Compare And Contrast Rainsford And Zaroff

In the story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell the protagonist, Rainsford, a very skilled hunter, falls of a ship and finds himself on Ship-Trap Island, where he meets the antagonist, General Zaroff. Rainsford discovers that Zaroff is also an intelligent hunter and is disgusted to discover that he plays a dangerous game in which he hunts humans that he catches on his island, Rainsford becomes his next participant. Rainsford and Zaroff have a lot of similar beliefs about hunting, social classes, and the feelings of their prey and they are both very intelligent hunters. However, Rainsford’s hunting knowledge causes Zaroff’s first loss in his game because Rainsford is the better hunter. Rainsford and Zaroff both showcase their love and knowledge for hunting in the text.

Rainsford and Zaroff have also both had similar hunting experiences. During when Rainsford and Zaroff played Zaroff’s game, Rainsford set up hunting traps that are commonly used on animals to stop Zaroff from hunting him down. When Zaroff found the first trap he said, “Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher.”(14) When Zaroff found the second trap he said, “Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my best dogs.”(14) Zaroff was familiar with both of the hunting traps that Rainsford used. This shows Zaroff and Rainsford have gone through similar hunting experiences and have both been in situations that they’ve had to use these hunting traps. Rainsford and Zaroff both divide the world into two similar classes. Rainsford claims, “The world is made up of two classes--the hunters and the huntees.”(1) Zaroff says, “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs to be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure.”(9) They both believe in the concept of survival of the fittest, or that the more dominant individual