Reading Guide

Reading GuideBook: Treasure IslandAuthor: Robert Louis StevensonI. Introduction to the author:Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh and trained as a lawyer. He wrote some plays, and books about his travels in France and Belgium, but his first full-length story was Treasure Island. He got the idea for the story from a map his stepson, Lloyd, had drawn when they were on holiday. Long John Silver was Stevenson’s favorite character in Treasure Island. Years later, he w rote that he still admired ‘that smooth and formidable character’.II. Introduction to the book:When an old pirate dies in his parents’ inn, Jim Hawkins takes possession of a treasure map and with his friends Dr Livesey and Squire Trelawney he sets sail to find the treasure. When he discovers that the ship’s crew, led by Long John Silver, plan to mutiny and steal their treasure though, Jim has to work hard to outwit the pirates. Eventually Jim and his friends triumph and return to England with their share of the treasure, but not before the slippery Long John Silver has escaped - taking four hundred guineas with him.III. Find out answers to the questions:1. Why does Dr. Livesey remain so calm when the old pirate threatens him?Because Dr Livesey is a magistrate as well as a doctor and he will be keeping a close eye on a rogue like the old pirate.2. What causes the Captain to die? Why does Jim cry when the Captain dies but not when his father died?The captain was killed by a second stroke just as Dr Livesey had predicted. Though Jim would never liked him, he burst into tears because it was the second death under their roof in a few days. He was scared and there was nothing he could do.3. W hy doesn’t anyone from the village help Jim and his mother?Because their neighbors were all too terrified to help them and defend the inn. The mention of Captain Flint’s name filled them with terror.4. What’s found in the captain’s hand? What’s in the ch est?Close to the captain’s hand was a round piece of paper blackened on one side. On the other side were the words: ‘you have till ten tonight.’ From inside the chest came a strong smell of tobacco. At the very bottom they found a bundle tied up in oilcloth, and a bag that jingled with coins.5. How do you know that Trelawney has broken his promise of secrecy?Because the captain said that there had been too much blabbing of secrets already. Many crew knew that they have a map of an island, and that there’s crosses on the map to show where the treasure is and the exact position of the island.6. Why does Jim trust Silver so easily?Because Jim was often in the galley working with Long John Silver, whom was always kind to Jim. All the crew respected and even obeyed Silver whom they called Barbecue. They told Jim that Silver was no common man because he was intellectual and brave.7. How do the conditions of the anchorage reflect the conditions inside the ship?The drop of the anchor sent up clouds of birds wheeling and crying over the woods. There was a foul, stagnant smell in the air. The crew’s mood didn’t improve once they were back on the ship. They lay around the deck muttering in low voices. Every order was received with a black look.8. Why does Abraham Gray decide to support the Captain?Because Abraham Gray is afraid of Silver’s cruelty. He is not got the stomach for murder. He is a good man at heart and would join the good if he was steered in the right direction.9. How does the Captain react to Red ruth’s death?The captain put a hand on the squire’s shoulder and told him that all was well with Tom. He had died doing his duty to this captain and his master. He said, ‘All’s well with him, never fear.10. Why does Jim bring Hands his brandy? Jim tells Hands to regard him as the new Captain. Why does Hands obey?Because Jim has come aboard to take charge of the ship, so he need Hands to tell him how to sail the ship. As for Hands, he is badly hurt. Therefore, he need someone to give him food and drink an d tie up his wound. The other pirate is dead, so there’s only Jim to help him.IV. Things to ponder:1. What’s your impression of Jim Hawkins, Dr. Livesey and Long John Silver?Jim Hawkins:The first-person point of view, of almost the entire novel. Jim is the son of an innkeeper near Bristol, England, and is probably in his early teens. He is eager and enthusiastic to go to sea and hunt for treasure. He is a modest narrator, never boasting of the remarkable courage and heroism he consistently displays. Jim is often impulsive and impetuous, but he exhibits increasing sensitivity and wisdom.Dr. Livesey:Dr. Livesey is wise and practical, and Jim respects but is not inspired by him. Livesey exhibits common sense and rational thought while on the island, and his idea to send Ben to spook the pirates reveals a deep understanding of human nature. He is fair-minded, magnanimously agreeing to treat the pirates with just as much care as his own wounded men. As his name suggests, Livesey represents the steady, modest virtues of everyday life rather than fantasy, dream, or adventure.Long John Silver: Silver is the secret ringleader of the pirate band. His physical and emotional strength is impressive. Silver is deceitful and disloyal, greedy and visceral, and does not care about human relations. Yet he is always kind toward Jim and genuinely fond of the boy. Silver is a powerful mixture of charisma and self-destructiveness, individualism and recklessness.2.What do you think are the themes of the story?Stevenson himself said in designing the idea of the story that, ‘It was to be a story for boys; no need of psychology or fine writing; and I had a boy at hand to be a touchstone. Women were excluded... and then I had an idea for Long John Silver from which I promised myself funds of entertainment; to take an admired friend of mine... to deprive him of all his finer qualities and higher graces of temperament, and to leave him with nothing but his strength, his courage, his quickness, and his magnificent geniality, and to try to express these in terms of the culture of a raw tarpaulin.’ Treasure Island is arguably one of the greatest works of storytelling in the English language. Stevenson created other novels, with greater depth and insight, but the highlight of Treasure Island is the combination of colorful and poetic prose that distinguishes his tale of piracy and boyhood adventure from the rest of the field of other adventure books.V. Your favorite sentences in the book:1. He was breathing heavily and his face had turned a deathly color. My mother came running downstairs, but neither of us knew what to do. Luckily at that moment, Dr Livesey arrived to visit my father.2. It was the second death I had known, and the sorrow of the first was still fresh in my heart.3. Indeed, it seemed impossible for either of us to remain much longer in the house; the fall of coals in the kitchen grate, the very ticking of the clock, filled us with alarms.4. A tall man, broad in proportion, and he had a bluff, rough-and-ready face, all roughened and reddened and lined in his long travels. His eyebrows were very black, and moved readily, and this gave him a look of some temper, not bad, you would say, but quick and high.5. I was standing on the dock, when, by the merest accident, I fell in talk with him. I found he was an old sailor, kept a public-house, knew all the seafaring men in Bristol, had lost his health ashore, and wanted a good berth as cook to get to sea again.6. Though I had lived by the shore all my life, I seemed never to have been near the sea till then. The smell of tar and salt was something new.7. From trunk to trunk the creature flitted like a deer, running manlike on two legs, but unlike any man that I had ever seen, stooping almost double as it ran. Yet a man it was, I could no longer be in doubt about that.8. I am leaving this ship, and I order you to follow your Captain. I know you are a good man at the bottom, and I dare say not one of the lot of you’s as bad as he makes out. I have my watch here in my hand; I give you thirty seconds to join me in.9. Do as you pleased, she always made more leeway than anything else, and turning round and round was the maneuver she was best at.10. The woods were grey and the rocks stood above them in strange shapes. I could hear the surf thundering on the beach and the birds crying all around us. It made my heart sink. After such a long voyage, I hates the very sight of Treasure Island.。