Treasure Island
Chapter 28 — 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 Jim's speech, which should get him killed on the spot, make Silver decide to stand by him?
The tension Jim, with "black despair" in his heart, tells the pirates that he ruined them: the apple barrel, the cut cable, the men on the schooner. Morgan draws a knife. Silver stops it, calls Jim more a man than any pair of them, and later whispers that he never meant to stand by him "not till you spoke up": Jim is his last card, and he is Jim's. The chapter sets Silver's admiration for pluck against his cold need for a witness, and Jim's courage against his terror, and asks what changed Silver's mind.
Today's focus
Watch how Jim and Silver each speak under pressure, and what each is holding back.
Two core ideas
- Silver is friendly in his words and dangerous in his position: he offers Jim a free choice while Jim stands with his back to the wall.
- Jim's courage and his fear sit side by side: he speaks boldly with black despair in his heart.
The shape at a glance
Jim walks into the block house and is seized. By torchlight he sees six pirates and no prisoner. Silver says the doctor made a treaty and left, and that Jim must join the pirates. Jim answers with a bold speech, Morgan draws his knife, and Silver faces down his crew. The crew goes out for a council, and Silver whispers to Jim that he will stand by him. The chapter ends with Silver wondering why the doctor gave him the chart.
A way in
Start with Silver's kind words, “no one’s a-pressing of you.” Ask what Jim is feeling as he hears them.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the torch, Silver's welcome, the treaty story, Jim's speech, Morgan's knife, the council, and the whisper.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences of their own about a waiting moment: one of calm on the surface that turns on the word yet to show what is underneath.
Debate What holds the crew back when Silver dares them to fight: fear or rules? Each side gives one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking what Silver's two voices, and Jim's bold words over black despair, show about how people act under pressure.
Easier Read Silver's welcome aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 2 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 a speaker's words and manner point different ways, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Silver says, “no one’s a-pressing of you,” while Jim feels “the threat of death.” How can friendly words carry a threat?Tone
What it asks It asks how a speaker can be kind in words and menacing in effect, and what in the scene makes the menace plain.
One reading
The menace comes from the situation. Jim is held and surrounded, and the friendly words only remind him of it.
though there you are, and you may lay to it
They had set me with my back against the wall
Another reading
The menace comes from Silver's manner. The easy pipe and the jokes make the kindness sound like a sneer.
Silver took a whiff or two of his pipe with great composure and then ran on again.
Through all this sneering talk, I was made to feel the threat of death that overhung me
Listen for
- Uses Silver's words and Jim's feelings together.
- Notices that the threat is in what is left unsaid.
If stuck
- Where is Jim standing, and who has put him there?
- What does Silver say he has never seen come of threatening?
- What does Jim say he is made to feel?
A strong answer Silver offers Jim a free choice, says nobody is pressing him, and claims to be all for argument. But Jim is in their hands with his back to the wall, and he says the sneering talk made him feel the threat of death. A strong answer explains how a kind tone can make a threat stronger, and says which matters more, Silver's words or Jim's position.
- Silver says the doctor called Jim an “ungrateful scamp.” Jim half believes it, yet is “more relieved than distressed.” Why?Inference
What it asks It asks why bad news about how his friends feel can still be good news, and how far Jim trusts Silver's report.
One reading
Relief wins. Being alive matters more to Jim than being blamed.
My friends, then, were still alive
my heart smote me sorely that I had not been there to perish with them
Another reading
Jim is wary. Silver gains if Jim thinks he has nowhere else to go.
you cant go back to your own lot, for they wont have you
youll have to jine with Capn Silver
Listen for
- Separates what Silver says from what Jim knows.
- Says why Silver might want Jim to believe it.
If stuck
- What did Jim fear about his friends when the torch was lit?
- What does Silver say Jim must do now that he cannot go back?
- Who gains if Jim believes he has no other side?
A strong answer When the torch was lit Jim feared that all had perished, so news that his friends are alive and only angry is a relief. He also partly believes they are angry at his desertion. But Silver gains if Jim thinks he cannot go back, since he says Jim will have to join Captain Silver. A strong answer says how much of the report Jim should trust, and why relief can come before doubt.
- Jim tells the pirates it was he who heard them in the apple barrel, cut the cable and killed the men aboard. Why would a boy in his place say all that?Character
What it asks It asks whether Jim speaks out of despair, defiance or a plan, and what in his words shows which.
One reading
He has nothing left to lose, so he says it all.
Let the worst come to the worst, its little I care.
Ive seen too many die since I fell in with you.
Another reading
He is making an offer, and the boasting is part of the bargain.
if you spare me, bygones are bygones, and when you fellows are in court for piracy, Ill save you all I can
spare me and keep a witness to save you from the gallows
Listen for
- Uses Jim's own words from the speech.
- Hears that the speech both boasts and bargains.
If stuck
- What does Jim confess to, one thing at a time?
- What does he offer at the end?
- What does his offer tell you about how he sees his chances?
A strong answer Jim's speech has two sides. He says he has seen too many die, that the laugh is on his side, and that he no more fears them than a fly, which sounds like a boy with nothing left to lose. He also offers a bargain: spare him and he will save them what he can in court. A strong answer says which side it hears more, and remembers that Jim has black despair in his heart while he speaks.
- Silver says, “Take a cutlass, him that dares,” and not a man stirs. What holds the crew back: fear of Silver, habit, or something else?Theme
What it asks It asks what keeps a crew in line when its captain dares it to fight, and how long that lasts.
One reading
Fear. They have seen what Silver does to those who cross him.
Theres never a man looked me between the eyes and seen a good day aterwards
Him that wants shall get it.
Another reading
Rules. The crew holds to its own customs, even while it turns on him.
Im capn here by lection.
by your own rules, I take it we can talk together
Listen for
- Uses both what Silver threatens and what the crew says about rules.
- Notices the crew does not stay quiet for long.
If stuck
- What does Silver say he will do to anyone who takes up a cutlass?
- What do the men say once Silver has finished?
- What do they call the thing they are claiming?
A strong answer Silver's threats are plain, and no one answers them. But the crew does not simply obey for long. A few moments later one of them claims his rights by Silver's own rules and calls a council outside, and the rest go out with salutes and apologies. A strong answer says fear alone does not explain their silence, since they turn to rules the moment they find a way.
- Silver roars at his crew, then drops to “a steady whisper” once they leave. Why might the author let us hear both voices?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the reader learns by hearing one man speak in two ways to two listeners.
One reading
The whisper is the truer Silver. Alone with Jim he admits he is in trouble.
Theyre going to throw me off.
Ship gone, neck gonethats the size of it.
Another reading
Both voices are performances, each fitted to its listener.
as calm as though he had been in church
Im on squires side now.
Listen for
- Compares what Silver says to the crew with what he says to Jim.
- Says what the reader gains from hearing both.
If stuck
- Who is in the room for each speech?
- What does Silver say about the crew once they are gone?
- What does Jim say about how well he understands?
A strong answer Before the crew Silver is loud and proud, as calm as though he had been in church. Alone with Jim he drops to a steady whisper and talks of being thrown off and of the ship and his neck being gone. Setting the two side by side lets the reader see how differently one man can speak to different listeners. A strong answer says which voice it trusts more and what the whisper still leaves uncertain.
Critical thinking
- Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jim learns from the torchlight about the pirates' position.
What it asks It asks the student to read the torchlit scene for signs of strength and of weakness.
One reading
The pirates hold the house and its stores.
The pirates were in possession of the house and stores
there was the cask of cognac, there were the pork and bread, as before
Another reading
The pirates are worn and thinned.
There were six of the buccaneers, all told; not another man was left alive.
the blood-stained bandage round his head told that he had recently been wounded
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what Jim concludes, and what he cannot yet know.
If stuck
- What stores does Jim see?
- How many pirates are there, and how do they look?
- Does Jim see any prisoner?
A strong answer The torch shows the pirates in possession of the house and its stores, with no prisoner in sight, so Jim fears the worst. It also shows only six men, flushed and swollen from drink, one with a bloody bandage, and Silver paler and sterner in a torn, clay-daubed suit. A strong answer uses one sign of strength and one of weakness and says what Jim concludes from them.
- Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Jim shows both courage and fear before he makes his long speech.
What it asks It asks the student to hold a brave face and a frightened heart together, using what Jim says and does.
One reading
Jim is brave. He stands and asks for his rights.
I stood there, looking Silver in the face, pluckily enough, I hope, to all outward appearance
growing a bit bolder, if Im to choose, I declare I have a right to know whats what
Another reading
Jim is afraid. His body and voice show it.
but with black despair in my heart
I asked with a very tremulous voice
Listen for
- One sign of courage and one of fear, or two for one side.
- Says which Jim shows more, and why.
If stuck
- Where does Jim look while Silver talks?
- How does his voice sound when he asks if he is to answer?
- What does Jim say he has a right to know?
A strong answer Jim stands looking Silver in the face, pluckily enough to all outward appearance, and asks for his rights when he grows a bit bolder. Inside he has black despair, and he asks his question with a very tremulous voice. A strong answer uses one of each and notes that the chapter lets both be true.
- Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Silver tries to work out why the doctor gave him the chart.
What it asks It asks how a puzzled man goes about finding out a thing he does not understand.
One reading
He asks Jim and watches his face.
why did that doctor give me the chart, Jim?
My face expressed a wonder so unaffected that he saw the needlessness of further questions.
Another reading
He reasons that there must be a hidden reason.
theres something under that, no doubt
something, surely, under that, Jim
Listen for
- One piece about asking and one about guessing.
- Notices neither of them knows the answer.
If stuck
- What does Silver ask Jim?
- What does Jim's face tell him?
- What does Silver say must be under it?
A strong answer Silver asks Jim straight out why the doctor gave him the chart, and Jim's face shows such unaffected wonder that Silver sees there is no more to learn from him. He is left to guess that there is something under it, bad or good, and he drinks and shakes his head like a man who looks forward to the worst. A strong answer uses one piece of asking and one of guessing.