General Zaroff is crazy, insane, mad, however one might say it. Yet underneath the madness there is a man, A man who had a life before insanity. A man with a story before he lost all feelings for other humans and a man who once was like other people, who hunted animals, a man who belonged to a special group. This essay is about this man. This essay will explain the background story, the life, of this man. It will make him be seen in a way never before. He may be crazy, but he once was a man.
General Zaroff is a polite man with a slight Cossack accent who loves fine clothes and only wants the best of everything. He grew up in Russia, from a wealthy family. Although past middle age with a head of white hair, his mustache and eyebrows are as dark as the night. Zaroff loves to hunt, although what he hunts is odd, he had not always hunted very dangerous prey. This is shown in this sentence- " About the hall were the mounted heads of many animals-lions, tigers, elephants, moose, bears; larger or more perfect specimens Rainsford had never seen." Although he can be very agreeable to some subjects, he is also quick to disagree. When Rainsford mentioned that he thought Cape Buffalo were the most dangerous of all big game, Zaroff replies " No. You are wrong, sir. The Cape Buffalo is not the most dangerous game. Here in my preserve on the island, I hunt more dangerous game."
It is obvious that Zaroff does not know that he is crazy. He thinks that hunting humans is perfectly normal for a man mad that animals do not think well. He also shows surprise when Rainsford does not want to hunt the captured men below with him. It is really shown that he doesn't know he is crazy in this following quote - " And now, I want to show you my new collection of heads." Rainsford's reaction to this, naturally, was shock and bewilderment. Zaroff doesn't even know why Rainsford doesn't want to see them because to him, its perfectly natural for a man bored of regular hunting. Zaroff seems genuinely sad when Rainsford refused, thus making Zaroff have to hunt and then kill Rainsford. His exact quote is " As you wish, my friend. The choice rests with you. But may I not venture to suggest that you will find my idea of sport more entertaining than Ivan's." This last part meant that he could either be hunted down by Zaroff or beat to death by Ivan.
Zaroff is a smart man. This is shown through some examples. He got bored of hunting because he always killed what he was hunting. He trapped ships by flashing lights right where rocks that sink ships stood, thus having the ships get wrecked against the rocks. He also evades three of the traps that Rainsford sets for him. One of his greatest flaws is that he cannot see what is wrong about hunting men, and that is what kills him in the end. In this quote, he explains about how he catches ships' crews. " This island is called Ship Trap. Sometimes an angry god of the high seas sends them to me. Sometimes, when Providence is not so kind, I help Providence a bit. Come to the window with me." He then presses a button and some lights flash by the river. The lights are supposed to look like a lighthouse and they lead the ships and their crews to their doom. He then trains to survive and makes them set out on the island, and then huntz and kills them.
He also displays smartness when he says he enjoys the problems of hunting. He even knows that he is smart. " I had no wish to go to pieces. I must do something. Now mine is an analytical mind, Mr. Rainsford. Doubtless that is why I enjoy the problems of hunting."
All in all, General Zaroff is a man of many traits. He is smart. He is insane. He is a hunter. But underneath it, he is a man. Although he hunts humans and murders them, he turns out to be true to his word. In the end, he shows that while being a cold blooded murderer, he still has some respect. And that's what matters.
