A Report to an Academy

During his captivity, Red Peter sought ways to maintain hope in spite of his dire circumstances. Although he never expected to gain true freedom, he did aim to find a “way out.” To achieve this goal, he started imitating his captors’ behavior, hoping that, by becoming human, he could escape confinement. This desire compelled him to see his captors in an unrealistically favorable light. He deluded himself into thinking that his captors were treating him with kindness; this, in turn, allowed him to maintain greater hope of finding a “way out.”

In his cage aboard the ship, Red Peter managed to achieve an inner calm that allowed him to persist. He notes, “I owe that calmness to the people on the ship” and goes on to say that his captors “are good people, in spite of everything” (4). This establishes a pattern in which he compliments his captors for their supposed benevolence. By maintaining the deluded belief that his captors were compassionate, Red Peter was more easily able to hold onto hope of a “way out.”

While trying to better imitate his captors, Red Peter struggled with learning to drink alcohol. The smell “torture[d]” him and weeks passed before he was able to “overcome [his] reaction” (5).