There will be an essay (long-answer) question on the exam. There may also be questions about vocabulary, decisions, themes, characters, and events.
For the essay questions, you will be expected to write a well-developed paragraph. A good study strategy is to outline your thoughts and write a sample paragraph. Here are some possible questions:
a. What are the most important events in Treasure Island, and why were they the most important? Give evidence from the story to support your answer.
b. The word "duty" appears many times in the book. Choose three characters, and explain what he believes about duty, supporting what you say with examples from the book.
c. How does Jim Hawkins make decisions in Treasure Island, from the beginning of the story to the end, and how do his decisions change? Describe in detail at least three decisions Jim makes at different points in the book, and what his decision-making shows about his character.
d. There are many recurring themes in Treasure Island. Choose one, and explain what the story says about that theme, giving at least five examples from the story to support what you say.
As you are reviewing for Treasure Island, you may find this information useful. You may also check SparkNotes (http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/treasure/) or CliffsNotes (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-175.html).
Part One: "The Old Buccaneer."
Some vocabulary words:
apoplexy - n. A stroke. Loss of blood flow to part of the brain.
calumny - n. An attack on someone's character, usually false. Name-calling.
diabolical - adj. Evil and cruel in a devilish and cunning way.
embolden - v. To make bold, or encourage.
euphemism - n. An inoffensive word substituted for one which is offensive.
hamlet - n. A community even smaller than a village.
hearken - v. To listen.
livid - adj. Ashy white, or bruised-looking; also, angry.
rebuff - v. To reject or fight off.
repugnance - n. Disgust or revulsion.
Characters:
Jim Hawkins. Son of the owners of the "Admiral Benbow," a quiet,
isolated inn on the coast of England. Jim is probably in his teens.
Billy Bones. Also known as "the captain" and "the old sea dog,"
he comes to stay at the "Admiral Benbow."
The Black Dog. A former acquaintance of Billy Bones, who comes to see him at
the inn.
Blind Pew. Another former acquaintance of Billy Bones, who gives him the Black
Spot and returns later to carry out the sentence. He is a blind beggar.
Dr. Livesey. The community doctor, a magistrate (judge) and important person
in the community. A sensible person.
Squire Trelawney. A local landowner and important person in the community. A
person of energy and confidence, who is talkative and trusting.
Events:
Chapter 1: Billy Bones comes to stay at the "Admiral Benbow" with his sea chest. He seems to be hiding from other sailors, and pays Jim Hawkins to watch out for a man with one leg. He makes a nuisance of himself at the inn, drinking rum and terrorizing the customers, and does not pay his bills. Dr. Livesey and he have a confrontation, and Livesey threatens him with the law.
Chapter 2: Jim's father is dying. A pale seafaring man comes in looking for "my mate Bill" and he and Billy Bones Talk. There is a great deal of noise, and Billy Bones cuts the Black Dog with his cutlass, but Black Dog escapes. Billy Bones has a stroke and Livesey treats him, telling him he will die if he continues to drink.
Chapter 3: Jim tends Billy Bones, who insists on continuing to drink. Blind Pew appears, and forces Jim to take him to the captain. He hands him a piece of paper and says he has until 10:00, then leaves. Billy Bones has a stroke and dies.
Chapter 4: Jim and his mother run to the nearby hamlet and ask for help, but no one will help them, though several people ride to get Dr. Livesey. Jim's mother, determined to get the money the captain owed her, goes back with Jim. They go through his chest and find, among other things, some gold coins and a packet wrapped in oilskin. Then Blind Pew knocks at the door, someone whistles, and Jim and his mother leave the house while Blind Pew and his companions approach. Jim's mother faints and they hide under the bridge.
Chapter 5: The men search the inn, doing damage. They find money, but that is not what they are looking for. Pew curses at them, and then some revenue officers arrive (brought by someone from the hamlet), the buccaneers run, and Pew is trampled to death by one of the horses. Their supervisor (Dance) takes them to Dr. Livesey's house.
Chapter 6: Dr. Livesey is not home, so they go to Squire Trelawney's house. Dance tells them what happens. They discuss the famous pirate Captain Flint, and his treasure. They open the oilskin packet and find a book of Billy Bones' pirate accounts, and a map showing an island with the location of buried treasure marked on it. They decide they (Livesey, Trelawney, Hawkins, and the men Redruth, Joyce, and Hunter) will go get the treasure. The doctor warns Squire Trelawney not to breathe a word about the treasure, and the squire promises.
Part Two: "The Sea Cook"
Some vocabulary words:
anecdote (n) - short tale or story
berth (n) - bunk or bed on a ship
boatswain (n) - a sailor who controls the work of other sailors
bowsprit (n) - pole sticking out from the bow (front) of a ship
broach (v) - to open something
companion (n) - a porch over the entrance or stairs to the cabin
coxswain (n) - the helmsman or steersman of a ship
duff (n) - a pudding made of flour or currants
fancy (n) - fantasy, or fondness for something.
flattery (n) - excess praise, false praise
foc's'le (n) - forecastle, the forward part of a ship where the sailors live.
humbug (n) - silly or deceptive speech
keel-hauling - (n) a punishment. Hauling someone under the bottom of a boat
with a rope
messmate (n) - a friend (someone you share meals with or "mess" with)
morrow (n) the next day
passably (adv) - in an average way, neither good nor bad
sheepish (adj) - bashful or ashamed
shipshape (adj) - tidy, trim, and well-kept
swagger (v) - to walk in a pompous or proud manner
tarpaulin (n) - waterproof canvas cloth
thither (adv) - to that place
trump (n) - a good fellow or excellent person
New characters:
Tom Redruth - Squire Trelawney's gamekeeper
Blandly - the man who helps Trelawney buy the Hispaniola
Long John Silver - a former sailor who keeps a public-house, hired by Trelawney
to cook on the voyage. He is missing one leg and has a parrot named Cap'n Flint,
who sailed with the famous pirate Captain England. Silver is also called "Barbecue."
Arrow - the mate, who has a drinking problem, though it is hard to tell where
he gets his liquor
Captain Smollett - the captain, who disapproves of the situation
Israel Hand - the coxswain, who is a wily, experienced sailor
Job Anderson - the boatswain, who takes over as mate when Arrow dies.
Events:
Chapter 7: The squire writes a letter from Bristol in which he says he has a ship, has told everyone he is looking for treasure, and has hired a very useful person named Long John Silver. Jim Hawkins goes to Bristol to join him and the doctor.
Chapter 8: Jim takes a note from the squire to Long John Silver, and in Silver's tavern sees Black Dog. However, he is soon convinced Silver is a good person. Silver and he walk back to the squire and the doctor.
Chapter 9: Smollett tells the squire and the captain that he does not like the situation. He tells them the sailors know there is a map, and he asks them to take precautions or he will resign. The squire dislikes Captain Smollett, and so does Jim.
Chapter 10: The voyage goes well, though Arrow's drunkenness causes him to fall overboard. Long John tells Jim about his parrot, Cap'n Flint. The squire continues to have problems with Captain Smollett. Jim goes to get an apple and climbs into the apple barrel.
Chapter 11: While Jim is in the apple barrel, he overhears Long John Silver talking with Israel Hand, Dick, and others. Jim finds out Long John Silver was a pirate with the real Captain Flint. Silver tells the others they must behave themselves until they get to the island and have the treasure aboard, and then they can kill the honest men. Land is sighted.
Chapter 12: The ship anchors at the south of the island. Jim tells the doctor, the squire, and the captain what he has learned. They decide not to let the mutineers know what they have discovered, and go ahead with finding the treasure anyway. Out of the 26 people on board, they only know they can rely on 7.
Part Three: "My Shore Adventure"
Some vocabulary words:
apparition - an unexpected vision
contorted - twisted or wrenched out of shape
ebb - to flow back or recede
languor - inactivity, relaxation, lack of energy.
nondescript - not easily described
outlandish - unusual or unconventional
pious - very religious
squalling - making a high-pitched whining noise
stagnant - not changing, not flowing; stagnant water does not move.
undulating - rising and falling like waves.
New characters:
Ben Gunn - a former pirate who served under Captain Flint. He was marooned
on the island for three years.
Tom and Alan - sailors who have not joined the mutineers.
Events:
Chapter 13: The sailors, grumbling, tow the ship into anchor behind Skeleton Island. It is unpleasant work, the air smells bad, and the sailors become more and more grouchy, and Long John Silver works hard to keep them working. Fearing rebellion, Captain Smollett persuades the squire and the doctor to give them shore leave. Jim decides he isn't needed on board ship and stows away in one of the boats, running off when they get to shore.
Chapter 14: Jim hears voices and sneaks up on Long John Silver and Tom having a conversation. Tom is still honest, and Silver is trying to persuade him to join the mutineers. There is a horrible scream in the distance, and Silver says that is Alan, another of the honest sailors. Silver kills Tom, and blows a whistle. Frightened for his life, Jim Hawkins runs again.
Chapter 15: Jim meets Ben Gunn, who tells him he was marooned on the island for three years-and that he is rich. He served under Captain Flint when Flint buried treasure on the island and killed all the witnesses. Later, when serving aboard a different ship, Gunn told his story to his new crew, and his shipmates came to the island to search for the treasure. When they didn't find it, they marooned him and left. Gunn asks Jim to speak to the squire for him, and tells him he has a boat. They hear cannon shot, and Jim runs toward it, seeing the Union Jack (English flag).
Part Four: "The Stockade"
Characters:
Abraham Gray - a seaman who leaves the mutineers to join the doctor and the squire.
Vocabulary:
abominable (adj): Unusually bad or unpleasant.
acquiescence (n): Acceptance without protest.
bestowed (adj): Given or presented.
doldrums (n): inactivity, stagnancy.
drub (v): Beat, clobber, or thrash.
dysentery (n): An infection of the gut, with diarrhea.
genteel (adj): Civilized, polite, refined.
morass (n): Mire, bog, swamp, and also confusion, entanglement, or imbroglio.
palisade (n): A defensive fence made of stakes driven into the ground.
sprawling (adj): Spread out irregularly.
Events:
Chapter 16: The doctor and Hunter take a boat to the island, and find the stockade. It has water. The doctor hears Alan's death cry and they return to the ship. They load up the boat with powder and food, put it in the block-house, and return for another load. They dump overboard the gunpowder and weapons they don't take with them. As they are leaving, Abraham Gray leaves the mutineers and joins them.
Chapter 17: The boat is heavily loaded and the current is sweeping the boat off course. Aboard the Hispaniola, the mutineers get the cannon ready. The squire shoots at them and kills one, but Israel Hands, who was a gunner, is spared. As the pirates on the island head for their gigs to attack, the squire, captain, and Redruth pull their oars so hard the front of the boat goes underwater and the boat sinks. They wade shore, leaving behind half their food and weaponry.
Chapter 18: They arrive at the stockade at the same time as seven of the mutineers, but the mutineers are driven off (and one killed) by their gunfire. Tom Redruth is killed. The captain raises the British flag. They realize that reinforcements will not come before their food runs out. The mutineers keep firing the cannon at the stockade. Jim Hawkins returns.
Chapter 19: Ben Gunn asks Jim to tell the squire or the doctor he would like to meet with them. A cannonball falls between them and they run in opposite direction. Jim works his way to the shore and watches the mutineers destroying the jolly-boat and drinking rum. He sees the rock where Ben Gunn's boat is hidden and gets to the stockade. Captain Smollett divides the men into watches. The doctor tells Jim he happens to have some cheese for Ben Gunn. They discuss the situation, and the doctor thinks the mutineers will be so affected by illness that they will take the ship and leave. Long John Silver arrives under flag of truce.
Chapter 20: Silver has been chosen captain by the mutineers. He enters the stockade. Something he says leads Jim to believe that Ben Gunn has killed one of them while they were drunk. Silver says he wants the treasure map, and if they give it to him and promise to stop killing the mutineers, he will promise either to let them ride to safety in the ship or stay on the island with provisions. The captain refuses, and Silver, swearing, leaves.
Chapter 21: Captain Smollett makes plans for defending the blockhouse. The mutineers attack. The defenders run out of the blockhouse and attack the mutineers, chasing them off. Five mutineers are killed, but Joyce has been killed, the captain is wounded, and Hunter has been knocked unconscious. The numbers are now four to nine (later eight, as one of the mutineers dies). The captain, the squire, the doctor, Abraham Gray, and Jim Hawkins survive.
Part Five: "My Sea Adventure"
New characters:
O'Brien (red-cap), a pirate
Vocabulary:
coracle (n) - a small rounded boat made of hides stretched over a wicker frame
dilapidation (n) - deterioration, decay; the process of becoming worn out
dirk (n) - a long dagger with a straight blade
disquietude (n) - uneasiness. A feeling of mild anxiety.
escapade (n) - an adventure or risky undertaking.
French leave (n) - an abrupt, unannounced departure (without saying goodbye)
hitherto (adv) - up to now, up to this moment.
linger (v) - to take one's time leaving. If a dying person lingers, he is not
dead yet.
perplexity (n) - confusion or puzzlement
priming (n) - the substance by which an explosive is set off.
thunderstruck (adj) - astounded, flabbergasted, or extremely surprised.
Events:
Chapter 22: The doctor tends to the wounded and the honest men eat dinner. The captain was not fatally wounded. The doctor goes into the forest to find Ben Gunn, and Jim Hawkins, envying him his freedom, decides to take food and weapons and go find Ben Gunn's boat. He comes to the shore and sees the Hispaniola. There are two men aboard, while other pirates go back to the shore in the jolly-boat. Jim finds Ben Gunn's boat and decides to take it out that night and cut the Hispaniola loose.
Chapter 23: Jim manages to get the coracle to the ship, and holds on to her anchor rope. He waits until the rope is loose and cuts it. He hears Israel Hand (the coxswain) and another pirate with a redcap arguing. On the shore the other pirates are singing and burning a camp fire. As the ship drifts, Jim grabs a cord trailing from the ship and climbs up it to look in the cabin. He sees Hands and the other man fighting. He drops back into his coracle and falls asleep, letting the Hispaniola and the coracle drift.
Chapter 24: In the morning, Jim finds he has drifted around the south west end of the island. He drifts and paddles in the boat until he is close in to the island, and then he sees the Hispaniola again. She is apparently sailing, but it is soon clear no one is steering. He gets aboard the Hispaniola, which runs down his coracle.
Chapter 25: Jim finds Israel Hands wounded on the deck, and the other pirate (redcap) dead. Jim shows himself to Hands, who asks for brandy. He gets water, food, and brandy and gives the brandy to Hands. Jim lowers the black flag and talks to Hands. The two pirates had gotten the sails up, and he promises Jim to tell him how to sail her, promising he will take it to North Inlet. Jim bandages the stab wound in the pirate's thigh, and is happy, but the pirate is watching him.
Chapter 26: Hands suggests that Jim dump the other pirate (O'Brien) overboard. He tries to get Jim to go get some liquor, and Jim suspects trickery.. Sure enough, when he watches from concealment, he sees Hands getting a knife and hiding it. Jim and Hands talk, and Hands says he has never seen "good come o' goodness yet." Hands helps him get the boat into North Inlet, where they see another vessel wrecked. As they head in to put the Hispaniola on the beach, Hands attacks Jim with his knife. Jim fires his pistol but it doesn't go off. Jim and Hands dodge around the mast, and the Hispaniola strikes the beach. Both people tumble over, but Jim jumps into the sail ropes (mizzen shrouds). Jim fixes his pistol, while Hands climbs after him. Hands throws a knife at him and pins his shoulder through to the mast with his dirk. Jim fires both his pistols, and Hands falls into the water, dead.
Chapter 27: Hands is drowned and shot and on the bottom of the sea. The dirk comes loose and Jim gets down and throws O'Brien over the side of the ship. He cuts the ropes to the main sail. He gets off the ship and heads back to the blockhouse in the dark. There are the embers of a fire burnt out by the building, and Jim fears something is wrong, but he enters the blockhouse and walks in. Cap'n Flint, the parrot, shouts, "Pieces of eight!" and wakes up the pirates, who have taken over the blockhouse. Jim is in the hands of the pirates.
Part 6: Captain Silver
New Character:
George Merry, one of the mutineers, who leads the revolt against Silver
Vocabulary:
apprehension (n) - fearful expectation.
bungle (v) - spoil, make a mess of, destroy.
contemptuous (adj) - scornful, insulting, disdainful.
depose (v) - to force someone to leave his position or office.
extravagant (adj) - excessive spending, high living, luxury.
furtive (adj) - sneaky, secret, or quiet.
impostor (n) - a fake, fraud, or pretender.
parole (n) - the promise of a prisoner to return.
prodigious (n) - enormous, extraordinary, unusually large.
vehemence (n) - intensity, forcefulness, loudness.
Events:
Chapter 28: Jim is captured. His friends have left the blockhouse and the treasure map to Long John Silver. Silver gives Jim a choice of joining the mutineers, but Jim defiantly tells him all the things he has already done to defeat them. Tom Morgan wants to kill Jim, and Silver says he will defend Jim and dares the mutineers to try. The others go out to have a council, and while they are outside Silver asks Jim to protect him because all is lost for the mutineers.
Chapter 29: The council returns and gives Silver the black spot. They have cut it out of a Bible, and Silver tells them that's bad luck. The mutineers have deposed him as captain. He answers their charges one by one, and throws down the treasure map, which they didn't realize he had. Then he says he resigns, but they re-elect him. Jim sees that Silver is trying to keep the mutineers together and still save his own life.
Chapter 30: The doctor comes to the blockhouse to take care of the mutineers. He thinks Jim has gone over to their side and asks to speak to him. Silver makes Jim promise he will return, and pleads for a good word. Jim tells the doctor about the ship and where it is. The doctor tries to make him escape, but Jim has given his word. As Silver comes out, Livesey promises he will do his best to save him, and leaves.
Chapter 31: Silver tells the mutineers Jim Hawkins is their hostage and they will go get the treasure and have their revenge on him. Jim is afraid Silver is playing both sides. With Jim tied by a rope around his waist and the end held by Silver, they set off with picks, shovels, and provisions to get the treasure. Following the directions on the map, they set off. After a long walk, they find a human skeleton left by Captain Flint as a pointer. Frightened by the sight, they wonder if Flint's ghost haunts the island singing "Fifteen Men." Now very nervous, they keep going.
Chapter 32: Sure enough, they hear singing, and the voice is singing Flint's song, "Fifteen Men." They are terribly scared, especially when the voice adds Flint's last words ("Fetch aft the rum, Darby!"). Silver says there was an echo to the voice, so it could not be a ghost, and they realize that the voice is more like Ben Gunn's than Silver's. However, the mutineers do not know that Ben Gunn is on the island, and even if it is Gunn's spirit he is nearly as terrifying as Flint's ghost would be. They come to the place where the treasure was buried. It is not there any more, and has obviously been gone for a long time.
Chapter 33: Silver passes a gun to Jim Hawkins and puts space between them and the others. The buccaneers are furious and are ready to attack Long John Silver. Then George Merry, the leader, is shot down by someone and so is another man, and the three remaining pirates run for it. Silver kills Merry as he lies on the ground. The doctor, Ben Gunn, and Abraham Gray join them from the trees. The doctor tells them how Ben Gunn had carried the treasure bit by bit to a cave on the north-east of the island. This was why the doctor gave the mutineers the chart, the cabin, and the provisions. He sent Ben Gunn to frighten the mutineers to slow them down so the ambush would work. The honest men destroy one gig, take the other, and pass Ben Gunn's cave on the way to the Hispaniola. They board the ship, put another anchor down, and send Gray to guard the ship. They celebrate with a dinner in the cave, and Long John Silver, celebrating with them, seems to be the same person Jim first thought he was at the beginning of the voyage.
Chapter 34: The honest men take the gold to the Hispaniola. Jim packs the coins into bags. Silver behaves himself, though the others treat him like a dog. After some days, they leave some provisions for the marooned pirates, and set off in their ship. They anchor in a port in South America and visit on land overnight. When they return, Ben Gunn tells them Silver has escaped with a sack of coins. When they reach Bristol, only five of the men who set sail at the beginning are still aboard: The Captain, the Doctor, the Squire, Abraham Gray, and Jim Hawkins. The survivors divide up the treasure. They never hear of Long John Silver again, though at nights Jim sometimes awakes with the sound of Silver's parrot ringing in his ears.