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Who do you think is more evil--Zaroff from "The Most Dangerous Game" or Montressor from "The Cask of Amontillado" and why? Posted by matthewcuozzo on Oct 18, 2009. |
The Most Dangerous Game Group
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Simply from the aspect of the number of men that Zaroff has killed, the Cossack general from Richard Connell's short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," wins this contest of evil. Whereas Montressor, Edgar Allan Poe's character from the short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," certainly shows his evil side when he coerces his "friend" Fortunato into the catacombs and to his eventual death, his intentions only concern one man. Montressor's murder of Fortunato cannot match the mass murdering skills of Zaroff, who retrieves human shipwreck victims and then hunts them down. Where Montressor shows respect for Fortuanato and carefully plans his murder, Zaroff shows only contempt for his victims, voicing disappointment that their intellectual skills are not closer to his own. Needless to say, both Zaroff and Montressor show a sinister side that cannot be excused or dismissed, but the sheer quantity of Zaroff's victims makes him the winner here. Posted by bullgatortail on Oct 18, 2009. |
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I would also cite Zaroff as the worst of the two because of the number of humans he has killed. Additionally, the mystery about why he is on Ship Trap Island leads one to believe that he might have committed crimes in his homeland which caused him to be exiled. One more reason for Zaroff over Montresor--while Zaroff is certainly maniacal, he does come across assane. Montresor does not. He never gives the specific insult he endured from Fortunato, and his elaborate murder scheme demonstrates the typical psychologically unreliable character of which Poe is so fond. Posted by scarletpimpernel on Oct 22, 2009. |

