The Thrill of the Chase

Do sporting men hunt because of an inferiority complex? My opinion, according to what I read in Ritvo, is yes. In the thrill of the chase, fallen animals are talked about like trophies, and I think that men in this context hunt because they are trying to impress other men, or elevate their status. After a quick lamentation over a fallen animal, “The sympathy evinced by such responses, was, however, skin deep. The fallen animal soon resumed its status as an object, and the hunter as quickly prepared to fire again” (267). Hunters were seen by other hunters in “a heroic light” (266) and their killings were celebrated. Personal physique was also a big part of a hunter, “The best sport required the hunter to prove his physical mettle—to overcome a dangerous and powerful animal on its own terms. As a result, the fiercest opponents were often also the most attractive” (268). Men who felt inferior would most likely build up their strength and stamina for a big hunt so that they could “prove” their worth and not look pathetic in the eyes of other hunters.
It doesn't seem right to kill something this huge (in my opinion)

Secondly, in class the subject of how certain people reacted to eating meat was brought up. A lot of people are against animal cruelty and think that the caging of animals and their slaughter is horrific, but they still eat meat and prefer not to know how their meal was killed. Ritvo states, “The uncompromisingly physical nature of this domination was underscored by the two most frequently emphasized features of the climactic scene: a precise anatomical and ballistic analysis of how the kill was accomplished and a sentimentalized description of how the animal faced its demise” (265). I think that if every box of chicken mcnuggets you eat had the story of where the chicken was killed and how it struggled, you would think twice about eating what was in front of you.

This man is using his kill as a trophy, and I'm sure bragged about his "huge success" in order to compensate for other things...

I am not completely against hunting, but I think that certain people, men in particular, hunt because they think that they will be thought higher of by other men in the same circle if they are more skilled at hunting. I know certain people who quail hunt just for sport, and don’t even collect the birds they kill, they just like to see the bird fall from the sky. In my opinion, if you are going to kill an animal at least do something with the body, like eat it or use it for something. Don’t make its’ life completely meaningless.

This seems like a massacre...