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Treasure Island
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
As for the scheme I had in my head, it was not a bad one in itself. I was to go down the sandy spit that divides the anchorage on the east from the open sea, find the white rock I had observed last evening, and ascertain whether it was there or not that Ben Gunn had hidden his boat, a thing quite worth doing, as I still believe.
Read the passage aloud. The first sentence is short and says the scheme "was not a bad one in itself"; the second runs long. What does the longer sentence give the reader that the short one only promises?
Narration Tell back Jim's afternoon in order, from the quiet after the fight to the moment he sets the coracle on the water.
1. Gray asks, “Is Dr. Livesey mad?” Jim answers, “Why no.” Why do the two of them read the doctor's walk so differently?Character
2. Jim says he took “a disgust of the place that was almost as strong as fear.” What is he trying to get away from?Inference
3. Before he goes, Jim fills his coat pockets with biscuit and takes a brace of pistols. What does his packing tell us about him?Character
4. Jim sees the pirates' watchmen left “unprovided with a boat” and decides to cut the ship adrift. Is that a clever use of what he saw, or a risk too far?Moral reasoning
5. Before Jim launches the coracle, the author gives us the thundering surf, the thick fog and “absolute blackness.” What does that do to the mood of the scene?Author's choice
Make a Connection Tell about a time you slipped away from a place you were supposed to stay, in a story or in life.
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As for the scheme I had in my head, it was not a bad one in itself.
and ascertain whether it was there or not that Ben Gunn had hidden his boat,
the sandy spit that divides the anchorage on the east from the open sea,
a quiet time to overhaul the wounded and get dinner.
As for the captain, his wounds were grievous indeed, but not dangerous.
so thunder-struck he was at this occurrence.
I took the first step towards my escapade
you would have thought I had had enough of truantry for once,
after their repulse of the morning,
the defeated pirates lay carousing in the swamp.
1. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what the fight has cost the garrison by the time dinner is over.
2. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jim sees from the ridge of the spit that shows him how the pirates guard their ship.
3. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jim’s description of Ben Gunn’s coracle tells us about the man who made it.