The most dangerous game

Discuss the characterizations of Rainsford and General Zaroff? Which one is more fully characterized? Are both characters possible?

The way the author divides the characters is by showing how one has a need to exceed while the other one is content to stick within the bounders. While Rainsford hunts for sport, the General hunt for his addiction to adrenalin and his need find something larger. I think that the General is more charictorized because he tells Rainsford his entire life story when we don't even really know about Rainsford except that he is a hunter. In reality both characters could be an actual persona because there are many people who enjoy hunting within legal limits but there are also those people who want a challenge and strive to be better or do the impossible. I believe that if these personas were real the same results would happen because glory always comes before a fall.

Why does Connell include the "philosophical" disscusion between Rainsford and Whitney at the begining of the story? Does it rveal a personal limation on Rainsfords part? does Rainsford change durring the story? do we come to know him better as the story goes on?

A main reason Rainsford and Whitney had a philosophical conversation is to outline how far Rainsford is willing to go to kill an animal but still give the taget feeling and how he is not willing sub-humanize animals.
the converstaion defenitly revaials limations because he is willing to recgonize that the animals have feelings rather than just saying that they are inffior and thus have no feelings. as the story goes on we see Rainsford seeing what it is like to be hunted like prey and how resourceful he has to be when there is a preditor around. Rainsford now can see how it is like from the prey's point of view. After the hunting scene Rainsford is asleep because he knows he is safe and it was all due to him keeping himself under control through his hunting skills.