The Most Dangerous Game Man and the Natural World Quotes
How we cite our quotes: (Part.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Don't talk rot, Whitney," said Rainsford. "You're a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?" (1.10)
Rainsford definitely functions under the man vs. nature model. He does sort of concede here that a jaguar feels, just that he doesn’t care how it feels.
Quote #2
"Even so, I rather think they understand one thing—fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death." (1.13)
Of our small cast and crew here, Whitney is definitely the most sympathetic. So why does he hunt?
Quote #3
“But sometimes I think sailors have an extra sense that tells them when they are in danger. Sometimes I think evil is a tangible thing--with wave lengths, just as sound and light have. An evil place can, so to speak, broadcast vibrations of evil.” (1.25)
Superstition is based on the idea that we have a sense of things that go beyond reason and rational explanation. So are the sailors superstitious—or just right?
Quote #4
The hunter had his nerve with him to tackle it with a light gun. It's clear that the brute put up a fight. (1.44)
Well, Rainsford hasn’t really matched up the whole weapon prey thing, but he is able to deduce a few clues from the scene of the crime.
Quote #5
"Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow," remarked the general, "but he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. A simple fellow, but, I'm afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage." (1.58)
Well Zaroff just picks and chooses his savages. What’s a little confusing here is that they are both Cossacks, so if Ivan is a savage doesn’t that make Zaroff one, too? Or is that the whole point of the remark?
Quote #6
About the hall were mounted heads of many animals—lions, tigers, elephants, moose, bears; larger or more perfect specimens Rainsford had never seen. (1.65)
Zaroff’s trophy room is impressive. In a move we totally approve of, Rainsford declines the invitation to see the room with the mounted human heads.
Quote #7
“And hunting, remember, had been my life. I have heard that in America businessmen often go to pieces when they give up the business that has been their life." (1.90)
Forget for a minute that Americans can’t retire in this economy—why is Zaroff so preoccupied with Americans? It seems a strange analogy for a Crimean aristocrat.
Quote #8
"Surely your experiences in the war—"
"Did not make me condone cold-blooded murder," finished Rainsford stiffly. (1.116)
Does Zaroff make Rainsford condone cold-blooded murder—or does Rainsford get there on his own?