The Most Dangerous Game

Is General Zaroff Civilized or Uncivilized?
Marc Bekoff once said, “These enthusiasts often like to hang signs that say ‘Gone Fishin’’ or ‘Gone Huntin’’. But what these slogans really mean is ‘Gone Killing’”. In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Sanger Rainsford falls into the water on Shiptrap Island. He goes in search for food and finds a palatial chateau. General Zaroff gives him food and clothes. But, then Rainsford finds out about General Zaroff’s game and wants to leave the island immediately and instead of letting him go, the general wants to hunt Rainsford. In the end, Rainsford ends up winning the “game” and gets to sleep in the bed at the palatial chateau. Even though General Zaroff seems civilized with his polite actions, he is actually uncivilized because he is mentally unstable.
One way that General Zaroff is mentally unstable is because he is a murderer. When Rainsford and General Zaroff are talking about hunting, General Zaroff mentions that there is only one animal that can reason with him and that is why they are the most dangerous, Rainsford finally gets that he means he is a murderer. When he asks what he means though, General Zaroff explains, “‘It’s and game you see’, pursued the general blandly, ‘I suggest to one of them that we go hunting. I give him a supply of food and an excellent hunting knife. I give him a three hours’ head start. I am to follow, armed only with a pistol of the smallest caliber and range. If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. If I find him’ -the general smiled- ‘he loses’” (66). By this, General Zaroff means that he kills the man. Then, Rainsford asks what happens if the man refuses to be hunted. General Zaroff then explains that the man has a choice between getting whipped by Ivan, his servant, or the hunt and they usually choose the hunt. While General Zaroff is explaining that, he also explains that he has not lost yet. Another way that General Zaroff is proven a murderer is because of how he has a collection of human heads. He explains that one person almost did win and that he had to take his dogs with him to take care of it. Once he shows Rainsford his dogs he asks him, “‘And now’, said the general ‘I want to show you my new collection of heads. Will you come with me to the library?’” (66). Rainsford then has to run out of the room and to bed because he then explains that is not feeling well. The heads are another way of showing that he is a murderer because you can only suspect that his collection of heads is human heads because just moments before, they were talking about how he is hunting people. Overall, General Zaroff is mentally unstable by being a murderer because he plays a hunting game with humans and has a collection of human heads. Another way that General Zaroff is mentally unstable is because of his philosophy on life. General Zaroff has just explained to Rainsford that he hunts humans and Rainsford calls it murder. General Zaroff then tells Rainsford that his beliefs of right and wrong are particularly the wrong way to live life. He then explains his philosophy as “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if need be, taken by the strong. 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—sailors from tramp ships—lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels—a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them” (64). General Zaroff is kind of explaining that he hunts all types of people and that if you are not like him, he will hunt you. Another example of how General Zaroff is mentally unstable because of his philosophy on life is that he could have just killed Rainsford when he found him, but instead he played him. He blew a circle of smoke at him as if to look like a target, and then turned around and went home. When Rainsford finally realizes that, he describes it as “The general was playing with him! The general was saving him for another day’s sport! The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse” (70). In these words, General Zaroff was trying to explain that Rainsford needed to hide better because he had already found him. General Zaroff was giving Rainsford a chance to live because he could have killed Rainsford right then and there. Overall, General Zaroff is mentally unstable because of his philosophy on life. Although General Zaroff may seem civilized by his polite actions, he is actually uncivilized because he is mentally unstable.