Sir Arthur Grimble's Hunting Octopus In The Gilbert Islands

“Hunting Octopus in the Gilbert Islands” is an interesting short story about Sir Arthur Grimble who is stationed in the Gilbert Islands and recounts his experiences in short stories. The short story offers an interesting insight into the lives of the natives and shows what extreme lengths the islanders must go through to get food and have a little bit of fun along the way.
Grimble starts the story by describing with great detail how the islanders hunt octopus. The description of the hunt shows how very difficult the task is. However, the task is very easy and fun for the young men of the tribe. When Grimble attempts to join in on the hunt, he imagines what would happen if he did not participate. This vision offers a nice break in the story
and gives the reader more information about the culture of the islanders. The vision and the fact he did not want to remove his clothes shows that Grimble is a thinker and thinks about his actions and how the people will think of him. He enjoys being a leader and is afraid of failure, but failure is not the only thing he is afraid of.
When Grimble was being attacked by the octopus, he describes the octopus in a very negative connotation and shows his disdain and possibly fear of the creature. The descriptive detail of the encounter brings tension and suspense but is then contradicted by the humorous realization of the true size of the octopus. In conclusion, the author very effectively provides a very detailed insight into the culture and hunting practices of the Gilbert Islanders and helps the reader to see through the eyes of Sir Arthur Grimble.