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Treasure Island
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
The captain, on his part, never spoke but when he was spoken to, and then sharp and short and dry, and not a word wasted. He owned, when driven into a corner, that he seemed to have been wrong about the crew, that some of them were as brisk as he wanted to see and all had behaved fairly well.
Find the word "owned" in the last sentence. It is an odd word for a man admitting a mistake, and Jim could have written "said". What does "owned" suggest about how the captain came to say it, and what do the three short words "sharp and short and dry" tell you about how he speaks?
Narration Tell what happens from the night of loading the ship to the moment Jim hears Silver's voice from the apple barrel.
1. Silver sings the old song as the crew heaves at the capstan, and Jim seems to hear the captain in the chorus. Why might Stevenson begin the voyage this way?Author's choice
2. When Mr. Arrow goes overboard, “nobody was much surprised, nor very sorry.” Is that a fair way for a ship to feel about a man?Moral reasoning
3. All the crew “respected and even obeyed” Silver, though he is only the cook. What do you think gives him that standing?Character
4. The squire gives the crew double grog, duff and apples. Is that generosity, or a risk?Theme
5. The chapter ends as Jim hears Silver's voice from inside the apple barrel. Why might the author stop there, before we hear what Silver says?Plot structure
Make a Connection Tell about a time you were part of a cheerful group and one person was worried.
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In the meantime, the squire and Captain Smollett were still on pretty distant terms with one another.
He owned, when driven into a corner, that he seemed to have been wrong about the crew, that some of them were as brisk as he wanted to see and all had behaved fairly well.
He owned, when driven into a corner, that he seemed to have been wrong about the crew, that some of them were as brisk as he wanted to see and all had behaved fairly well.
It was fairly prosperous.
Aboard ship he carried his crutch by a lanyard round his neck, to have both hands as free as possible.
It was something to see him wedge the foot of the crutch against a bulkhead, and propped against it, yielding to every movement of the ship, get on with his cooking like someone safe ashore.
Yet some of the men who had sailed with him before expressed their pity to see him so reduced.
To me he was unweariedly kind, and always glad to see me in the galley, which he kept as clean as a new pin, the dishes hanging up burnished and his parrot in a cage in one corner.
To me he was unweariedly kind, and always glad to see me in the galley, which he kept as clean as a new pin, the dishes hanging up burnished and his parrot in a cage in one corner.
But good did come of the apple barrel, as you shall hear, for if it had not been for that, we should have had no note of warning and might all have perished by the hand of treachery.
1. The chapter says the captain “thoroughly understood his business.” Using two pieces of evidence, how does he show it?
2. Silver says of his swearing parrot, “you cant touch pitch and not be mucked.” Using two pieces of evidence, what does he want Jim to think of him?
3. The squire and the captain stay on “pretty distant terms.” Using two pieces of evidence, which man does more to keep them apart?