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Aidan Dattada

Mr. Taylor

English I

9 January 2019

General Zaroff and Antisocial Personality Disorder

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

preoccupation with criticism or restraint in intimate relationships (“Avoidant”). Based on the

evidence presented in “The Most Dangerous Game”, a strong argument cannot be formed for a

definitive diagnosis of General Zaroff with Avoidant Personality Disorder.

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

be assumed that he is afflicted with it.


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Works Cited

“Avoidant Personality Disorder Symptoms, Treatments, and Complications.” ​WebMD​, WebMD,

www.webmd.com/mental-health/avoidant-personality-disorders

Bressert, Steve. “Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms” ​PsychCentral,​ 30 Oct. 2018,

psychcentral.com/disorders/antisocial-personality-disorder/symptoms/

Connell, Richard. “The Most Dangerous Game.” ​Elements of Literature​, Holt, Rinehart and

Winston, 2006, pp 5-22

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