Question

General Zaroff had an exceedingly good dinner in his great paneled dining hall that evening...Two slight annoyances kept him from perfect enjoyment. One was the thought that it would be difficult to replace Ivan; the other was that his quarry had escaped him; of course, the American hadn't played the game--so thought the general as he tasted his after-dinner liqueur. In his library he read, to soothe himself, from the works of Marcus Aurelius. At ten he went up to his bedroom. He was deliciously tired, he said to himself, as he locked himself in. There was a little moonlight, so, before turning on his light, he went to the window and looked down at the courtyard. He could see the great hounds, and he called, "Better luck another time," to them. What sentence makes him a villain?

Answer 1

He could see the great hounds, and he called, "Better luck another time," to them.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the given excerpt, the indirect characterization has been employed to describe General Zaroff's character. The sentence which shows him as the villain would be 'He could see...them.' His attitude towards the hounds asserting that 'better luck next time' shows the failure of his evil plan. This reveals to the readers that he possesses the negative intentions which may lead to fatal consequences.