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It’s 1724. Soon after Rachel Howell joins her wealthy father in Charles Town, South Carolina, she becomes friends with Sally, the tavern-keeper’s daughter. When twelve-year-old Rachel is forbidden to see Sally, the girls find a secret meeting place—a deserted island in the Ashley River. There they discover mysterious carvings, a faint trail, a hidden lagoon…and danger that threatens everything Rachel holds dear. |
| Talking About the Story |
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Charles Town was a harbor city situated on a peninsula between two rivers. Talk about ways Charles Town’s geography affected Rachel’s life and the lives of other inhabitants there. How did geography affect events in the story?
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How did Charles Town’s geography make it susceptible to pirates and the influence of
pirates? |
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In a classroom discussion, compare Rachel’s lifestyle as a child of wealth and privilege with that of Sally and Todd, offspring of a common tavern keeper. How did their economic and social level affect where they lived (housing), what they ate, how they spent their time, what they wore, and whether they had access to education? |
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Charles Town’s harbor was a bustling center of commerce and travel. Describe the harbor and compare it to the economic center of your own town or city. (This may be a mall, a downtown area, even a crossroads store.) |
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Talk about the movement of people, goods, and ideas in Charles Town and compare it to such movement in modern times. |
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In colonial times, education was very different from what it is today. Only the upper class could go to school, while children like Sally and Todd had no education at all. At Madame Varnod’s, Rachel learned needlework, drawing, and French. In what ways would Rachel’s schooling prepare her for her life as an adult? How do you think it would leave her short? Compare Rachel’s school to your own. Do you think your schooling will adequately prepare you for your future life? |
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Both Rachel and Sally lived in single parent households, yet their families’ lives were very different. Discuss the differences, as well as the similarities. Were the differences due to family structure, or to economic level, or both? Compare the Howells and the Pughs to single parent families today. |
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Todd was convinced that Mr. Craven was a pirate because the man had only one good eye. Such preconceived ideas about people are called stereotypes; frequently the ideas turn out to be untrue. Have you ever made a judgment about someone based upon a stereotype? Did your judgment change when you got to know the person? |
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Why did Miranda disapprove of Rachel’s friendship with the Pughs? Was she right or wrong? Was Rachel right or wrong to continue her friendship with Sally and Todd after Papa forbade it? |
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Some of the themes in the story are friendship, loyalty, and betrayal. In what ways did Sally and Todd prove their loyalty to Rachel? Rachel to Sally? What other instances of loyalty do we see in the story? Betrayal? Have you ever been faced with a situation where your loyalty to a friend was tested? Tell the class about it. |
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At one point in the story, Sally tells Rachel that Miranda might have her reasons for deceiving Mr. Howell, just as Rachel had reasons for deceiving her father about her friendship with the Pughs. Discuss ways the characters in the story deceived one another and how they each rationalized---or justified---their deceptions. Do you think they were right or wrong? Is deception, or lying, ever justified? Talk about it. |
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Madame Varnod was an immigrant who did not speak English well. Yet she ran a prominent school for girls in Charles Town. Talk about the immigrant groups in your area and how each has contributed to the community. |
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Another immigrant group in Charles Town was the slaves, though their immigration was certainly not voluntary. In colonial America, both North and South, slavery was an accepted practice. Who were the slaves/servants mentioned in the story? What part did they play in the plot? Talk about their contribution to the economic and social life of Charles Town. |
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According to Papa, the West Indies trade and its influence made Charles Town unique among the colonies. In fact, both Miranda and Mr. Craven were from Barbados, an island in the West Indies. There were many diverse cultures represented in the story. What were some of the others? |
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Travel and communication were slow and cumbersome in colonial America. Papa had to travel by ship to Philadelphia to find out whether he could secure a loan, and Rachel waited weeks to hear from him. How did poor communication affect the events in the story? How might the story have been changed if communication had been more efficient? |
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Discuss how the economic system in Charles Town bolstered piracy. Can you think of any modern day parallels, ways in which our economic system might foster illegal activity? (Hint: The Mafia might be one example.) |
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Writing About The Story
Rachel had always dreamed of living with her father, yet she was also scared and apprehensive about joining him in Charles Town. Why do you think she felt this way? Have you ever felt apprehensive about a change in your life? Write about it.
In the story, Rachel’s father faces financial ruin because of his business deal with Mr. Craven. Write an alternate ending to the story where Mr. Howell doesn’t get his fortune back. Be sure to include what happens to Rachel, Miranda, Aunt Catherine, and Mr. Howell.
Create a play from the scene in the first chapter of Skull Island, where Rachel’s ship is attacked by pirates. Expand the scene to include more dialogue and more action.
Because of his business dealings with Mr. Craven, Rachel fears that her father could be arrested for piracy. Write a story where this actually happens. What is Mr. Howell’s eventual fate? Does Rachel help clear his name?
When Rachel told Papa about her distrust of Mr. Craven, Papa replied that Mr. Craven was “beyond reproach.” Why do you think Papa trusted Mr. Craven so much, a man he barely knew? What did Mr. Craven do that made Rachel suspect he was not what he seemed? Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted? Write about it.
Mr. Craven’s arrest for piracy would have been big news in Charles Town. Write a newspaper article covering the event. Don’t forget to include quotes from other people involved, like Rachel, Sally and Todd, Mr. Howell, and Miranda.
Mystery authors plant clues within the plot of their stories that the sleuth can discover and use to solve the mystery. Often, the author also plants red herrings, or false clues, to lead the sleuth (and the reader) astray. Outline the plot of Skull Island by breaking the storyline down into parts: what is the mystery, and what are the clues the author provides to help Rachel solve it? Then see if you can find any red herrings; add them to your outline. Now try to write your own mystery with clues and red herrings.
Rachel lived in a time when children had to accept without question all decisions adults made for them. Rachel couldn’t tell her father how she felt about Miranda, Mr. Craven, having to go to school, or being forbidden to associate with Sally and Todd. But suppose Rachel had kept a diary, where she could pour out her feelings. Write one or more diary entries Rachel might have made.
A character’s motive is the underlying reason he or she does something. Both Rachel and Miranda deceived Mr. Howell, as well as Aunt Catherine, at some point in the story. What were Miranda’s motives for her deceptions? What were Rachel’s? Did knowing the characters’ motives in the story change the way you felt about their actions? Why or why not? Write a story where you have a character who does the wrong thing for the right reason.
Rewrite the opening scene (the pirate attack) in Mystery on Skull Island from a different point of view, either Roland’s or one of the pirates.
Rachel encountered many new sights, sounds, and experiences when she came to Charles Town. Choose a scene in the book and write a poem from Rachel’s point of view describing the event (or the place) and how she feels about it. Try to use as many sensory details as you can. |
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| Learning More |
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The character of Mr. Craven was modeled after the real life “gentleman pirate” Stede Bonnet. Research Stede Bonnet or other pirates such as Anne Bonny, “Captain Jack” Rackham, Blackbeard (Edward Teach) or Captain Kidd. Find out what their lives were like before becoming pirates, how they became pirates, and what fate eventually befell them. Report your findings to the class. |
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Go to www.colonialwilliamsburg.com on the Internet and find out all you can about life in colonial America. Choose an aspect of colonial life, such as customs, clothing, housing, daily life, and do a report on it. |
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Find out more about the French Huguenots. Who were they, and why did they come to America? What contributions have they made to our society? |
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Research colonial education. Find out what boys learned in school as opposed to what girls learned, and whether most children went away to boarding school, attended local schools, or were educated at home (or not at all). |
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Try to find out more about the Yamassee Indians, and/or other early Native American inhabitants of the Atlantic coastal regions. What do we know about them? What happened to these peoples when Europeans settled on their lands? |
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Reading More
Here are some books you might enjoy on related topics.
Fiction:
The Smuggler’s Treasure, by Sarah Masters Buckey
Shadows in the Glasshouse, by Megan McDonald
Betrayal at Cross Creek, by Kathleen Ernst
My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
Celia Garth: A Story of Charleston in the Revolution, by Gwen Bristow
Wolf by the Ears, by Ann Rinaldi
Nonfiction:
Blackbeard and Other Pirates of the Atlantic Coast, by Nancy Roberts
Child Life in Colonial Days, by Alice Morse Earle
Home Life in Colonial Days, by Alice Morse Earle
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Chapter One
churn(ing)
expanse
remote
stately
frail
apprehensive
horizon
hoist
impassive
brogue
loath(ing)
wretched
quay
throng(s)
glint
Chapter Four
intimidate(d)
impertinent
duel
reproach
status
adept
indignation
Chapter Seven
stout
abrupt(ly)
heed
pummel(ing)
Chapter Ten
stupor
wedge
lavish
contempt
preposterous
Chapter Thirteen
misgiving
fleeting(ly)
clammy
grope
bluster
daunting |
Chapter Two
adorn(ed)
veranda
scoundrel
foliage
spire
relent(ed)
rheumatism
emphatic(ally)
vexation
earnest(ly)
gawk
constitute(d)
Chapter Five
leer(ed)
patron
resignation
inflame
rejuvenation
flit(ted)
profuse
Chapter Eight
squall
taunt(ing)
indisposed
sober(ed)
sconce
Chapter Eleven
proposition
haste
bleak
sinister
imminent
wary
scath(ing)
Chapter Fourteen
eddy |
Chapter Three
disquiet
plague(d)
bolster(ed)
scornful
diminish(ing)
recluse
shrewd(est)
trifle
eavesdrop(ping)
uncivil
Chapter Six
foyer
charitable
ban
qualms
canopy
Chapter Nine
tremulous(ly)
humiliation
Chapter Twelve
bravado
pluck
scrutinize
Chapter Fifteen
entreat(ed)
disdain(ful)
incense(d)
tentative(ly)
acknowledge
devastate(d)
livid |
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