Treasure Island — Study Guide for “Black Dog Appears and Disappears”

Themes and Big Ideas

Civilization vs. piracy: Dr. Livesey’s calm, moral authority clashes with Billy Bones’s violent, lawless world—echoing the novel’s larger conflict between order and the pirate code.
Secrets, aliases, and the past: “Bill”/Billy Bones and “Black Dog” reveal a hidden pirate network and a dangerous past intruding on ordinary life—laying groundwork for the treasure plot.
Foreshadowing and ominous signs: The gallows tattoo (“Prophetic”), the notch in the Admiral Benbow sign, and Black Dog’s reappearance foreshadow hangings, mutiny, and peril to come.
The cost of vice (rum): Livesey’s warning—“the name of rum for you is death”—connects personal weakness to downfall, a recurring moral thread throughout the novel.
Fear and intimidation: Black Dog manipulates Jim and ambushes Bones; intimidation is a tool of pirate power and a tension driver across the book.
Loyalty, codes, and betrayal: “If it comes to swinging, swing all” hints at a brutal pirate code—group guilt and shared fate—while also foreshadowing betrayals among shipmates.
Mortality in the midst of adventure: Jim’s father is failing; Bones suffers a stroke. Adventure unfolds alongside illness and death, grounding the romance in stark reality.
Jim’s coming-of-age: Jim is thrust into adult danger and responsibility, a step on his journey from innocent observer to active participant.

Word	Part of Speech	Definition
hoar-frost	noun	A grayish-white crystalline deposit of frozen dew; frost that forms on cold surfaces.
cutlass	noun	A short, broad, curved sword used by sailors/pirates.
tallowy	adjective	Pale, greasy, or waxy-looking (like tallow); sickly.
leer	noun	A sly or unpleasant sideways glance.
fawning	adjective	Overly flattering or obedient; obsequious.
sneering	adjective	Mocking; showing contempt or scorn.
spy-glass	noun	A small handheld telescope used by sailors.
oath	noun	A profane or coarse word; a curse (also a solemn promise).
chine	noun	The backbone; “split him to the chine” = to the backbone.
sinewy	adjective	Muscular and strong; having prominent tendons.
lancet	noun	A small, very sharp surgical blade used for making incisions.
buccaneer	noun	A pirate, especially active in the Caribbean.
gallows	noun	A frame used for hanging a person.
stroke	noun	A sudden medical event caused by interrupted blood flow to the brain.
prophetic	adjective	Predicting or foreshadowing future events.
headforemost	adverb	Headfirst.

“Black Dog!” said he. — Reveals the intruder’s identity and Bones’s terror of his past.
“No, no, no, no; and an end of it!” — Bones’s defiance; tension between old shipmates.
“If it comes to swinging, swing all, say I.” — Pirate code of shared guilt and gallows imagery.
“You and me’ll just go back into the parlour, sonny, and get behind the door…” — Black Dog’s sly manipulation and intimidation of Jim.
“Now, look here,” said the captain; “you’ve run me down; here I am; well, then, speak up; what is it?” — Bones cornered by his past; hunted man imagery.
“...a pinching, frosty morning—the cove all grey with hoar-frost...” — Atmospheric opening that sets a cold, ominous mood.
“Prophetic,” said the doctor, touching this picture with his finger. — The gallows tattoo as foreshadowing of pirate justice.
“There is no Black Dog here,” said the doctor, “except what you have on your own back.” — Livesey’s wit: Bones is his own worst enemy.
“I have just, very much against my own will, dragged you headforemost out of the grave.” — Livesey’s duty vs. disdain for Bones’s choices.
“Now, mind you,” said the doctor, “I clear my conscience—the name of rum for you is death.” — Central moral warning about vice and self-destruction.