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Treasure Island
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
The poor captain raised his eyes, and at one look the rum went out of him and left him staring sober. The expression of his face was not so much of terror as of mortal sickness. He made a movement to rise, but I do not believe he had enough force left in his body.
Read the three sentences aloud and listen for the word "sober". What does the rum going out of him let the captain see, and why does Jim choose "mortal sickness" rather than "terror" to name the look on his face?
Narration Tell what happens from Jim's visit to the captain's room at noon to the moment the captain falls in the parlour.
1. The captain talks boldly about tricking his enemies, yet Jim says his words “contrasted sadly with the weakness of the voice.” Is the captain fooling Jim, himself, or neither?Tone
2. The captain calls the doctor “that eternal doctor swab,” yet tells Jim to ride to him if the trouble comes. What does that tell us about the captain?Inference
3. After Jim's father dies the captain grows weaker, yet draws his cutlass on the table when he is drunk. Is he more dangerous now, or less?Character
4. Once the captain pipes up “a kind of country love-song” from his youth. Why might Stevenson put that small moment in?Author's choice
5. Jim warns the blind man that the captain “sits with a drawn cutlass.” Is that kindness toward someone who is hurting him, or a way of avoiding going in?Moral reasoning
Make a Connection Tell about someone you know who talks boldly when they are frightened.
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and left him staring sober.
terror as of mortal sickness.
spirited as they were in meaning,
the voice in which they were uttered.
Our natural distress,
he had as good as forgotten his confidences;
but his temper was more flighty,
gripped it in a moment like a vise.
It cowed me more than the pain,
struck dead by thundering apoplexy.
1. The captain pleads, reminds Jim of past kindness, threatens, and offers a guinea for rum. Using two pieces of evidence, which appeal comes closest to working on Jim?
2. The captain looks into his palm and cries, “Six hours. We'll do them yet.” Using two pieces of evidence, is he hopeful, beaten, or both?
3. Jim says the blind man's voice “cowed me more than the pain.” Using two pieces of evidence, explain what makes this stranger so frightening.