Treasure Island
Chapter 4 — 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 mother, with the blind man's stick tapping at the bolted door, refuse to take one coin more than she is owed?
The tension The whole hamlet will not go near the inn, so mother and son go alone; then, kneeling over the dead captain's gold, she counts out her exact due while the tapping comes and goes and a whistle sounds on the hill. She calls it honesty and her rights. Jim, dragging her fainting under the bridge, calls it "her honesty and her greed, for her past foolhardiness and present weakness". The chapter sets her stubborn sense of what is right against the plain sense of getting out alive, and asks what drives her.
Today's focus
Follow Jim and his mother through one night: who helps, who refuses, and how the two of them act as the danger comes close.
Two core ideas
- Fear changes what people do: the neighbours stay behind their doors while mother and son go back alone.
- Jim and his mother face the same danger but do not always choose the same way to meet it.
The shape at a glance
Jim tells his mother what he knows, and the two run to the hamlet, where no one will go back with them. They return alone, find the black spot and the key, and open the captain's chest. While they count out the gold, the blind man taps at the door and a whistle sounds on the hill, and they flee to the little bridge, where Jim's mother faints.
A way in
Start with the hamlet. Ask what you would expect the neighbours to do, and what they do instead.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the run to the hamlet, the mother's speech, the return, the key, the chest, the tapping and the bridge.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes one long sentence with semicolons that a sudden sound cuts off, then one short sentence about how it was taken.
Debate Take sides: was going back to the inn wise or foolhardy? Each side uses at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Stevenson puts the long counting of gold between the tapping and the whistle.
Easier Read the scene in the captain's room aloud together and talk through discussion questions 3 and 4 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence.
Harder Ask the student to compare what the neighbours do with what Jim's mother does, and add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- No one in the hamlet will go back to the inn with Jim and his mother. Was that cowardice, or good sense?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to judge people who refuse to help by what they knew and what they risked.
One reading
It was cowardice: a whole hamlet would not help a widow and her boy.
you would have thought men would have been ashamed of themselves
not one would help us to defend the inn
Another reading
It was good sense: they knew the danger and Jim did not.
The name of Captain Flint, though it was strange to me, was well enough known to some there and carried a great weight of terror.
anyone who was a comrade of the captain's was enough to frighten them to death
Listen for
- Says what the neighbours knew that Jim did not.
- Separates being afraid from refusing to help at all.
If stuck
- What do some of the men know about the name Captain Flint?
- What do the hamlet people offer Jim and his mother?
- What could they have done that they did not?
A strong answer The chapter gives both. For some of the men the name of Captain Flint “carried a great weight of terror,” and strangers had been seen on the road, so the danger was real for people who did not have to go. But Jim says men “would have been ashamed of themselves,” and “not one would help us to defend the inn,” though they do hand over a pistol and promise horses. A strong answer says what the men could have done, and whether it was enough, without denying the risk.
- Everyone cries out at the foolhardiness of going back, yet Jim says “of course” he will go with his mother. Why might he?Character
What it asks It asks what moves a boy to take a risk that everyone else calls foolish.
One reading
Loyalty: he will not let his mother go alone.
Of course I said I would go with my mother
would have left my mother alone and unprotected, which was not to be thought of
Another reading
He shares her view that the money is owed to the family.
was certainly due to us
Listen for
- Uses something Jim says or does, not only what the neighbours think.
- Says whether going back was Jim's own choice or only his mother's.
If stuck
- What does Jim say about leaving his mother alone?
- What does Jim think about the dead man's money?
- Does Jim wait to be asked?
A strong answer Jim says he will go “of course,” and earlier he says that leaving his mother “alone and unprotected” was “not to be thought of.” That points to loyalty. He also thinks some of the captain's money “was certainly due to us,” so the errand is his too. The neighbours call it foolhardiness, but a strong answer says what Jim is weighing against the risk and does not claim it was only one thing.
- Jim reads “You have till ten tonight,” and then the clock strikes six. How does the author use time to shape what comes next?Author's choice
What it asks It asks how a deadline on a scrap of paper changes the way the reader feels through the long search.
One reading
The hours give breathing room, so the search feels like a race they might win.
the news was good, for it was only six
It was not yet seven, she said, by a long way
Another reading
The comfort does not last: danger arrives long before ten.
You have till ten tonight.
a little low whistle sounded a good way off upon the hill
Listen for
- Says what the clock does for the reader, not only for Jim.
- Notices that the danger comes early.
If stuck
- What does Jim say when the clock strikes six?
- What does the mother say when it is close to seven?
- Does the danger wait for ten?
A strong answer The message gives them until ten, and the clock striking six makes the news “good”: there is time. That lets the reader breathe a little during the long counting of coins. Then a whistle sounds on the hill long before ten, so the comfort does not last. The author uses a number to give hope and then take it away. A strong answer says what the reader feels at each stage.
- Jim wonders why the captain carried five or six West Indian shells about with him. What does the chest as a whole suggest about the man?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to read a man from the things he kept, and to say what is surprising in the pile.
One reading
He kept souvenirs of a long life at sea, more keepsakes than anything useful.
five or six curious West Indian shells
an old Spanish watch and some other trinkets of little value and mostly of foreign make
Another reading
He lived hunted and kept his best things put away, with a bag of gold at the bottom.
a suit of very good clothes, carefully brushed and folded. They had never been worn, my mother said.
his wandering, guilty, and hunted life
Listen for
- Notices the good clothes that were never worn.
- Uses Jim's own words about the captain's life and asks whether the chest supports them.
If stuck
- What lies on top of the chest, and what lies at the bottom?
- What does the mother say about the suit of clothes?
- Which things here are useful, and which are only kept?
A strong answer The chest holds odd things: a suit of very good clothes “carefully brushed and folded” that “had never been worn,” a quadrant, pistols, silver, a Spanish watch and shells, and at the bottom a bundle and a bag of gold. One reading is of a man who kept souvenirs of a long life at sea. Another is of a man who was always on the run and kept his best things put away. Jim's own words, “wandering, guilty, and hunted,” lean toward the second, but the chest does not say why he was hunted. A strong answer uses the objects and stops where the evidence stops.
- Crouched under the bridge, Jim curses the neighbours and blames his own mother. Is his anger fair?Theme
What it asks It asks the student to judge anger that has two targets, and to say which of them is easier to defend.
One reading
It is fair: the neighbours left them alone, and the night's risks were real.
not one would help us to defend the inn
our departure exposed to the eyes of any watchers
Another reading
It is unfair to his mother: she is frightened and failing, and he calls her "poor" even as he blames her.
My dear, said my mother suddenly, take the money and run on. I am going to faint.
I blamed my poor mother
Listen for
- Separates his anger at the neighbours from his anger at his mother.
- Notices that he calls her "poor" while he blames her.
If stuck
- Who does Jim curse first?
- What does his mother say when they see the lantern coming?
- What does Jim do for her under the bridge?
A strong answer Jim's anger is about fear as much as fairness. The neighbours did refuse to help, and his mother keeps arguing while a whistle sounds on the hill, so he has reasons. But he also calls her “my poor mother,” she is about to faint, and he drags her under the bridge himself. A strong answer separates the two targets of his anger and says which one is easier to defend.
Critical thinking
- Jim and his mother search the house for the key and the gold. Using two pieces of evidence, explain who leads: Jim or his mother.
What it asks It asks the student to read how two people share a frightening job, by who speaks and who acts.
One reading
The mother leads: she gives the orders and takes charge of the chest.
Draw down the blind, Jim, whispered my mother
Now, Jim, she said, that key.
Another reading
Jim leads where it counts: he does the hardest searching.
I went down on my knees at once.
Overcoming a strong repugnance, I tore open his shirt at the neck
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what each piece shows, not only who speaks.
If stuck
- Who says the key must be found, and who finds it?
- What does the mother say about touching the dead man?
- Who turns the lock and throws back the lid?
A strong answer The mother gives the orders: “Draw down the blind, Jim,” and later “that key.” But she gives “a kind of sob” at the thought of touching the body, and it is Jim who kneels, searches the pockets and tears open the shirt. Then it is she who turns the lock and throws back the lid. The chapter shows a partnership: one directs and the other does what cannot be asked of her. A strong answer names two pieces and says which one matters more.
- Jim slips the bolt when they return, and the blind man cannot get in. Using two pieces of evidence, did the bolt help them or put them in danger?
What it asks It asks the student to weigh a choice that Jim himself judges in two different ways.
One reading
It helped: it kept the blind man out.
we could hear the handle being turned and the bolt rattling as the wretched being tried to enter
how thankful I was that I had bolted it
Another reading
It put them in danger: a locked door could tell the blind man someone was inside.
the bolted door must have seemed suspicious and would bring the whole hornets nest about our ears
Listen for
- Uses what Jim thinks and what the blind man does.
- Notices that Jim gives two opinions about the bolt.
If stuck
- What happens when the blind man tries the door?
- What does Jim fear the locked door will tell the blind man?
A strong answer The bolt did keep the blind man out: he turned the handle, rattled the bolt and, after a long silence, tapped away. Jim says he was thankful “that I had bolted it.” But he also fears the bolted door “must have seemed suspicious and would bring the whole hornets nest about our ears.” The chapter does not say what the blind man made of it; a whistle sounds soon after and footsteps come running. A strong answer weighs both and says which fear is better supported.
- Fog, frost and moonlight change through the night. Using two pieces of evidence, does the night help Jim and his mother more than it hurts them?
What it asks It asks the student to follow the weather through the chapter and judge which way it leans for the two of them.
One reading
It helps: fog hides their first steps, and the still frosty air warns them in time.
a thin veil still hung unbroken to conceal the first steps of our escape
I had heard in the silent frosty air a sound
Another reading
It hurts: the moon rises and the fog clears, so they cannot stay hidden.
A full moon was beginning to rise and peered redly through the upper edges of the fog, and this increased our haste
already the moon shone quite clear on the high ground on either side
Listen for
- Says what changes from the start of the night to the end.
- Two pieces of evidence that support one clear answer.
If stuck
- What is the fog doing when they leave the hamlet, and what is it doing when they leave the inn?
- How does Jim hear the blind man coming?
A strong answer The night turns against them as it goes on. The moon rises and the fog is “rapidly dispersing,” so they must soon come “forth into the moonlight.” Earlier the fog hid them, and the “silent frosty air” carried the tapping and the whistle to their ears in time. A strong answer says which of those matters more as the night passes, and gives two pieces of evidence for it.