Personal Narrative: Ship-Trap Island

Sanger Rainsford stays intrepid, fighting and feinting until he finds his way to the precipice of the island. Unflinching, he leaps into the Caribbean Sea, later meeting the General for a duel to the death. Rainsford is victorious, but he didn’t win.

When Rainsford(protagonist) awoke in bed he had remembered the night as if it had happened 10 minutes ago. As the scenes of him and Zaroff’s fight replayed in his head a smile grew on his face. He knew what he did was right and that he is not a murderer, he did what he had to do to survive and save the others trapped in the cellular. He had forgotten all about the cellular and was determined to find out where it was to free the others and find a way off of Ship-Trap Island.(Setting) He knew he would have to do a lot of convincing to the people trapped and try to explain that he wasn’t like Zaroff and is only trying to help them.

Luckily, you and I are hunters. ”(Connel, 1). At the beginning, exposition of the story, let it be known about his hunting abilities. When Rainsford fell over the cliff, and swim instead of panicking and risking drowning. Rainsford made smart decisions during the game; always keeping

He knew how to avoid them he just didn’t know if avoiding them the way thought in his head was going to work. He ended up getting caught in one of the traps and didn’t know what to do. He had to think quickly before Zaroff could kill him and take all his weapons. The battle ended with Rainsford winning. The night after rainsford won the great battle between General Zaroff, he went home that night and slept in the bed off Zaroff's.

When an unfortunate accident throws Rainsford overboard, he stays calm (Connell 28). In this sudden event, he needs to stay calm, and he does that very well. From this point, he immediately looks around and surveys to find a place to go that isn’t stranded in the ocean. “General, I wish to leave this island at once” (Connell 36). Hearing all about the island and General Zaroff makes Rainsford decide he needs to leave.

It’s Not So Hot in Paradise As an American from the Midwest, the image that comes to mind of life on a Caribbean island is paradise which evokes a feeling of peace and tranquility. A place where one can escape the snow and freezing temperatures during the long winter months. A place one could enjoy beautiful beaches, tropical trees and green foliage year round.

I give him three hours start. I am to follow, armed only with a pistol of the smallest caliber and range. If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. If I find him”—the general smiled—“he loses. ”(385)

Rainsford being the brilliant hunter he is, knew that “he could do one of two things. He could stay where he was and wait. That was suicide. He could flee. That was postponing the inevitable…

He had to struggle and swim in order to stay alive. Once he fell off, he knew he was in danger. On page 174, it says “The cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea closed over his head.” This is the exact moment when Rainsford’s body hit the water, and he was off the ship. Rainsford desperately tried to tell the yacht to come back,

One day when I woke up I was getting ready to go to America. I was leaving with my Dad, Mom, Sister, and my Brother. My family and I are leaving leaving from Germany and going to America. We are going to bring clothes such as shirts, pants, underwear, socks, shoes, and hats. We will also bring soap, food, and other stuff like that to survive in America.

Finally, when Rainsford has learned of the general’s “game” and his current setting creates a sense of helplessness or powerlessness. The night before he is hunted, Rainsford states, “Once he thought he heard stealthy steps in the corridor outside his room. He sought to throw open the door; it would not open. He went to the window and looked

Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think. Robert Henri, Artist Little Gasparilla Island, a barrier island on the southwest on Florida’s gulf coast, is a dynamic place to refresh and meditate. This place is about 3 miles of Old Florida. Nothing is fast on Little Gasparilla.

He wants to leave right away. Rainsford was antsy but after spending more time on the island he became nervous especially when Zaroff said “The hunting was not good last night. The fellow lost his head. He made a straight trail that offered no problems at all. (Connell 30).

If the story was not set on an island Rainsford would have no other choice than to walk back to General Zaroff’s house, which would most likely result in his death. The setting contributes to Rainsford’s growth as a character. Now he is feeling what it is like to be hunted, just as the animals he hunts feel. He is learning what it is like to be stranded and isolated in the woods, while fearing

In another instance, when Rainsford was hiding from General Zaroff, he had to convince himself not to regress to those animal-like instincts that he had developed. The text says “Rainsford’s impulse was to hurl himself down like a panther, but he saw the general’s right hand held something metallic—a small automatic pistol.” (231). As you can tell from the text, Rainsford really wanted to jump down from his hiding spot and attack the general, but he couldn’t. If he had done so, he would end up losing the game. Then, near the end of the story, Rainsford is running from the General and his pack and he sees the ocean shore and it’s deep waters below.