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Aidan Dattada
Mr. Taylor
English I
9 January 2019
People afflicted with Antisocial Personality Disorder, or ASPD, are commonly referred
to as “psychopaths” or “sociopaths”, though these are not official mental health terms (Bressert).
As these people tend to isolate themselves, it can be difficult to identify them. One person you
may not have considered to have Antisocial Personality Disorder is General Zaroff from Richard
Connell’s short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”. ASPD is characterized by failure to
conform to social norms, deceitfulness, reckless disregard for the safety of others, and a lack of
remorse among other symptoms (Bressert). General Zaroff is a big game hunter who becomes
disillusioned with his usual quarry, and in seeking the thrill of hunting, designs an island for the
sole purpose of hunting the only creature that could reason: man (Connell 12-16). General Zaroff
has Antisocial Personality Disorder because he is shown to fail to conform to social norms, to be
deceitful, to act without regard for the safety of others, and to have no remorse for hurting others.
Zaroff fails to conform to social norms and is deceitful. In “The Most Dangerous Game”,
Zaroff is revealed to use an elaborate trap to destroy passing ships such that he can capture the
sailors of said vessel and use them as his game (Connell 12-14). Failure to conform to social
norms manifests in many as a disregard for the law, often leading to criminal behavior (Bressert).
In the case of General Zaroff, his actions are without regard for the law and are undoubtedly
criminal. The method Zaroff employs to capture sailors involves a flashing light which falsely
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indicates a strait where there is, in fact, a rocky shore, a setup which can “crush a ship as easily
as I crush this nut.” (Zaroff says this as he steps on a walnut) (Connell 14). After capturing the
sailors in this way, Zaroff details the game to them, saying he will hunt with “only a pistol of the
smallest caliber and range.” (Connell 16). It is then revealed that this is untrue, as he also is
shown to have used a pack of large hunting dogs to win against a more elusive sailor (Connell
16). Zaroff is deceitful twice throughout this process. The lights he uses to destroy ships are
deceitful in that they (and by extension he) deliberately flash a false message to approaching
ships (Connell 14). His description of the game to his captives is deceitful as he withholds vital
information about the dangers they are to face. Diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder is
made when the majority of 7 symptoms are possessed. Zaroff has been shown to have 2 of these
so far.
Zaroff acts without regard for the safety of others and acts without remorse, even when
he hurts others. As described earlier, Zaroff uses an elaborate trap to capture sailors (Connell 14).
Reckless disregard for the safety of others can manifest as the deliberate endangerment of others
for the gain of the self. Zaroff’s illusionary strait is the deliberate endangerment of sailors such
that he can use them for his own purposes. In his conversation with Rainsford where he describes
the game, Zaroff speaks not with regret for killing people, but with a rationalization for his
atrocities by dehumanizing the sailors with xenophobic speech (Connell 12-18). Acting without
remorse can exhibit itself as rationalizing ill behavior, a trait Zaroff demonstrates here (Bressert).
Antisocial Personality Disorder can be diagnosed when at least 4 of seven symptoms are shown
by a person (Bressert). Zaroff has been shown to fail to conform to social norms, be deceitful, act
with reckless disregard for the safety of others, and to be without remorse for his actions.
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Despite the evidence supporting General Zaroff having ASPD, it could be argued that he
has Avoidant Personality Disorder, but with that, the issue arises of there not being enough
definitive evidence in “The Most Dangerous Game” to demonstrate Zaroff meeting diagnostic
criteria. Those who believe Zaroff to have Avoidant Personality Disorder think his isolation to
embody a general avoidance of social situations, one of the symptoms of Avoidant Personality
Disorder (“Avoidant”). Although Zaroff does live in isolation and could generally avoid social
situations, he is not shown to have other symptoms of Avoidant Personality Disorder, such as a
evidence presented in “The Most Dangerous Game”, a strong argument cannot be formed for a
Zaroff has been shown to meet enough criteria of ASPD to be diagnosed. Four symptoms
are necessary; failure to conform to social norms, deceitful behavior, reckless disregard for the
safety of others, and a lack of remorse has been demonstrated. General Zaroff has been shown,
without a doubt, to meet the criteria of Antisocial Personality Disorder and for that reason, it can
Works Cited
www.webmd.com/mental-health/avoidant-personality-disorders
psychcentral.com/disorders/antisocial-personality-disorder/symptoms/
Connell, Richard. “The Most Dangerous Game.” Elements of Literature, Holt, Rinehart and