Mitch Rapp Character Traits

Mitch Rapp is a trained killing machine, eager to attack any mission the CIA presents him with. He was born with the skill set: his athletic build, his nonchalant appearance during stressful situations, and his ever so scrupulous mind ☺. Although Mitch Rapp has all of the goods to go along with this job, it was not any easy path form him to attain his current status as an assassin. Stan Hurley (Mitch’s trainer and later partner) did not believe in him from the start, but Mitch was determined to defy him and all other doubters on his path to greatness. He also had great motivation to take down Islamic Jihadists, as they had killed his girlfriend in a terrorist attack on a commercial airplane. In this journal, I will be evaluating Mitch’s search …show more content…
Mitch was in impeccable shape because he was a college lacrosse player at Syracuse. Because of this, he was never challenged considerably with all of the physically demanding exercises, long runs, and challenging courses. The most difficult physical aspect of the experience was the pain he endured with all of the physical combat he took part in. It was a true testament to how resilient he was. The greatest consequence of all was the mental toll this training took on each person. The trainees had to be flawlessly sharp at all hours of the day or they could risk being kicked out. There were many rules the young men had to follow, such as not telling anyone their true identity or details of their life. For example, Victor (an undercover evaluator in disguise as a trainee) would try to weed out the mentally weak by prying into their personal life. One of the trainees capitulated to his deceiving questions and was kicked out of the base camp. One participant, Dick, succumbed to the grueling physical tasks and simply threw in the towel and went on his way home. It was evident that the actions Dick took made Mitch Rapp question his identity: “It all seemed too easy, and that’s what scared the crap out of Rapp. It made him briefly wonder if he was capable of pussing out” (Flynn …show more content…
He had done everything possible in preparation for his first mission: He was in the best shape of his life, he improved his shooting, and he was at the top of his mental game. Yet, he still was uncertain if he possessed what it took to take a human beings life. The night before he ended Hamdi Sharif’s life, he laid in his bed with uncertainty: “The act of his first kill played out in his mind like a movie” (Flynn 172). Mitch was anticipating this moment because he could no longer delay the date when he would ascertain the truth. He wanted to know immediately if he had what it takes. The mission was located in Istanbul, Turkey. Mitch’s orders were to arrive there two days before his other two partners, Hurley and Richards, and scout out the situation so they could further assess what they were dealing with. Mitch’s impatience caused him to make a rash decision; he woke up his first morning in Turkey and decided that the process was too drawn out, and he could finish the job with ease. The target was out in a public park with no security, so Mitch pounced on this opportunity, which eventually led to Sharif’s demise. Mitch broke the CIA’s rules and knew that he would be returning to the U.S. with an interrogation awaiting him. He later admitted to his boss that he simply wondered if he was truly capable of ending the man’s life, and that is why he acted on