Why was General Zaroff disappointed in the big strong sailor? He was not hard to hunt. He ran in a straight line. General Zaroff’s ship will place him on the mainland near a town.

What is Zaroff upset about when he gets home from the failed hunt? Rainsford had refused to play the game. His dog had died. He missed Ivan and was sad to lose his one friend.

Rainsford ends up killing the general in one-on-one combat and rests peacefully in Zaroff’s bed that night. At the end of the story General Zaroff believes that Rainsford has simply given up and jumped off the cliffs and into the sea to meet his death.

zaroff states on page 173: “life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if need, taken by the strong. the weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure.

He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military moustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very bright.

Rainsford said that hunting is the “best sport in the world.” He does not believe the animals suffer the fear of paun or death.

The downside of that decision is that he becomes the hunted. I’ve read an analysis or two that say Rainsford enjoyed killing Zaroff and is likely to begin and enjoy hunting humans too. Basically Rainsford will continue Zaroff’s sadistic tendencies, and that’s why Rainsford slept so well.

Rainsford changed from scared and shocked to brave and/or desperate. In the resolution, Rainsford is able to elude the clutches of General Zaroff by jumping off of the cliff. Not only that, Rainsford is able to survive the fall and possibly even be unhurt.

Sanger Rainsford