Discussion+Questions

What Do You Know?

__Discussion Questions for Chapters 1 - 3__ 1. Why do Jack and Praiseworthy become stowaways? 2. Why does Jack want to go to the gold fields and strike it rich? 3. Why does Captain Swain want his ship, the //Lady Wilma//, to beat the //Sea Raven// to San Francisco? 4. What job does Captain order Praiseworthy to do? 5. What is a "cut-purse?" 6. What does Praiseworthy put on Good Luck, the pig, in order to uncover the "cut-purse?" What happens then? 7. Where were the banknotes discovered in Higgin's cabin? 8. When the //Lady Wilma// passes a ship that has been becalmed for a week, what does their captain ask Captain Swain to do? How long does this take?

__Discussion Questions for Chapters 4 - 7__ (Quiz on May 18) 1. Be prepared to write a 1 paragraph summary about the events in chapters 4, 5, 6, & 7. 2. Why did Jack worry about Sunday dinners? 3. What did Jack & Praiseworthy buy in Rio de Janeiro that they never saw in Boston? 4. When "Cut-Eye Higgins" took the small stern ship, what did he steal from one of the passengers? 5. What did "Cut-Eye Higgins) take unexpectedly from the ship? Why was Jack happy about this? 6. As the ship moved further south to the tip of South America, why did the weather turn cold? 7. Why is Tierra del Fuego called "land of fire?" 8. Why did Captain Swain go through the dangerous Straits of Magellan instead of around Cape Horn? 9. How did Jack solve the problem of rotting potatoes and dry grape cuttings? 10. How did Praiseworthy's suggestion help the //Lady Wilma// to win the race?

__Discussion Questions for Chapters 8-11 (Quiz on May 25)__ 1. Be prepared to write a 1 paragraph summary about the events in chapters 8, 9, 10, & 11. 2. Why does it take so long for the laundry to wash shirts? 3. What does Quartz Jackson want Jack to save all of his whiskers? 4. What are some of the strange sounding names of the gold towns? Which one does Jack want to get to? 5. How much did Jack and Praiseworthy get for selling one pick and one shovel? 6. When a road agent yells, "...reach for the sky -- or I'll send you there pronto," what does he mean? 7. Whose pictures did Praiseworthy have in his carpetbag? 8. How was Praiseworthy able to knock the big road agent "fifteen feet up hill"? 9. How does a miner stake a claim? 10. What does Pitch-pine Billy do with Praiseworthy's umbrella?