Question

Explain how beginning the story with the dialogue between Rainsford and Whitney contributes to both the author's characterization of Rainsford and the storys mood

Answer 1

The conversation between Rainsford and Whitney contributed to the characterization of Rainford by showing how at the beginning he sees himself as a superior being towards animals and he doesn't give any importance to the pain or fear they might feel, an example of this is the phrase  “The world is made up of two classes — the hunters and the huntees. Luckily you and I are the hunters.”On the other hand, Whitney believes the opposite we can see through the story how Rainford changes his mind when he sees himself on the side and we can infer that when at the end he talks about how different does it feel to be the huntee.

These sentences are also examples of the gothic and suspenseful mood of the story showing us the complexity of the human psyche