Study Guide: Treasure Island — Chapter: “The Black Spot Again”
Themes and Big Ideas
- Pirate law vs. real justice: The black spot ritual shows pirates’ improvised “law,” contrasted with Silver’s vivid fear of the gallows at Execution Dock—the novel’s recurring tension between outlaw codes and imperial law.
- Leadership and charisma: Silver is deposed, then wins the crew back with logic, bravado, and performance—illustrating how power in the book shifts through persuasion and cunning as much as force.
- Greed and the map’s magnetism: The sight of Flint’s chart instantly unites the buccaneers in desire, reflecting the novel’s central engine: treasure fever that overrides prudence and loyalty.
- Survival over loyalty: Silver justifies every move as necessary for survival (including keeping Jim as a hostage), embodying the book’s moral ambiguity and the primacy of self-preservation at sea.
- Superstition vs. religion: Cutting the black spot from a Bible alarms the crew; the Revelation verse “Without are dogs and murderers” hangs over them—echoing the novel’s pattern of superstition, blasphemy, and fate.
- Order vs. anarchy: The mutineers totter on the edge of collapse; Silver enforces “rules” and procedure to pull them back, mirroring the book’s recurring struggle to impose order in a lawless space.
- Coming-of-age and conscience: Jim’s sleepless end—haunted by the man he killed and watching Silver’s moral contortions—pushes his maturation and moral awareness.
- Performance and deception: Silver’s staged resignation, controlled rage, and well-timed “revelations” show leadership as theater, a theme that threads through the novel’s many role reversals and disguises.
Vocabulary
| Word/Phrase | Part of Speech | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| black spot | noun | A pirate token delivering a crew’s verdict (often deposition or death). |
| buccaneer | noun | Pirate; seafaring outlaw. |
| stockade | noun | A defensive enclosure of posts; fort-like barrier. |
| loophole | noun | A narrow opening in a wall for looking or shooting through. |
| belay | verb (nautical; also imperative) | To secure a rope; used to mean “stop that.” |
| lubber | noun (nautical slang) | A clumsy or inexperienced seaman; “landlubber.” |
| deposed | verb/adj. | Removed from office or authority. |
| grievance | noun | A cause for complaint; a perceived wrong. |
| play booty | verb phrase (dialect) | To collude with the enemy; act treacherously for gain. |
| hostage | noun | A person held to force agreement or ensure terms. |
| consort (ship) | noun | An accompanying or partner vessel. |
| chart | noun | A nautical map. |
| hold (of a ship) | noun | The cargo space below decks. |
| plum-duff | noun | A boiled pudding eaten by sailors. |
| hornpipe | noun | A lively dance associated with sailors. |
| clove hitch | noun | A simple knot for fastening a rope to a post or spar. |
| schooner | noun | A sailing vessel with two or more masts. |
| Davy Jones | proper noun | Personification of the sea’s depths; “Davy Jones’s locker” = the bottom of the sea. |
| gibbet | noun | Gallows; a structure for hanging criminals. |
| Execution Dock | proper noun | Historic London site where pirates were hanged. |
| ague | noun | Fever marked by chills and shivering. |
| sentinel | noun | A guard or watchman. |
| derisively | adverb | Mockingly; with scorn. |
| vehemence | noun | Intense force or passion. |
| environed | verb/adj. | Surrounded; encircled. |
Quotes to Look For
- “You’ve gone and cut this out of a Bible. What fool’s cut a Bible?” — superstition vs. religion; blasphemy and bad luck.
- “Belay that talk, John Silver.” — pirate discipline and command.
- “Ah! ‘Deposed’—that’s it, is it?” — the black spot as pirate “law.”
- “I wait here—and I’m still your cap’n, mind—till you outs with your grievances… your black spot ain’t worth a biscuit.” — Silver’s authority through procedure.
- “Oh, we see through you, John Silver; you want to play booty…” — suspicion of treachery within the crew.
- “We’re that near the gibbet that my neck’s stiff with thinking on it.” — fear of imperial justice.
- “Isn’t he a hostage? … he might be our last chance.” — ruthless pragmatism and the value of Jim.
- “You lost the ship; I found the treasure. Who’s the better man at that?” — competence and leadership claims.
- “They leaped upon it like cats upon a mouse.” — the map’s power and greed.
- “I resign, by thunder! Elect whom you please to be your cap’n now; I’m done with it.” — performance as power play.
- “Barbecue forever! Barbecue for cap’n!” — the crew’s fickleness and Silver’s charisma.
- “Without are dogs and murderers.” — ominous biblical judgment shadowing the pirates.
- “…keeping the mutineers together with one hand and grasping with the other… to make his peace and save his miserable life.” — Jim’s insight into Silver’s double game.