Treasure Island · Chapter
The Ebb-Tide Runs explained
Jim Hawkins, in the coracle, struggles to navigate the treacherous current toward the Hispaniola.
What happens
Jim Hawkins, in the coracle, struggles to navigate the treacherous current toward the Hispaniola. He cuts the schooner loose from its anchor, overhearing a drunken quarrel between Israel Hands and another pirate. After cutting the final hawser, he is swept alongside the ship, glimpses the two men fighting, and is carried by the ebb tide through the narrows toward the open sea, fearing for his life.
Themes in this chapter
Courage and Cowardice
Jim demonstrates courage by cutting the hawser and boarding the Hispaniola despite mortal danger, yet also experiences fear and prays for his life as the tide sweeps him toward the open sea.
The Lure of the Unknown
Jim's curiosity drives him to grasp the trailing cord and look through the cabin window, risking discovery to witness the pirates' struggle.
Characters to notice
- Jim Hawkins
Narrates his perilous journey in the coracle, cuts the Hispaniola loose, and observes the pirates' quarrel.
- Israel Hands
Heard quarreling drunkenly in the cabin with another pirate; later glimpsed locked in a deadly wrestle.
- Ben Gunn
Mentioned as having admitted the coracle was 'queer to handle till you knew her way.'
Key passages
“The coracle—as I had ample reason to know before I was done with her—was a very safe boat for a person of my height and weight, both buoyant and clever in a seaway; but she was the most cross-grained, lopsided craft to manage.”
The coracle was stable and buoyant for someone Jim's size, but it was notoriously difficult to steer and tended to turn in circles.
Jim describes the coracle's paradoxical nature—safe yet unmanageable.
“One cut with my sea gully, and the Hispaniola would go humming down the tide.”
A single slash of his knife would set the Hispaniola free to drift with the current.
Jim contemplates the simplicity of cutting the ship loose.
“I lay down flat in the bottom of that wretched skiff and devoutly recommended my spirit to its Maker.”
Jim prostrated himself in the coracle and prayed, preparing for death.
Jim's fear and resignation as the tide carries him toward danger.