Treasure Island
Chapter 14 — Teaching Companion
Robert Louis Stevenson · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
Why does Tom, having just heard Alan die, turn his back on Silver and walk away?
The tension Silver pleads with Tom face lifted "in a kind of appeal", calling him gold dust and claiming to risk his own neck to warn him. When the death scream comes, Tom leaps like a horse at the spur; Silver "had not winked an eye" and watches like a snake. Tom sees the fear behind the friendliness, calls it a black conscience, declares he will die in his duty, and turns his back on the cook to walk to the beach. The chapter sets one man's plain loyalty against another's patient, smiling cruelty, and asks what Tom believed he was doing in that last walk.
Today's focus
Notice how two men meet the same scream, and how Jim's afternoon turns from joy to fear.
Two core ideas
- Silver pleads with Tom and then answers the scream with stillness; the chapter shows both men's words and movements and leaves their reasons for the student to weigh.
- Jim sees what he has been dreading and is left alone with it, and his fear runs ahead of him as he runs.
The shape at a glance
Jim slips away from Silver, enjoys the strange island, and then hears voices by the marsh. Hiding in the live-oaks, he watches Silver plead with a sailor named Tom. A scream rings over the marsh, Tom refuses Silver, and Silver kills him. Jim faints, wakes, hears Silver's whistle, and runs in terror until a fresh alarm stops him.
A way in
Start with the scream. Ask what each man does before he says a word.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the walk, the voices, Silver and Tom, the scream, the killing, the whistle and the flight.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: one person jumps at a sound, and another stays still.
Debate Take sides: was it Jim's duty to creep closer and overhear? Each side uses at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking what the quiet, sunny afternoon adds to the scene.
Easier Read the scene by the marsh aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 3 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence.
Harder Ask the student to compare Silver's first words to Tom with his last, and add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Silver tells Tom he thinks “gold dust” of him and speaks to save his neck. What do you think Silver wants?Inference
What it asks It asks what Silver is after in his pleading, when he says both that he likes Tom and that Tom is in danger.
One reading
He wants Tom to join the mutineers, and uses flattery and fear to bring him round.
its because I thinks gold dust of you
Alls upyou cant make nor mend
Another reading
He means the warning: he says he is risking himself by giving it.
its to save your neck that Im a-speaking
if one of the wild uns knew it, whered I be
Listen for
- Uses Silver's own words about danger and about liking Tom.
- Notices that Silver says he risks something himself.
If stuck
- What does Silver call Tom?
- What does Silver say will happen to Tom?
- What does he say could happen to him if the wild ones knew?
A strong answer Silver says two things together: that he thinks “gold dust” of Tom, and that he speaks “to save your neck.” That could be flattery with a threat inside it, meant to bring Tom round. It could also be the warning Silver says it is, since he adds that he would be in danger himself if “one of the wild uns knew it.” The chapter shows the words and what comes next; it does not tell us which Silver meant. A strong answer weighs both and stays with his words.
- Tom tells Silver, “you're old, and you're honest, or has the name for it.” What is Tom trying to do with those words?Character
What it asks It asks what Tom hopes his praise will do, and how far he believes it himself.
One reading
He is appealing to Silver's better side, hoping to turn him back.
And will you tell me youll let yourself be led away with that kind of a mess of swabs? Not you!
Another reading
He already half doubts Silver: each piece of praise has an “or” in it.
youre honest, or has the name for it
and youre brave, or Im mistook
Listen for
- Notices the hedges in Tom's praise: “or has the name for it” and “or I'm mistook.”
- Says what Tom wants Silver to decide.
If stuck
- What three things does Tom say about Silver?
- What does Tom say Silver will not let himself be led away by?
- What does Tom say he would rather lose than do?
A strong answer Tom lists what he respects in Silver: he is old, honest, well off and brave. Then he asks whether such a man will be “led away with that kind of a mess of swabs,” which sounds like a plea to his better side. But Tom hedges, “or has the name for it” and “or I'm mistook,” so he may already half doubt. A strong answer says what Tom hopes and how sure he is, using his words.
- When the scream comes, Tom leaps, but Silver “had not winked an eye.” What does that stillness suggest about him?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to read two reactions to the same sound and to say what Silver's calm might mean.
One reading
He was not surprised: he seems to know what the sound was.
That? Oh, I reckon thatll be Alan.
Silver had not winked an eye.
Another reading
He has great self-command, and he is careful with Tom.
smiling away, but warier than ever
He stood where he was, resting lightly on his crutch, watching his companion like a snake about to spring.
Listen for
- Separates knowing what the sound was from simply keeping calm.
- Uses what Silver says as well as what he does.
If stuck
- What does Tom do when the scream comes?
- What does Silver say it was?
- What does Silver do when Tom reaches out his hand?
A strong answer Tom leaps “at the sound, like a horse at the spur,” while Silver “had not winked an eye” and answers “Oh, I reckon thatll be Alan,” so his calm could mean he was not surprised. It could also be self-command: he is “smiling away, but warier than ever” and leaps back when Tom reaches for him. The chapter does not say how Alan died or who did it, so a strong answer weighs what the calm might mean without claiming more.
- Jim says it was his “plain and obvious duty” to creep closer and overhear. Was it duty, or did something else draw him?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether the reason a person gives himself is the whole reason, using Jim's own words.
One reading
It was duty: he is among men he fears and knows something the cabin party needs.
I began to feel that I was neglecting my business
since I had been so foolhardy as to come ashore with these desperadoes, the least I could do was to overhear them at their councils
Another reading
It was also the pull of adventure: he had just been enjoying himself.
I now felt for the first time the joy of exploration
Crawling on all fours, I made steadily but slowly towards them
Listen for
- Says what Jim knows and what he could have done instead.
- Notices that he calls his own coming ashore “foolhardy” in the same sentence.
If stuck
- What does Jim say he has been neglecting?
- What was Jim doing just before he heard the voices?
- What does he call his own coming ashore?
A strong answer Jim gives a reason: having been “so foolhardy as to come ashore with these desperadoes,” the least he can do is overhear them, and he says he was “neglecting my business.” But he has just been enjoying “the joy of exploration,” and he crawls toward the voices at once, so curiosity may be part of it. A strong answer says which reason seems stronger and whether two reasons can be true together.
- After the killing, the sun is “still shining mercilessly” and the birds settle. What does Stevenson gain by keeping the day so calm?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what a quiet, sunny setting does to a violent moment, for Jim and for the reader.
One reading
It makes the violence stranger and harder to believe, as it is to Jim.
I could scarce persuade myself that murder had been actually done
Everything else was unchanged, the sun still shining mercilessly on the steaming marsh
Another reading
It shows the place takes no notice, which leaves Jim alone with what he has seen.
silence had re-established its empire, and only the rustle of the redescending birds and the boom of the distant surges disturbed the languor of the afternoon
Listen for
- Compares the mood before the scream with the mood after it.
- Talks about what the reader feels, not only what the weather is.
If stuck
- What is the marsh doing before the scream?
- What do the birds do after it?
- What does Jim say about believing that murder had been done?
A strong answer Nothing in the scene changes after the killing: “Everything else was unchanged,” the sun shines “mercilessly,” the birds settle, and Jim can “scarce persuade myself that murder had been actually done.” That makes the violence feel stranger and harder to believe. It also leaves him alone with what he saw, since nothing around him has taken notice. A strong answer says what the calm does for the reader and does not claim the author meant only one thing.
Critical thinking
- After the killing, Silver cleans his knife and blows a whistle. Using two pieces of evidence, what does his manner show?
What it asks It asks the student to read a man's manner in the minutes after a violent act, and to say what it shows.
One reading
He is cold and unmoved: the act costs him nothing.
the murderer minded him not a whit, cleansing his blood-stained knife the while upon a wisp of grass
Another reading
He is practical and in command: he goes straight on to the next thing.
brought out a whistle, and blew upon it several modulated blasts that rang far across the heated air
I could hear hails coming and going between the old buccaneer and his comrades
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what each piece shows, not only what Silver does.
If stuck
- What does Silver do with the knife?
- What does he take from his pocket?
- Who answers the whistle?
A strong answer Silver's manner is cold: “the murderer minded him not a whit,” and he cleans his “blood-stained knife” on a wisp of grass. It is also practical, since he takes out a whistle at once and blows “several modulated blasts,” and Jim hears “hails coming and going” between him and his comrades. Jim does not know what the signal means, so a strong answer says what the manner shows and stays with what Jim saw and heard.
- Jim asks, “could anyone be more entirely lost than I?” Using two pieces of evidence, is his danger as great as his fear?
What it asks It asks the student to weigh a frightened boy's picture of his danger against what the chapter shows.
One reading
His danger is real: he is alone, and he knows what the men have done.
They had already slain two of the honest people; after Tom and Alan, might not I come next?
I could hear hails coming and going between the old buccaneer and his comrades
Another reading
His fear is running ahead of the facts: it grows as he runs.
as I ran, fear grew and grew upon me until it turned into a kind of frenzy
scarce minding the direction of my flight
Listen for
- Separates what Jim knows from what he imagines.
- Says what Jim could still do.
If stuck
- What has Jim just seen the men do?
- What does Jim ask himself about the boats?
- What happens to his fear as he runs?
A strong answer Jim's danger is real: he has watched a killing, he hears the men calling to each other, and he thinks, “after Tom and Alan, might not I come next?” But his fear also runs ahead of what he knows, since it “grew and grew upon me until it turned into a kind of frenzy” and he runs “scarce minding the direction of my flight.” The chapter does not say whether anyone has seen him. A strong answer weighs the danger against the fear, with two pieces of evidence.
- A snake hisses at Jim, and he says, “Little did I suppose” it was deadly. Using two pieces of evidence, what does that moment show?
What it asks It asks what a small moment early in the chapter shows about Jim and about the place he has come to.
One reading
Danger can sit in plain sight: a hiss he took for a toy's noise was a warning.
one raised his head from a ledge of rock and hissed at me with a noise not unlike the spinning of a top
Little did I suppose that he was a deadly enemy and that the noise was the famous rattle.
Another reading
Jim is new to everything here, and the older Jim telling the story knows more.
Here and there were flowering plants, unknown to me
I heard afterwards they should be called
Listen for
- Says what Jim knows at that moment and what the storyteller knows later.
- Notices that Jim was enjoying himself when it happened.
If stuck
- What does Jim think the noise is?
- What does he say it really was?
- Is it Jim on the island speaking, or Jim looking back?
A strong answer Jim hears a hiss “not unlike the spinning of a top” and does not see the danger, and the storyteller adds “Little did I suppose that he was a deadly enemy.” That shows how danger can sit in plain sight on a bright afternoon. It also shows two Jims: the boy, to whom the plants are “unknown,” and the storyteller, who learned things “afterwards.” A strong answer uses two pieces of evidence and says what the moment shows.