Study Guide — Treasure Island

Chapter: “Narrative Resumed by Jim Hawkins: The Garrison in the Stockade”

Themes / Big Ideas

Leadership and discipline vs. mutiny and chaos
- Captain Smollett organizes watches, work, and morale in the stockade, opposing Silver’s lawless crew—mirroring the book’s larger struggle between order and rebellion.
Coming of age and courage
- Jim makes independent choices (meeting Ben Gunn, returning to the stockade, taking sentry duty), building the self-reliance that defines his growth throughout the novel.
Moral ambiguity and shifting loyalties
- Ben Gunn’s secretive bargain and Silver’s “genteel” manner show how allies and enemies can blur—central to Treasure Island’s gray morality.
Survival under scarcity and strategy in warfare
- Low provisions force careful planning: pick off buccaneers, use terrain and timing—echoing the novel’s emphasis on cunning over brute force.
Isolation and sanity
- Ben Gunn’s odd behavior after three years alone reveals how the island tests human nature, a motif across the book.
Symbols of civilization vs. piracy
- Union Jack and stockade (order) contrast with the Jolly Roger and rum (lawlessness), reinforcing the story’s symbolic battleground.
Death and the cost of adventure
- Redruth’s burial underscores the human toll of treasure-hunting, a sobering counterpoint to romance and excitement.
Nature as both ally and adversary
- “Rum and the climate” become tactical allies; the marsh and sand, smoke and wind shape events—nature is a decisive force in the conflict.

Word/Phrase	Part of Speech	Definition
stockade	noun	A defensive enclosure made of upright posts or logs (a palisade).
garrison	noun	A group of defenders stationed to protect a fort or place.
mutineers	noun (plural)	People who rebel against lawful authority on a ship.
Jolly Roger	noun (proper)	The black pirate flag (often with skull and crossbones).
buccaneers	noun (plural)	Pirates, especially of the Caribbean.
cannonade	noun	A prolonged or heavy firing of cannon.
anchorage	noun	A sheltered area where ships can anchor safely.
jolly-boat	noun	A small open boat carried by a larger ship.
knoll	noun	A small rounded hill.
eddied	verb (past)	Swirled in a circular current.
loophole	noun	A narrow opening in a wall for looking or shooting through.
sentry	noun	A guard posted to keep watch.
stark	adjective	Rigid or stiff (especially in death); also bare or severe.
grog	noun	Rum diluted with water (sometimes with sugar or lemon).
schooner	noun	A fast sailing ship with two or more masts.
marsh	noun	Low, wet land; a swampy area.
piping the eye	idiom	Nautical slang for crying or tearing up.
noon observation	noun phrase	Measuring the sun at noon to determine latitude (navigation).
widders	noun (dialect, plural)	Widows (colloquial form used in the chapter).
gentlemen of fortune	noun phrase	Euphemism for pirates/privateers.

“And you’ll say this: ‘Ben Gunn,’ says you, ‘has reasons of his own.’” — Ben Gunn’s secretive bargaining and self-interest.
“There was the Jolly Roger—the black flag of piracy—flying from her peak.” — Clear sign of the mutiny’s triumph aboard the Hispaniola.
“That man Smollett is a better man than I am.” — Doctor Livesey’s tribute to disciplined leadership.
“A man who has been three years biting his nails on a desert island, Jim, can’t expect to appear as sane as you or me.” — Isolation’s effect on human nature.
“Before supper was eaten we buried old Tom in the sand and stood round him for a while bare-headed in the breeze.” — The sober reality of loss.
“We had two able allies—rum and the climate.” — Strategy that weaponizes vice and environment.
“First ship that ever I lost.” — Captain Smollett’s sense of responsibility and the cost of conflict.
“If them pirates camp ashore, Jim, what would you say but there’d be widders in the morning?” — Ben Gunn’s blunt warning about pirate violence.
“Our chimney was a square hole in the roof… and the rest eddied about the house and kept us coughing and piping the eye.” — Vivid setting; hardship inside the stockade.
“Flag of truce! … Silver himself!” — The chapter’s cliffhanger, pivoting to negotiation and power plays.