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Treasure Island
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Which of Silver's two promises is the real one, "back to back" made to Jim alone, or "like so much gold" made to the crew?
The tension Alone, Silver tells Jim they must stick close and save their necks together. At the fire he tells his crew he will keep the hostage "like so much gold, in case of accidents" and talk him over once the treasure and ship are theirs. Jim, tethered to Silver's rope like a dancing bear, sees a man with a foot in either camp who would rather have wealth with the pirates than a bare escape from hanging with the gentlemen. Then the party finds a skeleton lying straight as a compass needle. Silver reads it as one of Flint's jokes, a man Flint killed and laid down by compass, and counts the parallel himself: "Six they were, and six are we". The reckless crew falls quiet. The chapter sets Silver's two promises against each other, with his own count hanging over the men he is promising the treasure to, and asks which promise is the real one.
Watch how Silver speaks to Jim, to the crew and over the skeleton, and ask what Jim can rely on.
Silver tells Jim in private that they must stick together. At breakfast he tells the crew he will hold Jim as a hostage. Jim, tied on a rope, follows Silver up to the plateau. The party finds a skeleton laid straight, pointing at Skeleton Island. Silver reads it as one of Flint's jokes, and the men go on together, quietly.
Start with Silver's private word to Jim and his public word at the fire. Ask what Jim is feeling as he sets out.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the private word, the breakfast, the rope, the boats, the climb, the skeleton, and the hush.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences of their own that describe a strange sight and a comparison with an animal or object.
Debate Does Silver give Jim good reason to be cast down? Each side gives one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking what the skeleton does to the men, and what Silver does about it.
Easier Read the skeleton scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 4 and 5 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 Silver says one thing and means another, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Silver tells Jim, “I seen you say no, as plain as hearing,” and says it is “the first glint of hope.” Why does Jim's refusal matter so much to Silver?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to work out what Silver gains from Jim's refusal to run, and what it tells Silver about Jim.
It gives him a hostage and a witness who will stay, which is the hope he has been missing.
This is the first glint of hope I had since the attack failed, and I owe it you.
you and me must stick close, back to back like
It shows him a boy he can count on, and that gives him a little pride and trust.
if I saved your life, you saved mine; and Ill not forget it
I seen the doctor waving you to run for it
A strong answer Silver saw the doctor wave Jim to run, and Jim say no. That gives him a witness who stays and a boy he can count on, and he calls it the first glint of hope since the attack failed. A strong answer says what Silver needs from Jim and what he thinks Jim is like, and uses his words.
2. Jim is tied by a rope and follows Silver “like a dancing bear.” What does that picture say about Jim's place in the party?Character
What it asks It asks the student to read Jim's own comparison and think about what is fair and unfair in it.
It is a prisoner's picture. The rope and the leading show he is held against his will.
I had a line about my waist and followed obediently after the sea-cook
all but me armed to the teeth
It is also a hint that he is being shown off or kept for use, as a bear is for a crowd.
I tethered by my rope, he ploughing, with deep pants, among the sliding gravel
I had a line about my waist
A strong answer A dancing bear is led by a rope and made to perform for others, and Jim uses the picture for himself, tethered with no weapons while everyone else is armed to the teeth. A strong answer also notices the odd part: the boy on the rope lends the cripple a hand up the hill. It says what that adds to the picture.
3. After Silver's talk at the fire, Jim is “horribly cast down.” Does Silver give him good reason to be?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Jim's fear against what Silver has actually said and done, and what Jim is only guessing.
Yes. What Silver says at the fire leaves Jim with no one he can rely on.
Silver, already doubly a traitor, would not hesitate to adopt it
he would prefer wealth and freedom with the pirates to a bare escape from hanging
Not wholly. Silver has been open with Jim, and Jim himself can picture Silver keeping faith.
if I saved your life, you saved mine; and Ill not forget it
even if things so fell out that he was forced to keep his faith with Dr. Livesey
A strong answer Jim has heard Silver sketch a plan that leaves him a hostage, and he says Silver would not hesitate to use it. But Jim also remembers Silver's private words, and he can picture Silver forced to keep his faith. A strong answer weighs what Jim has heard against what he only fears, and says how cast down a careful person should be.
4. The skeleton lies “perfectly straight,” with hands raised like a diver's. What is it about the body that chills the men, before anyone says why?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to feel what the author builds before Silver speaks, and what in the picture disturbs.
The unnatural straightness. A body does not fall that way, so someone laid him down.
Taint in natur.
the man lay perfectly straight
The emptiness. Nothing is left in the pockets, and that makes it worse.
There aint a thing left here, said Merry
It dont look natral to me.
A strong answer A skeleton alone would be grim, but this one lies perfectly straight, hands raised above the head like a diver's, as if someone laid him so. Then the men find nothing in the pockets. A strong answer says which detail chills more, the unnatural pose or the empty pockets, and why the author gives both.
5. Silver says, “Six they were, and six are we.” Why would he say that to men he has just promised treasure?Character
What it asks It asks what Silver means by his own count, and what the crew hears in it.
It is a warning, to make the men stay together and stay careful.
Come, come, said Silver; stow this talk.
Care killed a cat. Fetch ahead for the doubloons.
It slips out, because Silver is shaken too.
If it dont make me cold inside to think of Flint.
Great guns! Messmates, but if Flint was living, this would be a hot spot for you and me.
A strong answer Silver says it, and a few moments later stops the talk and sends the men on to the doubloons. It may be a slip, since he admits Flint makes him cold inside. It may be a warning to keep the party close. A strong answer says which it finds more likely, and what the crew does with the count.
1. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jim sees of the pirates' habits at breakfast.
What it asks It asks the student to gather what Jim notices of the crew's carelessness, and what he concludes.
They waste food and effort.
they had cooked, I suppose, three times more than we could eat
threw what was left into the fire
They are bold but careless, and unfit for a long fight.
I never in my life saw men so careless of the morrow
I could see their entire unfitness for anything like a prolonged campaign
A strong answer They cook three times more than they can eat and throw the rest onto the fire, and Jim says he never saw men so careless of the morrow. His conclusion is that they are unfit for a prolonged campaign. A strong answer uses one of the waste and one of the conclusion.
2. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jim is afraid of as he sets out.
What it asks It asks the student to sort Jim's fears, from Silver to the crew to his friends' mystery.
He fears Silver's double dealing.
Silver, already doubly a traitor, would not hesitate to adopt it
What a moment that would be when the suspicions of his followers turned to certainty
He fears the mystery over his friends.
their unexplained desertion of the stockade, their inexplicable cession of the chart
how little taste I found in my breakfast
A strong answer Jim fears that Silver, already doubly a traitor, will not hesitate to use the scheme he has sketched to the crew. He also fears what happens if Silver keeps faith, since the crew would turn on them, and he cannot understand his friends' behaviour. A strong answer uses two of these and says which weighs most.
3. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Silver does to try to calm his men after the skeleton.
What it asks It asks the student to gather Silver's moves in the face of the men's fear.
He makes light of the dead and sends them on.
Hes dead, and he dont walk, that I know
Care killed a cat. Fetch ahead for the doubloons.
He gives them a reading that fits what they see.
this here is a pinter
Right up there is our line for the Pole Star and the jolly dollars
A strong answer Silver tells them that Flint is dead and does not walk, and sends them on after the doubloons. He also reads the bones as a pointer toward the island and the treasure. The last paragraph shows the result: the men keep side by side and speak with bated breath. A strong answer says how well each move works.