Treasure Island
Chapter 20 — 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 Captain Smollett refuse Silver even a hand up from the sand, when Silver has come under a flag of truce in his best coat, talking like a gentleman?
The tension Silver climbs the fence with his crutch thrown over, salutes "in the handsomest style", calls the garrison a happy family, and offers terms with his word of honour twice over. The captain will not talk to him, will not let him inside, tells him he might have been in his galley if he had chosen to be honest, and answers his terms with a bullet promised in the back. When Silver cannot rise, "Not a man among us moved." The chapter sets courtesy used as a weapon against plainness used as one, and asks who won the parley and at what cost.
Today's focus
Watch two men at one parley, one polite and friendly, the other plain and cold, and notice what each is doing.
Two core ideas
- Silver comes with a white cloth, a fine coat and friendly words, while the captain answers with short, plain ones.
- Both men speak for an audience as well as for each other: Silver raises his voice for all hands, and Jim calls the silent smoking “as good as the play.”
The shape at a glance
On a cold, foggy morning Silver comes to the stockade under a flag of truce, climbs the fence and sits on the sand before the captain. He asks for the chart and offers terms, and the captain refuses them and offers irons and a fair trial. Silver cannot get up, no one helps him, and he leaves in a rage.
A way in
Start with the captain's first words to Silver: “I have not the slightest desire to talk to you.” Ask what kind of welcome that is for a man under a flag of truce.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the flag, the watch, the fence, the sitting, the two offers, and Silver's going.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences of their own: one that lists three things in the way, and one that ends with a picture from the student's own world.
Debate Was the captain's offer of irons and a fair trial generous or harsh? Each side gives one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking what Silver and the captain each show about themselves by how they speak.
Easier Read the parley aloud in two parts 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 from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where the captain or Silver speaks for a listener other than the one in front of him, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- The man waving the white cloth announces “Capn Silver, sir, to come on board and make terms.” Smollett answers, “Capn Silver! Don’t know him. Who’s he?” What is he doing with those words?Tone
What it asks It asks what the captain is up to when he pretends not to know a man he knows well, and what that does to Silver.
One reading
He refuses Silver the title, because to him a mutineer is not a captain.
Capn Silver! Dont know him. Whos he?
Capn Silver, a common mutineer and pirate
Another reading
He is having a little joke at Silver's expense, cool and in command while the flag is up.
Capn, is it? My heart, and heres promotion!
Well? says Captain Smollett as cool as can be.
Listen for
- Says what the words do, not only what they mean.
- Notices the captain says the second part to himself.
If stuck
- Who does the man with the white cloth say has come to make terms?
- What does the captain add to himself?
- How would you feel if someone pretended not to know you?
A strong answer The captain knows exactly who Silver is, so “Who’s he?” is not a real question. It refuses Silver the title his man has just given him, and the muttered “here’s promotion!” turns the title into a joke. A strong answer says what this does: it keeps the captain calm and in charge from the start of the parley, and it tells Silver that a white flag will not buy him respect. Whether it is contempt, strategy or both is left for the reader.
- When the man with the flag tries to hold him back, Silver laughs, slaps his back and climbs the fence. Is that courage, show, or both?Character
What it asks It asks whether Silver's ease in walking in among armed enemies is real nerve or a performance for those watching.
One reading
Courage. He walks into the stockade of men who might have him shot, and does it by himself.
We could see the man who carried the flag of truce attempting to hold Silver back.
with great vigour and skill succeeded in surmounting the fence and dropping safely to the other side
Another reading
Show. He laughs as if there were nothing to fear, to make his own man and the garrison believe it.
But Silver laughed at him aloud and slapped him on the back as if the idea of alarm had been absurd.
Thats enough, capn, shouted Long John cheerily.
Listen for
- Uses what Silver does, not only how he seems.
- Notices the words “as if” in Jim's description.
If stuck
- What does the other man do, and how does Silver answer him?
- What words does Jim use for how Silver laughs?
- Can a person be frightened and still look at ease?
A strong answer Silver walks into a stockade where he has just been told “the Lord help you” if there is treachery, and he climbs in with “great vigour and skill.” That is nerve. But Jim writes that he laughed “as if the idea of alarm had been absurd,” which leaves room for acting. A strong answer can hold both: the walk is brave, and the laugh is for the audience. It should say which it finds more important.
- Silver raises his voice so that “all hands in this here block house” will hear his offer. Who is he really talking to?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to work out who Silver wants to reach, when he is sitting in front of the captain alone.
One reading
He is talking past the captain to the garrison, hoping some of them hear an offer worth taking.
that all hands in this here block house will overhaul my words, for what is spoke to one is spoke to all
Another reading
He is talking to the captain, and raises his voice only to seem open and fair.
Now, youll own thats talking.
Handsomer you couldnt look to get, not you.
Listen for
- Says who else is listening in the stockade.
- Gives a reason for the raised voice, not just a description.
If stuck
- Who is sitting in front of Silver while he speaks?
- Who else is inside the block house?
- What does it do to an offer when everyone hears it?
A strong answer The captain is the one Silver addresses, but Silver says he hopes that “all hands in this here block house” will hear, and he adds “for what is spoke to one is spoke to all.” A strong answer can read this as a try at the other men, who might like his terms better than their captain does. It can also read it as Silver wanting to sound open and fair. Either reading says that Silver is playing to more than one listener.
- The captain offers to “clap you all in irons and take you home to a fair trial in England.” Is that a generous offer or a harsh one?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh mercy against justice in an offer made to men who have turned on their ship.
One reading
Generous. The men who turned on him are offered their lives and a fair trial, not a fight.
take you home to a fair trial in England
If youll come up one by one, unarmed
Another reading
Harsh. It means irons, and the only other choice is a fight to the death.
Ill engage to clap you all in irons
Ill see you all to Davy Jones
Listen for
- Takes the “if” in the offer seriously.
- Compares what the captain offers with what Silver offered.
If stuck
- What does the captain say will happen if they come up unarmed?
- What does he say if they will not?
- How does this compare with Silver's two choices?
A strong answer The captain offers a trial, not a hanging on the spot, to men who have mutinied, and that can be called generous. But it comes with irons and a stern “if,” and the alternative is “Davy Jones.” A strong answer weighs the offer against what Silver put on the table, and says what a captain owes men who have turned on him.
- Jim says watching the two men smoke in silence “was as good as the play.” Why might the author have Jim watch the parley like a show?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author has a boy enjoy a scene that holds real danger, and what that adds to the parley.
One reading
Because both men really are performing: each holds his nerve and plays his part for the other and the watchers.
the two men sat silently smoking for quite a while, now looking each other in the face, now stopping their tobacco, now leaning forward to spit
Well? says Captain Smollett as cool as can be.
Another reading
Because Jim is a boy watching from behind a grown man, safe enough to enjoy it while the danger stays underneath.
I had already deserted my eastern loophole and crept up behind the captain
Refuse that, and youve seen the last of me but musket-balls.
Listen for
- Says what is play-like about the scene.
- Notices that real threats are being made at the same time.
If stuck
- What are the two men doing while Jim watches?
- Where is Jim standing?
- What is at stake for everyone in the stockade?
A strong answer The picture is of two men smoking, looking at each other, and leaning forward to spit, each refusing to be the first to give way. A strong answer says that Jim's words make the scene feel like a performance, which fits two men who are each putting on a face. It also notices that Jim is tucked behind the captain while threats are being made, so the enjoyment sits on top of real danger.
Critical thinking
- Using two pieces of evidence, explain how far the captain trusts the flag of truce.
What it asks It asks the student to set the captain's precautions against the things he allows, and say where trust begins and ends.
One reading
He does not trust it at all. He treats the visit as a trap from the first word.
Ten to one this is a trick.
keeping himself carefully out of the way of a treacherous shot, should any be intended
Another reading
He trusts it enough to let Silver come in and sit, and shows it by how at ease he is.
If you wish to talk to me, you can come, thats all.
He was whistling to himself.
Listen for
- One thing the captain guards against and one thing he allows.
- A reason for the choice, not just a list.
If stuck
- What does the captain tell the men to do as soon as he sees the flag?
- Where does he stand, and where does he sit?
- What does Jim see him doing while Silver climbs up?
A strong answer The captain trusts the flag only so far. He calls it a likely trick, stands out of the way of a shot, and sets every man to watch. Yet he also says Silver can come, sits on the threshold with his head in his hands, and whistles to himself. A strong answer says he is ready for treachery but shows no fear, and explains why a careful man might do both.
- Using two pieces of evidence from Silver’s own words, explain why he has come to the stockade.
What it asks It asks the student to tell what Silver says he wants from what he lets slip about his own side.
One reading
He has come for the chart and the treasure, and the parley is a way to get them.
We want that treasure
What I mean is, we want your chart.
Another reading
He has come because his side was hurt in the night and he is not sure of it.
maybe I was shook myself; maybe thats why Im here for terms
Well have to do sentry-go and ease off a point or so on the rum.
Listen for
- Quotes Silver himself, not Jim's guess.
- Notices that Silver gives two kinds of reason.
If stuck
- What does Silver ask the captain for?
- What does Silver say about last night?
- What does he say his men will have to change?
A strong answer Silver says plainly that his side wants the treasure and therefore the chart. But he also lets slip that “some of my people was shook” and that he may have been shaken himself. A strong answer uses one quote of each kind and says what it shows: Silver wants the chart, and he also comes out of the night less sure than he sounds.
- Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jim’s description of the cold morning adds to the scene.
What it asks It asks what the weather and the white vapour do for a chapter about a parley.
One reading
It sets Silver apart: he stands in shadow and fog while the treetops shine.
But where Silver stood with his lieutenant, all was still in shadow
they waded knee-deep in a low white vapour that had crawled during the night out of the morass
Another reading
It shows a bad island for everyone, since Jim himself feels the chill.
a chill that pierced into the marrow
It was plainly a damp, feverish, unhealthy spot.
Listen for
- Two details, one about light and one about cold or fever.
- An idea about what the setting tells the reader.
If stuck
- Where is the sun shining, and where is it not?
- What does the vapour crawl out of?
- What does Jim think of the island after this morning?
A strong answer Jim puts Silver and his lieutenant in shadow, knee-deep in a low white vapour, while the tops of the trees shine rosily. That sets him a little apart and gives him a sickly look. The chill that pierces into the marrow belongs to everyone, and Jim says the island is plainly damp, feverish and unhealthy. A strong answer picks two details and says what mood or warning they give.