Treasure Island — Chapter: “The Sea-chest” Study Guide

Themes and Big Ideas (tied to the novel’s larger concerns)

Courage vs. cowardice: The villagers refuse to help, while Jim and his mother act bravely. This echoes the novel’s repeated tests of nerve and moral fiber.
Honesty vs. greed: Jim’s mother insists on taking only what is owed, contrasting the pirates’ avarice and foreshadowing how treasure tempts and corrupts.
Coming-of-age and agency: Jim takes decisive steps (bolting the door, searching the captain, grabbing the oilskin packet), marking his move from boyhood into responsibility—an arc that will define the story.
Law and order vs. pirate code: The “black spot” represents pirate “justice,” while the talk of riding for Dr. Livesey represents conventional law and community order.
Power of reputation and fear: Captain Flint’s name terrifies the hamlet, showing how legend and notoriety control behavior throughout the book.
Home invaded by the outlaw world: The Admiral Benbow, a domestic space, becomes a crime scene and battleground—one of the novel’s recurring collisions of safe home vs. dangerous sea.
Suspense, time pressure, and fate: “You have till ten tonight” creates a ticking clock that drives action—an adventure motif Stevenson uses across the novel.
Symbols that matter:
- The black spot (doom, pirate judgment)
- The sea-chest (the lure of treasure and secrets)
- Fog and moonlight (concealment vs. exposure)
- The oilskin packet (papers that set the quest in motion, later revealed as crucial to the treasure)

Word	Part of Speech	Definition (as used here)
hamlet	noun	A very small village.
cove	noun	A small, sheltered bay on the coast.
lugger	noun	A small sailing boat with lugsails, often used by fishermen or smugglers.
hearken	verb	To listen carefully; to give attention to sound.
parlour	noun	A sitting room in a house or inn.
gully	noun	A large knife (here, a sailor’s knife).
tinder box	noun	A small container with flint, steel, and tinder for starting a fire.
tarry	adjective	Smeared or coated with tar.
repugnance	noun	Strong disgust or aversion.
quadrant	noun	A navigational instrument for measuring angles (e.g., to find latitude).
canikin	noun	A small can or drinking mug.
brace (of pistols)	noun	A pair; two of something.
compasses	noun (plural)	A divider tool used in navigation to measure distances on charts.
doubloon	noun	A Spanish gold coin.
louis d’or	noun	A French gold coin (pre-Revolution).
guinea	noun	A British gold coin worth 21 shillings.
pieces of eight	plural noun	Spanish silver coins worth eight reales.
oilskin	noun	Oiled waterproof cloth; here, used to wrap important papers.
black spot	noun	A pirate token signifying judgment, warning, or doom.
score	noun	A bill or account of money owed.

“They say cowardice is infectious; but then argument is, on the other hand, a great emboldener.” — Sets up the chapter’s contrast between fear and resolve.
“If none of the rest of you dare,” she said, “Jim and I dare. Back we will go… We’ll have that chest open, if we die for it.” — Jim’s mother models courage and strict honor.
“I’ll show these rogues that I’m an honest woman… I’ll have my dues, and not a farthing over.” — Honesty vs. greed under threat.
“You have till ten tonight.” — The black spot’s ultimatum; time pressure driving action.
“The name of Captain Flint… carried a great weight of terror.” — Reputation as power.
“My heart was beating finely when we two set forth in the cold night upon this dangerous venture.” — Jim’s step into danger and responsibility.
“the tap-tapping of the blind man’s stick upon the frozen road.” — Sensory detail that heightens suspense and recalls the menace of the pirate world.
“Perhaps it’s round his neck,” suggested my mother. — Practical courage in a grisly task; shows their resolve.
“I’ll take this to square the count,” said I, picking up the oilskin packet. — Jim claims the papers that will propel the larger quest.
“It was only in the exact bottom of the dell… that a thin veil still hung… to conceal the first steps of our escape.” — Fog and moonlight imagery symbolizing concealment vs. exposure.