Do the charactrrs in this story make some comments that you felt strongly about?

Although this is primarily an escape or entertainment story, I found some of Zaroff's comments quite interesting. Zaroff's hunting of men is highly logical, as shown from the passage. His sound thought process makes his desire to hunt Rainsford all the more terrifying. This passage is also somewhat of a moral statement as it demonstrates the way that humans, through higher cognitive function, can revert back to a more heathen state. It also reminds us that humans are mamals and subject to the same laws of survival of the fittest as animals are. It is a paradox that haunts the text.

"I wanted an ideal animal to hunt," explained the general. "So I said: 'What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?' And the answer was of course: 'It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason.'"