality traits.) (General Zaroffs refined character is also expressed as a wealthy, civilized person.) (He drinks the finest of wines and has the finest, high quality furniture, such as the table appointments.

Zaroff shows his refinement here, Rainsford noted the table appointments were of the finest-the linen, the crystal, the silver, the china. (This passage shows how Zaroff is so cmlized even though he lives on an uninhabited island by himself.) (He has the finest of everything to make him feel like he is in a ciwlized place when really is not.) (Zaroffs refined personality trait is showed in a different way in the second passage, which will help contrast with his other trait.) [In addition to illustrating General Zaroffs refined side. Connell also reveals the Generals savage side when he hunts, which shows his two contrasting personality traits.] (Trying to find the perfect prey to hunt, Zaroff uses humans to make his game more exciting) (Zaroffs traits are contrasted here, I wanted the ideal animal to hunt, ,..What are the attributes of an ideal quarry? ,..it must have courage, cunning, and above all, it must be able to reason.)

The passage explains General Zaroffs savagery. by him trying to find the most challenging animal to hunt. even if it means to kill a person. The general is so obsessed wtth finding the most dangerous game that he overlooks committing the crime of murder, which is ironic because of his refinement, being cmlized, and most ciVIIized people dont kill people for fun.) (The generals savagery is also depicted here, I hunt the scum of the earth- sailors from tramp ships— Iascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels .,.It gives me pleasure. This paragraph heavily contrasts Zaroffs personality traits. General Zaroff says that he hunts the scum of the earth, so if HE thinks they are scum, it is okay to kill them. Zaroff also said that it gives him pleasure to hunt humans, which characterizes him as a savage man) Zaroffs contrasting personality traits are important because they help outline part of the story

The Most Dangerous Game” are examples of foil characters with two very different personlaties as well as characteristics. These two characters are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Zaroff is the hunter and Rainsford is the prey in this story. Also, General Zaroff has very unethical ideas and hobbies. This is very different from Rainsford’s humane beliefs. Lastly, Zaroff is far more ostentatious compared to Rainsford, who is more resourceful with his hunting experience.

It is clear that their character traits differ greatly. To begin, Zaroff and Rainsford have two very different roles in “The Most Dangerous Game”. General Zaroff is perceived as the hunter and Rainsford is the prey. Zaroff presents a “game” where the two characters hunt each other. Although Rainsford wins this “game”, Zaroff is known as the hunter. This is because he is known for hunting humans. He has also never lost this “game” to any of his other opponents. Rainsford is seen as the prey (prior to him winning) because he is against hunting humans and considers it murder.

He also appears to be afraid of Zaroff in he beginning. ” I wish to leave this island at once” (Connel 175). This represents his fear. Knowing this, it is automatically assumed that Zaroff will hunt and kill Rainsford. To continue, the two characters are considered foils because they have different beliefs and morals. General Zaroff is open about his hobby of hunting humans. He even ridicules Rainsford by saying that he “harbors romantic ideas about the value of human life” (Connel 172). On the other hand, Rainsford’s character hunts animals. He considers it murder to hunt human beings.

Zaroffs reason for hunting humans is hat they are able to reason with the hunter, therefore making it more of a challenge to hunt them. One possible reason for this difference of morals are the nationality of the two men. General Zaroff is Russian while Rainsford is American. This could explain the difference because the culture and lifestyle of the two countries could cause its citizens to act in certain ways. Additionally, Zaroff and Rainsford are foil characters because of their behavior and character. In the story General Zaroff is ostentatious while Rainsford is more resourceful.

Zaroff shows off his home and lifestyle when Rainsford is there. He also appears bossy in the story. He orders around Ivan and seems to brag about the people he is training in his basement. This might also be a reason that Zaroff loses the “game”. “‘To date I have not lost,’ he said” (Connel 174). He underestimates Rainsford’s abilities and is too confident about himself. He is sure that he will win the game. Rainsford is considered resourceful because he uses features of the forest to build traps for Zaroff and his dogs multiple times in the story. He also uses his Knowledge 0T nuntlng to create a trall tnats OITTlcult to Tollow Dy Laron.

RalnsTora relies on his talents while Zaroff seems to rely on other sources such as the hounds. In conclusion, General Zaroff and Rainsford represent foil characters in “The Most Dangerous Game”. They are two extremely different people with different beliefs and traits. Zaroffs character is an amoral one who likes to hunt humans. His character is also depicted as the showy and arrogant hunter. Rainsford on the other hand is ethical compared to Zaroff. He is also seen as the prey of the story. General Zaroff and Rainsford are very obvious examples of foil characters.

Critical Analysis Essay “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury Imagine using a time machine to hunt one of the biggest dinosaurs of all kind. Ray Bradbury’s plot makes the reader wonder in our minds which leads us to hints and makes us foreshadow that something bad is going to happen next. The short story A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury uses imagery, figurative language, and tone to create the mood of bone-chilling, nightmare, and seriousness.

The imagery in the story supports the mood of bone-chilling by describing the jungle and everything in it. “The fog that enveloped the machine blew away and they were in an old time. ” The author describes it to us making us think something horrible is going happen. The author says “the jungle was wide full of twittering, rustlings, murmurs, and sighs,” this sentence helps us know what the jungle looks like which is bone chilling. He describes the jungle as broad also and it is an entire world forever and forever.

The way the author describes the dinosaurs makes it bone chilling, “it’s armored flesh glittered like a thousand green coins. ” “The coins crusted with slime, steamed. ” The author uses imagery to help us create the mood of bone chilling. The figurative language in the story supports the mood of nightmare by describing the dinosaur. The author describes the dinosaur like a thousand green coins, it’s armored flesh. Like a stone idol, a mountain avalanche, the dinosaur fell.

The author used a simile to describe the dinosaur as an avalanche because the dinosaur is humongous. He uses figurative language to make the story nightmarish and to let us know how big and dangerous the dinosaur is. The use of tone supports the mood of seriousness by Travis telling Eckles not to get out of the path. By Travis telling Eckles not to get out of the path so many times the reader can foreshadow that he might step outside and he might change the future.

They tell Eckles to shoot on the red paint on the dinosaur and nowhere else because the one they kill were going to die. Travis uses a serious tone after they almost got killed by Eckeles and says “this fool nearly killed us. ” The use of a serious tone lets the reader predict something bad is going to happen. The author did a good job by letting readers foreshadow by their hints in the story. The short story A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury uses imagery, figurative language, and tone to create the mood of bone-chilling, nightmarish, and seriousness.

Through the use of imagery the reader was able to create the mood of bone chilling when he describes the dinosaur so hauntingly. Through figurative language the reader thinks the mood of nightmarish because how he describes the jungle so broad and high. Finally, through the use of tone the reader could feel the mood of seriousness because how Travis tells Eckles not to step outside of the path and not to shoot dinosaurs without red paint. By reading this story it tells the readers that if you do not listen and change something there will be consequences.

“It is a very great pleasure and honour to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter, into my home. ” These are the first words spoken to Rainsford by General Zaroff upon his arrival on Ship-trap Island. Formally greeting Rainsford gives Zaroff an appearance of a proper gentleman; well-educated and well-mannered. But by his dark eyes, military moustache, and strong face you can also tell that he is obviously a strong leader and military general.

Behind his high cheek bones, white hair and sharp nose is a strange madness not reflected by his looks. Murdering fellow human beings despite his proper look provides a stark contrast between what is seen on the outside and what personality lies on the inside. Much better described then the other characters in the story, General Zaroff is obviously a “round” character in the story “A Most Dangerous Game”.

Through his words and actions we are given a deeper view of the General Zaroff character and from that information it is easy to assume his way of thinking and his reason for making certain decisions. Giving General Zaroff’s character a lot of depth creates the perfect “round” character. Sticking to his belief that killing humans is great fun and more of a sport then murder through the entire story, General Zaroff is a static character who obviously never learned a lesson from his experiences.

Arrogant, proud, and inconsiderate to the great value of life, General Zaroff is a pretty bad guy. ‘But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reach the limb on which Rainsford lay; a smile crept across his face… he turned his back on the tree and walked carelessly away. ’ In this short couple of sentences, the author demonstrates the arrogance of Zaroff. To demonstrate his inconsiderateness to the value of human life, Zaroff, when asked why he could do such a thing (hunt another human being) he answers, “Ennui. Boredom. By hunting Rainsford, Zaroff demonstrates that he is looking for a worthy opponent and by not sending him off with the others who got trapped on the island to exercise and gain muscle he obviously sees Rainsford, a fellow hunter, as a worthy opponent. Casually walking away from the tree he knew that Rainsford was in shows that because he knew exactly where Rainsford was, he wanted to give him another try to escape, mostly because he expected a lot more from him and was still bored because Rainsford was too easy to track.

By saying things like, “Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher…” and, “Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my best dogs. Again you score. ” shows that he is obviously impressed by Rainsford’s intelligence and creativity. The author tells us a lot about General Zaroff in many different ways as to give contrast to the character. Though the things he says and does are very much the same, his physical appearance (shown by what the author tells us about him) is very difficult then how he behaves throughout the story.