Dylan Rohr 1

Dylan Rohr

Honors English I

Ms. Price

31 May 2019

General Zaroff’s Secret Unveiled

What could possibly turn a Russian General into a human hunting monster? Someone

who fought for his own country would never huntdown shipwrecked sailors for fun unless he

truly went insane. The only way to explain such a tragic situation is to understand the reality of

what had happened. There is an obscured disorder that means much more than just not wanting

to talk to people. It is known that those affected tend to do only what they want and do not feel

bad when others are negatively affected by it. General Zaroff from Richard Connell’s ​The Most

Dangerous Game​ has an antisocial personality disorder because of his deception, violation of

physical and emotional rights of others, and inability to feel sympathy.

Zaroff’s uncanny way of making a lost sailor, Rainsford, feel at home on his island was

impressive, but also a major symptom of his disorder. According to Medlineplus.gov, “A person

with antisocial personality disorder may be able to act witty and charming [and] be good at

flattery and manipulating other people's emotions,” (Antisocial Personality Disorder). This

means that some with an antisocial personality disorder may be very deceiving. They may come

off as a good person, but because of their disorder they prove to have other intentions. After

Rainsford washed ashore, Zaroff says this to him, “We do our best here to preserve the amenities

of civilization here. Please forgive any lapses. We are well off the beaten track, you know. Do

you think the champagne has suffered from its long ocean trip?” (Connell). As seen by this quote
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among others, Zaroff tries his best to comfort the sailor and make him feel at home. Zaroff is

making sure that Rainsford likes him and charms him into forgetting about his need to get home.

This display of giving Rainsford a false sense of security is just one symptom that proves

General Zaroff is suffering from an antisocial personality disorder. The others are what turned

him into the monster he was.

Zaroff’s second major visible symptom is his inability to recognize the wrong in his

morbid hobby of hunting humans as sport. Kendra Cherry, a physco sociologist, claims,

“[People with this disorder] antagonize and often intentionally harm others and are indifferent to

the pain and suffering that other people experience,” (Cherry). This gives people with antisocial

personality disorder a psychopathic side to them, which is why the two disorders are often

closely related. A scary personality develops that is often far from how they used to act. For

example, Zaroff reveals this strange habit to Rainsford in saying, “If I wish to hunt, why should I

not? I hunt the scum of the earth: sailors from tramp ships-- lassars, blacks, Chinese, whites,

mongrels-- a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them,” (Connell) This

was when Zaroff’s charming self went away and more of his inner psychopath began to come

through. He goes on to talk about how overtime the thrill of hunting animals wasn’t the same. No

longer had he been excited and filled with adrenaline when going after new animals. He needed

something new, so he turned to humans. He traps the shipwrecked sailors and forces them to play

his “game”. Up until that point, Zaroff had always won. He outsmarted the uneducated sailors

every time. Numbers cannot count how many people he murdered, Zaroff indifferent to the

mental burden the entire time. If hunting humans is someone’s idea of fun, surely they are

struggling with a disorder as deep as an antisocial.

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Despite the evidence against what people with antisocial personality disorder struggle

with, many people believe that it just means sufferers don’t like crowds or talking to people.

Some people think that this disorder turns them into homebodies, but what they fail to see is the

serious underlying problems that it brings up. Because the Mayo Clinic describes this disorder as

“lacking all interest in others,” many misuse the term antisocial to describe introverts (Antisocial

Personality Disorder). Although the word “antisocial” basically sounds like someone who

doesn’t like to talk to other people, the actual disorder is much more complicated than this. Intra

Scholar outlines this misconception and says, “Confused with being unsocial, being antisocial in

the psychological sense actually means that you display sociopathic tendencies,” (The Difference

Between Introvert And Anti-Social). Infact, not all people with this disorder don’t like to talk to

people. Those who do, take it to the extreme. It is a symptom, but true sufferers struggle with

problems way beyond having no friends. Although it is a common misconception to believe that

antisocials are introverts, the sociopathic side to the disorder is much more prevalent and

mainstream.

In conclusion, General Zaroff was suffering from antisocial personality disorder, because

of his ability to deceive others, and his psychotic tendencies. This disorder is a serious problem

for millions of people around the world. It can be hard to detect at first through simple

conversations, but repeated criminal acts and a tendency to act against societal rules are sure

signs of it. The General is one among a huge population of sufferers who pose a danger to others

and need help. An underfunding of research efforts is a main reason there is a large

misunderstanding surround the severity of the effects. If more was known, maybe the General’s

life could have been saved, along with the hundreds of people he killed. Action needs to happen,
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so human hunting people like Zaroff are found, understood, and treated properly.

Works Cited

“Antisocial Personality Disorder.” ​Mayo Clinic​, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and

Research, 4 Aug. 2017,

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes
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/syc-20353928.

“Antisocial Personality Disorder: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” ​MedlinePlus​, U.S.

National Library of Medicine, medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000921.htm.

Cherry, Kendra. “Symptoms and Treatment Options for Antisocial Personality Disorder.”

Verywell Mind​, Verywell Mind, 13 June 2018,

www.verywellmind.com/antisocial-personality-disorder-2795566.

Connell, Richard Edward. ​The Most Dangerous Game​. CreateSpace Independent Publishing

Platform, 2013.

“The Difference Between Introvert And Anti-Social.” ​IntraScholar​, 1 Dec. 2016,

intrascholar.com/difference-introvert-anti-social/.