Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Describe John Silver's galley in Treasure Island in your own words.

We don't get much information about the sea cook Long John Silver's galley (kitchen), but we know it is near the ship's six cabins. I will include the quote from the book about the galley, and we can experiment with starting to paraphrase it:

To me he was unweariedly kind, and always glad to see me in the galley, which he kept as clean as a new pin, the dishes hanging up burnished and his parrot in a cage in one corner. . . .
And the parrot would say, with great rapidity, "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!" till you wondered that it was not out of breath, or till John threw his handkerchief over the cage.

The main point about the galley is that it reflects Long John Silver's personality—meaning it is a friendly, orderly place where a person would like to be: just as people like to be around John himself. However, being on a ship, it must be small.
It is a place that Long John Silver works hard to keep clean. It is compared to a new pin: we might, using our own words, compare it to a shiny new penny or some new item that has just come out of its packaging. The dishes hanging up burnished on the walls would be metal dishes that have been highly polished so that they gleam brightly. You wouldn't want to have a lot of breakables on a ship, and Long John certainly doesn't.
Finally, the most notable aspect of the galley beyond its cleanliness and order is the parrot in the cage in the corner. He provides both company and a lively energy with his chatter, and when Long John wants him to be quiet, he puts a handkerchief over the cage.

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