The Most Dangerous Game

Describe General Zaroff's physical appearance. Describe General Zaroff's personality.

Describe General Zaroff's physical appearance. Describe General Zaroff's personality.

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From the text:

Rainsford's first impression was that the man was singularly handsome; his second was that there was an original, almost bizarre quality about the general's face. He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very bright. He had high cheekbones, a sharpcut nose, a spare, dark face--the face of a man used to giving orders, the face of an aristocrat.

Zaroff is a man of contradictions. While being an extremely "civilized" man in the sense that he is knowledgeable about aspects of high culture, he also presents himself as barbaric. The entire island is a contradiction. The lavish house stands starkly against the dark jungle where the hunt occurs. In some ways, Zaroff can be seen as a stand-in for humanity. The same irony that Zaroff presents in "The Most Dangerous Game" is also present at the pinnacle of civilization today - highly advanced and educated civilizations still murdering each other over land and resources.

Source(s)

The Most Dangerous Game; http://www.gradesaver.com/the-most-dangerous-game/study-guide/themes