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Copywork
About This Passage
This sentence sets the chapter's real quest in motion. Sailors disagreed about whether a group of islands called the Auroras truly existed, and rather than guess, Captain Guy means to do everything he can — 'make every exertion within his power' — to settle the matter for certain. Copying it shows how a careful person refuses to leave an important question half-answered, and how a single firm sentence can announce a purpose.
It was Captain Guy’s intention to make every exertion within his power to settle the question so oddly in dispute.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell what happens in this chapter in order: how the Jane Guy sails away from Christmas Harbor to the tall islands of Tristan da Cunha, how the crew meets the little settlement there and its governor, Glass, and takes on food and seal-skins, and how the ship then sails off to hunt for a group of islands called the Auroras, searching for weeks until the crew is sure the islands are not really there. Slow down at the part you find most surprising and tell what you think.
Discussion Questions
- Tristan da Cunha is lonely and far away, but the chapter also says the people there have animals, vegetables, fish, and seal-skins to trade. Why might living on this island feel hard in one way and good in another? What part of the chapter shows both sides?
- Jonathan Lambert called himself 'the sovereign of the country' after he had cleared land and settled the island, with no government nearby. Why might a person begin to think of himself as ruler in a place like that? What part of the chapter helps you decide?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A small trace or sign that something was once there.
Item 2
An argument about what is true or right.
Item 3
Careful and hard-working.
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Critical Thinking
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