Chapter 21 · Treasure Island

Copywork

Our position was utterly reversed. A moment since we were firing, under cover, at an exposed enemy; now it was we who lay uncovered and could not return a blow. The log-house was full of smoke, to which we owed our comparative safety. Cries and confusion, the flashes and reports of pistol-shots, and one loud groan rang in my ears.

Read the four sentences aloud, starting with the flat "Our position was utterly reversed." Which of Jim's senses does the last sentence use instead of sight? Why might Jim end on "one loud groan" and not on something he saw?

Discussion

Narration Tell back the chapter in order, from the moment Silver leaves to the captain's count after the fight.

The captain says, “I’ve given Silver a broadside. I pitched it in red-hot on purpose.” What might he hope that does? Inference
Joyce asks, “if I see anyone, am I to fire?” and later admits he did not hit his man. What do those two answers show about Joyce? Character
After the first shots, most of the fire comes from the north, yet the captain “made no change in his arrangements.” Was that wise or stubborn? Moral reasoning
Jim says he “had not time to be afraid” when Anderson’s blade goes up. Does being too busy to be afraid count as brave? Moral reasoning
Jim says, “in this breath of time, the fight was over,” and then stops to see “the price we had paid for victory.” Why might the author slow down there? Author's choice

Make a Connection Tell about a time you had to wait a long while for something to begin, and what helped you get through it.

Vocabulary

reversed: Our position was utterly reversed. turned the opposite way round
comparative: The log-house was full of smoke, to which we owed our comparative safety. relative; measured against something else
doldrums: Hang them! said the captain. This is as dull as the doldrums. Gray, whistle for a wind. a windless stretch of sea; dull inactivity
hostilities: It was plain, therefore, that the attack would be developed from the north and that on the other three sides we were only to be annoyed by a show of hostilities. acts of fighting
stronghold: If the mutineers succeeded in crossing the stockade, he argued, they would take possession of any unprotected loophole and shoot us down like rats in our own stronghold. a fortified place of safety
boarders: The boarders swarmed over the fence like monkeys. attackers who climb into a ship or fort
hurly-burly: Round the house, lads! Round the house! cried the captain; and even in the hurly-burly, I perceived a change in his voice. noisy confusion
impending: I had not time to be afraid, but as the blow still hung impending, leaped in a trice upon one side, and missing my foot in the soft sand, rolled headlong down the slope. about to happen; hanging over one
sallied: When I had first sallied from the door, the other mutineers had been already swarming up the palisade to make an end of us. rushed out to attack
recommence: The survivors would soon be back where they had left their muskets, and at any moment the fire might recommence. begin again

Critical thinking

Using two pieces of evidence, explain how the fight turns when the pirates reach the log-house.
Using two pieces of evidence, explain how the captain keeps the men steady during the long wait.
Using two pieces of evidence, explain why the pirates lose even after four of them get inside the fence.