A psychopath is a person with a mental disorder highlighted by abnormal or violent social behavior. That General Zaroff hunts down and kills men for no good reason other than his own pleasure is evidence enough to label him as a psychopath. Moreover, he has gone to great lengths to indulge in his sick hobby by buying his own island in a remote area and building a "palatial chateau." Zaroff might also be considered a...
A psychopath is a person with a mental disorder highlighted by abnormal or violent social behavior. That General Zaroff hunts down and kills men for no good reason other than his own pleasure is evidence enough to label him as a psychopath. Moreover, he has gone to great lengths to indulge in his sick hobby by buying his own island in a remote area and building a "palatial chateau." Zaroff might also be considered a sociopath in his utter lack of remorse and his extreme egocentric perspective of the world. Up to the very end of his life, Zaroff never seems to realize that what he is doing is wrong and actually believes that it is his right to hunt men. He tells Rainsford,
"The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not hunt? 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."
This total lack of regard for the feelings and fears of others definitely marks Zaroff as a deeply disturbed individual and makes the label psychopath relevant in any discussion of his character. Ironically, in other ways Zaroff is highly cultured and civilized. He even reads from the "works of Marcus Aurelius," the Roman emperor who wrote about ethics and how men should be judged by their treatment of other men.
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