Answer and explanation:
In the short story, "The Most Dangerous Game", general Zaroff is a hunter who owns the island where the main character, Rainsford, lands after falling off a yatch. Zaroff is a hunter who has grown tired of killing irrational beasts and has moved on to hunting and killing humans.
However, before that information about him is revealed, in a dialog with Rainsford, Zaroff reveals himself to be quite a prejudiced man when he speaks of his "assistant", Ivan:
"Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow," remarked the general, "but he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. A simple fellow, but, I'm afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage."
"Is he Russian?"
"He is a Cossack," said the general, and his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth. "So am I."
Notice that Zaroff talks of a race as being savages, a common generalization for those who see themselves as superior and who believe they have the right to enslave or kill others. That obviously influences our opinion of Zaroff. This piece of information leads us to see him as the bad guy from the very start, as a person who is devoid of empathy and kindness. It is even more interesting to observe that, after offending Ivan's race, Zaroff reveals he too belongs to that race. This may seem paradoxical, but I believe it is his way of telling Rainsford, in a subliminal manner, that he too is a savage and should not be trusted.