Vocabulary
This word means easily felt, touched, or perceived by the senses, used to describe the thick air and the dread surrounding the island.
palpable
The specific location on the island that features dangerous quicksand and claimed the life of Zaroff's dog, Lazarus.
Death Swamp
The description of Zaroff’s vivid white hair, black eyebrows, and pointed mustache is an example of this kind of characterization.
Direct Characterization
The name of the trap that injures Zaroff’s shoulder using a falling log.
Malay Mancatcher
The very name of this geographical feature at the start of the story immediately foreshadows that bad things happen there.
Ship-Trap Island
Traditional knowledge, beliefs, or stories passed down by word of mouth, such as the spooky sailor legends surrounding Ship-Trap Island.
lore
The first specific place Rainsford hides to try and lose Zaroff on his first night of the hunt.
high up in a tree
Zaroff’s ultimate character flaw, shown when he walks away from the tree where Rainsford is hiding just to keep the game going, is this trait.
arrogance (overly confident)
This trap claims the life of one of General Zaroff's finest hounds.
Burmese Tiger Pit
The crew's sudden, unexplainable anxiety and the captain's desire to leave the area quickly is a classic example of this literary device.
Foreshadowing
Lazy, idle, or avoiding exertion; used to describe how Rainsford lazily puffs on his pipe on the yacht deck.
indolent
The large, deaf-and-mute Cossack who serves as Zaroff’s bodyguard and executioner.
Ivan
Through his actions and dialogue, this type of characterization reveals Rainsford's resourcefulness, intelligence, and survival skills under pressure.
Indirect Characterization
The trap featuring a recoiling sapling and a knife that successfully kills Ivan.
Ugandan Spring Trap
While relaxing on the yacht, Rainsford hears this specific number of gunshots coming from the darkness, foreshadowing the island's violent nature.
3 pistol shots
Moving back, withdrawing, or becoming more distant, such as the lights of the yacht fading away from Rainsford in the water.
receding
The alternative choice offered to captives if they refuse to participate in Zaroff's hunting game.
Turned over to Ivan
When Rainsford dismisses Whitney's concern for animals, saying, "Who cares how a jaguar feels?", it is an indirect characterization of this specific trait.
lack of empathy/ not sympathetic
The desperate action Rainsford takes to escape Zaroff and his pack of dogs at the climax of the hunt.
jumping off a cliff into the sea
Upon washing ashore, Rainsford finds a crushed patch of weeds stained with crimson, foreshadowing this aspect of the island.
danger, violence, death
Overcame a difficulty, obstacle, or structural barrier, like Rainsford scaling the steep cliffs of the island.
surmounted
General Zaroff's ultimate fate at the very end of the story.
became food for the hounds
This type of characterization is used when the text explicitly states that Rainsford is a celebrated big-game hunter who wrote books on the subject.
Direct Characterization
How Rainsford managed to sneak back into Zaroff’s bedroom unnoticed.
When Rainsford falls overboard, the sea is described as "blood-warm," which subtly foreshadows this major element of the plot.
death, the hunt/ murders of Zaroff