In Richard Connell’s short story ‘The Most Dangerous Game,’ Whitney is a character who disappears early in the narrative. He and his friend Sanger Rainsford are on a yacht heading to the Amazon when Whitney mentions the strange feeling he has about the island they are approaching, known as Ship-Trap Island.
While Rainsford is more focused on hunting, Whitney’s unease hints at the dangers that lie ahead. After arriving on the island, Whitney takes a nap on the yacht, and when Rainsford goes ashore to explore, Whitney is never seen again. It’s heavily implied that after Rainsford leaves the yacht, Whitney becomes the first victim of General Zaroff, the antagonist of the story. Zaroff hunts humans for sport, and Whitney’s disappearance serves to demonstrate the perilous nature of the island and sets the stage for Rainsford’s own struggles for survival against Zaroff.
Ultimately, Whitney’s fate is left ambiguous, but his character serves as a warning and a catalyst for the events that follow, highlighting the themes of danger and the hunter becoming the hunted.