View a FREE sample

1. What is the disagreement between Rainsford and Whitney?

Whitney and Rainsford disagree about how much thinking or feeling animals are capable of. Whitney says that they can feel the fear of pain and death, and Rainsford says that the idea is nonsense.

2. What layers of irony are later revealed about Rainsford's suggestion that cannibals might live on Ship-Trap Island?

Rainsford's suggestion that cannibals might live on the island is ironic because Whitney says that not even cannibals would live in such a horrible place. The suggestion is that cannibals are among the worst kind of people. Later, the reader learns that a serial murderer lives on the island--this situation is already ironic, but it is even more ironic because at least cannibals eat what they kill, while big game hunters and murderers kill for sport--this makes the reader wonder if cannibals might actually be better people than people like Whiteny, Rainsford, and Zaroff.

(read all 60 Short Essay Questions and Answers)

This section contains 2,275 words (approx. 8 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample