Student Question
What conversation aboard the yacht in "The Most Dangerous Game" awakens readers' curiosity and fear about the island?
Quick answer:
The conversation between Whitney and Rainsford aboard the yacht introduces the island's ominous reputation, sparking curiosity and fear in readers. Whitney describes "Ship-Trap Island" as mysterious and feared by sailors, highlighting their "curious dread" and superstition. Despite the darkness preventing them from seeing the island, Whitney's vivid depiction and his own "mental chill" suggest something sinister. Rainsford, initially unaffected, will soon encounter the island's true dangers, intensifying the suspense.
The initial conversation in Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" takes place on a ship as it passes a nearby island. Whitney talks to Rainsford and uses language and superstition to create a sense of "curiosity and dread" in the readers, though Rainsford appear relatively unmoved.
Whitney associates the island with "mystery" and reveals the name--"Ship-Trap Island"--along with the fact that sailors, a hardened lot, have a "curious dread" of the place. Neither man can see the island because of the "thick warm blackness" of this tropical night, and the men's conversation turns to hunting and the hunted. Soon, however, Whitney is back to his description of the island.
He reminds Rainsford that the crew was a "bit jumpy" today and reveals that the most hardened sailor on board the ship says this island has an "evil name." It is a "God-forsaken place" which has earned a place...
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in the lore and legends of experienced sailors (a lore which include pirates, superstitions, and omens, among other things). In fact, Whitney creates such a vivid word-picture of the island's reputation that Rainsford asks if cannibals live there (though he seems more hopeful than frightened). Again Whitney uses words like "superstitious" and "fear" before he finally reveals that he, too, felt "a--a mental chill; a sort of sudden dread" as they sailed past the island.
Connell's use of language and his references to superstition and evil are evident throughout the entire opening conversation of this story, and those two elements are clearly designed to create a sense of mystery and dread (curiosity and fear) for the readers which foreshadows the events which follow. In contrast, Rainsford seems relatively unmoved by Whitney's description; however, he will soon have reason to remember Whitney's words.
What part of the yacht conversation sparks curiosity and fear about the island in "The Most Dangerous Game"?
The very first sentence awakens the reader's curiosity about the island. Whitney claims that it is a mysterious island:
OFF THERE to the right--somewhere--is a large island, said Whitney. It's rather a mystery--
Rainsford and Whitney continue to have a conversation about the island. Whitney claims that the crew has been rather tense since they have been in the area:
Didn't you notice that the crew's nerves seemed a bit jumpy today?
Rainsford agrees that the crew did seem a bit strange. There is obviously something dreadful about the island. Even the Captain is concerned as they pass through the area. He confirms that the "place has an evil name among seafaring men...."
Whitney and Rainsford continue to talk about the superstitions of the island. It is a black, moonless night which makes things seem even more eerie. The reader is definitely curious at this point. Also, there is a fear that captures the reader's attention when Whitney and Rainsford talk of the evils of this island.
There is a doom and gloom present in Whitney's and Rainsford's conversation at this point. The fear of the unknown is real. Whatever is on that island is dreadful. Whitney definitely peaks the the reader's interest by his eerie details of the island. He shares more of his conversation with the Captain speaking first as they pass through the area:
'Don't you feel anything?'--as if the air about us was actually poisonous. 'Now, you mustn't laugh when I tell you this--I did feel something like a sudden chill.'
Whitney admits that he felt an eerie chill. There is something dangerous about the island. The reader is convinced of the dangers that exist on the island. The last thing one would want to do is to fall off the yacht in this God-forsaken area.