Rainsford has a lot of traits. He's confident, intelligent, brave, masculine, honest, physically fit, and he has a good moral compass. I can't pick a primary trait because he is equally all of those things at the same time. Those traits are what make Rainsford.
However, if you were to ask a slightly different question, I think I can pick one trait. "What trait do you think keeps Rainsford alive more than any other...
Rainsford has a lot of traits. He's confident, intelligent, brave, masculine, honest, physically fit, and he has a good moral compass. I can't pick a primary trait because he is equally all of those things at the same time. Those traits are what make Rainsford.
However, if you were to ask a slightly different question, I think I can pick one trait. "What trait do you think keeps Rainsford alive more than any other trait?"
I think Rainsford's ability to stay cool, calm, and collected is the primary trait that keeps him alive. Rainsford is in an incredibly dangerous situation. He is being hunted, and if he loses, he dies. That's a high stress environment, yet Rainsford never goes into full panic mode. Even at the end of the story when Zaroff is closing in with the dogs, Rainsford's mind is still working on plans to escape. He may be running for his life, but he's not running recklessly.
They would be on him any minute now. His mind worked frantically. He thought of a native trick he had learned in Uganda. He slid down the tree. He caught hold of a springy young sapling and to it he fastened his hunting knife, with the blade pointing down the trail; with a bit of wild grapevine he tied back the sapling. Then he ran for his life. The hounds raised their voices as they hit the fresh scent. Rainsford knew now how an animal at bay feels.
A reader could argue that Rainsford jumped into the sea in a panic, but I disagree. I think the jump was just another clear, calculated risk that Rainsford was willing to take. And it paid off.
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