Chapter 6

Treasure Island

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

That was all; but brief as it was, and to me incomprehensible, it filled the squire and Dr. Livesey with delight. Livesey, said the squire, you will give up this wretched practice at once. Tomorrow I start for Bristol.

In the first sentence the word "incomprehensible" comes before the two men it fills "with delight". What does that order tell you about where Jim stands in this room? Why might the author let the boy who understands nothing be the one who tells us what the gentlemen felt?

Discussion

Narration Tell what happens from the ride to Dr. Livesey's door to the moment the squire promises to be silent.

1. The doctor looks the packet over “as if his fingers were itching to open it,” then pockets it. Why might he wait?Inference

2. Dr. Livesey slaps his thigh and the squire breaks his long pipe when they hear Jim's mother went back to the inn. What do those reactions show about each man?Character

3. The squire says the men who attacked the inn care for nothing “but money,” and then plans to fetch the treasure himself. Is there a difference?Moral reasoning

4. The doctor “can't make head or tail” of the account-book, yet agrees when the squire calls it “as clear as noonday.” Why might he agree?Character

5. The account-book comes out first, with crosses and sums, and the map only after. What does that order do for the reader?Author's choice

Make a Connection Tell about a time two people you know reacted very differently to the same good news.

Vocabulary

Crossword

1	2	3	4

				5

					6


			7

Across

Across 1. impossible to understand
Across 7. careful with money

Down

Down 2. gracious in a way that shows one feels superior
Down 3. to an enormous degree
Down 4. given to bursting out in cries
Down 5. shockingly wicked
Down 6. miserable; poor and worthless

The words in the chapter

incomprehensible and to me incomprehensible,
wretched give up this wretched practice at once.
condescending very stately and condescending.
atrocious that black, atrocious miscreant,
prodigiously so prodigiously afraid of him

exclamatory hot-headed and exclamatory
unintelligible mostly single words and unintelligible.
plundered that they sank or plundered.
thrifty Thrifty man! cried the doctor.

Define These Words

unintelligible: impossible to make sense of
plundered: robbed by force

Critical thinking

1. Using two pieces of evidence, what does the map's detail tell us about whoever made it?

2. The squire's plan speeds up from “three weeks” to “ten days.” Using two pieces of evidence, what does his planning show about how he sees the voyage?

3. How do the doctor and the squire treat Jim? Using two pieces of evidence, is he an equal, a guest, or a boy to be looked after?