The question of what constitutes a civilized person is prominent throughout the story. It is particularly embodied by the person and behavior of General Zaroff. A handsome and elegant man, Zaroff is a member of the aristocratic class. He comes from an entirely different sort of civilization than Rainsford. Zaroff is an exiled Cossack who fled Russia after the Revolution. Rainsford's initial feelings about Zaroff are that he is presentable, articulate, and cultured. Zaroff is depicted singing operatic passages to himself, and he relaxes by reading the works of Marcus Aurelius. His mansion has been built in a Gothic style, and, as he explains to Rainsford, he tries hard to remain civilized despite the fact that he is largely alone on the island. He dresses for dinner in evening clothes, is waited on by his manservant, and still eats the foods of his home country. He is, in many ways, a preserved relic of an aristocratic civilization that no longer exists. 

It is especially shocking to Rainsford, then, to discover that a man of Zariff’s character should be, as Rainsford thinks of it, a "murderer." But according to Zaroff, his beliefs about hunting humans rather than animals are fully in accordance with civilized values. He does not wish to be unsporting by hunting a defenseless creature that could not possibly win against him. At the same time, he makes damning judgments about the sailors who find their way to his island, calling them "the scum of the earth." He seems to place less value on the lives of so-called lesser humans than he does upon animals. 

In his struggle against Zaroff, Rainsford uses the ingenuity of the many civilizations he has encountered, and he ultimately defeats the General using these tactics. It is interesting that, for all his elegance and self-possession, Zaroff's civility and coolness cannot actually triumph over Rainsford's gumption and resourcefulness.