Essay/Term paper: Treasure island

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Book Reports

Treasure Island



I have written a report on one of Robert Louis Stevenson"s most popular books, Treasure Island. Stevenson, as writer, is mostly admired for his style, imagination and narrative skill. Stevenson combines mystery, suspense, and adventure throwing in pieces of how life would be with pirates in this story. As a young boy he was fascinated about pirates and wanted to be one himself. The story takes place in the year 1700 and it is described as a year of grace. The general idea of the plot is young Jim Hawkins and his friends discover a map of a deserted island. The map is marking a location of a hidden pirate treasure. Jim becomes curious and decides to go searching for this treasure. On board the Hispaniola, Jim sails toward an unknown island and an exciting adventure. Out at sea, he realizes too late that the crew contains none other then the infamous Long John Silver and his crew of Pirates. They, too, want to find the buried gold, and are willing to kill for it.

The main characters of the story are Jim Hawkins, Billy Bones, Blind Pew, Squire Trelawney, Doctor Livesey, Captain Flint, Long John Silver, Captain Smollett, and Ben Gunn. Jim Hawkins is a young man is his late twenties. He is a hansom man with blonde hair, brown eyes, big broad shoulders, and a very good sense of humor. He is a brave, curious, and out-going person. Jim is the hero of the book. It was Jim who finds the map and eventually saves everyone from the pirates. After many adventures on Treasure Island he returns to England with the treasure. Jim thought the adventure was quite scary, but he enjoyed it and would do it again. Billy Bones is a tall, strong, heavy, tan man. He has pigtails falling over his shoulders. He always wares the same soiled blue coat. He also has a scar on his face that"s a bright white color. Billy plays a drunken, violent and yet terrified man who brings the map to Jim"s Inn. He is given the Black Spot by Blind Pew and dies of a heart attack from terror. Blind Pew is plainly blind and uses a stick to help him walk in the right direction. He wares a great green shade over his eyes and nose. He is always hunched over, as if it was from age or weakness. He wares a huge old tattered sea-cloak with a hood, which made him appear positively deformed. Blind Pew plays an evil and sinister pirate who was blinded in a pirate attack. He is a cruel, scary and determined to get the map. He gives Billy Bones the Black Spot and is trampled to death by horses. Squire Trelawney is a he was a tall man, over six feet high, and broad in proportion. He had a bluff, rough-and-ready face. His eyebrows were very black and moved readily. They gave him a look of some temper, but he didn"t have a bad one just a quick one. Squire"s role in the story in the story is that he funds the secret treasure hunt, but due to his big mouth he lets he secret out, alerting Long John Silver and his pirate mates. He is brave, means well, but a little but stupid and is hopeless at keeping secrets. Doctor Livesey is a very neat and polite person. He has black eyes and gray hair. He is an old and bright doctor. His role in the story in a decent, honorable man, who is practical and sensible even when things get tough. Due to his commonsense the treasure is found and brought safely home. Captain Flint is the most bloodthirsty buccaneer that sailed. He is willing to do anything to get that gold. He is the most evil, cruel, and heartless pirate to sail the seven seas. Long John Silver lost his leg near the hip, so under the left shoulder he uses a crutch. He can manage this wonderfully by hopping about upon it like a bird. He is very tall and strong, with a face as big as a ham. He has a plain and pale, but intelligent and smiling. The role he plays is a man that is hired by the Squire to be the cook on the Hispaniola. He turns out not to be a cook, but an evil pirate who is also hunting for Captain Flint"s treasure. Generally he is not to be trusted. He is a clever, sneaky and dastardly villain who is feared by all. He escapes at the end of the book with some of the treasure and is never seen again. Captain Smollett is a sharp looking man who seemed angry with everything on board. His role is the story is a fine, upstanding gentleman and an excellent captain. He is immediately suspicious of his motley crew, but taken in by Long John Silver. He proves to be very brave and eventually retires on the money made from the treasure. The sun burned Ben Gunn"s skin wherever it was exposed. His lips were black and his fair eyes looked quite startling in such a dark face. Of all the beggar-men that I have saw in this story he was the chief for raggedness. He was clothed with tatters of old ships" canvas and old sea cloth. This extraordinary patchwork was all held together by a system of the most various and incongruous fastenings, brass bottons, bits of stick, and loops of tarry gaskin. All around his waist he wore an old brass-buckled leather belt which was the one thing solid in his whole hidden supplies. His role is a stranded on the island for three years and is also a reformed pirate. He helps Jim and the others overcome the pirates and take the treasure home. Once home he manages to spend all his money in three days and becomes a porter for the rest of his life.

The plot of the story is something like this: In the beginning the story begins at Jim"s parent"s Inn. A mysterious stranger called Billy Bones Rents a room at he inn. Billy lives in fear of an one-legged man and continually warns Jim to keep a look out for him. One day he is visited by a fearful blind beggar called Blind Pew who gives him the Black Spot –the mark of imminent death among pirate crews. After Blind Pew leaves Billy collapses on dies of "Thundering Apoplexy." Jim finds a map in Billy"s sea chest just before Blind Pew returns with a band of evil pirates. Jim and his mother only just have time to hide before the pirates start to ransack the Inn looking for the map. Suddenly soldiers arrive and the pirates escape except for Blind Pew who is accidentally trampled to death by the soldier"s horses. Jim takes the map to Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey who realize it is a treasure map that Captain Flint- and evil and infamous dead pirate-buried his ill gotten gains. The Squire and the Doctor decided to go and find the treasure and invite Jim to come along. In a few weeks the Squire has bought a ship called the Hispaniola and has hired a good crew headed by the admirable Captain Smollett. The cook is an one-legged man called Long John Silver whom everyone who admires. The ship sets sail and Captain Smollett immediately begins to have doubts about the trustworthiness of this crew- but no trouble develops. However, the night before they reach Treasure Island Jim over hears Silver and other members of the crew plotting to kill them all. He realizes that Silver and most of the crew are actually pirates and were once members of Captain"s Flint"s crew. Jim warns the doctor, Squire and the Captain about the evil plans that are afoot. The Captain sends most of the pirates ashore as a reward for arriving at the island. Jim decides at the last moment to go ashore with them and once ashore hide in the woods that cover the island.

While hiding he comes across Ben Gunn an ex-pirate who was marooned on the island three years ago bye his crew mates. Ben has renounced piracy and promises to help Jim and his friends. Meanwhile, the Captain and the others have abandoned the Hispaniola and taken refuge in an old stockade on the island. The pirates quickly realize that their plans have been discovered and then attack Captain and the others in an attempt to get the treasure map. However, for the time being the Captain and co. are safe in the stockade. Jim splits, then manages to sneak into the stockade and is reunited with his friends. They spend an uneasy night in the stockade and the next morning Silver approaches waving a flag of truce. Silver offers their lives in exchange for the treasure map; the Captain refuses and soon another gun fight starts. The stockade is attacked by the pirates, but are fought off, though they are men killed on both sides. Captain Smollett is also injured. Jim decides to escape from the stockade and sneaks off without telling the others. He finds a boat that Ben Gun had told him he had hidden and sails out to the Hispaniola and cuts its morning ropes. He falls asleep in the boat exhausted. In the mooring he only just manages to escape from drowning, as the sea has become very rough. Luckily he spots the drifting Hispaniola and manages to board her. There are only two pirates on board and one of who has been killed in a drunken brawl by the other. After a terrifying fight Jim kills the last pirate and manages to steer the ship in a small cove. He then heads back to the stockade to rejoin his friends. The stockade is now in the hands of Silver and his mates.

Jim is captured and is given the choice to join them. When he refuses the pirates want to kill him, but Silver talks them out of it. Silver tells Jim that the Doctor has given him the map and also abandoned the stockade in exchange for being allowed to go free. Silver tells Jim that he is now on the side of the doctor. At this point the pirates attempt to give Silver the Black Spot, but withdraw it when he reveals that he has the map. The treasure hunt begins and Jim is dragged along. The weather is hot and sweaty and the pirates are edgy. When they finally reach the spot where the treasure should be hidden they discover it"s only an empty chest and the treasure is gone. Silver immediately realizes that there will be trouble and gives Jim a pistol with which to defend himself. The pirates turn angrily on Silver and are just about to attack him when there is a shot from among the trees. The remaining pirates run off, heading for the remaining long boat left from the Hispaniola. Jim and his friends easily get there before them and demolish the boat. At this point Ben Gunn reveals that he dug up the treasure several years ago and it is now in his cave. Jim now takes everyone to the Hispaniola and they transport the treasure from Ben"s cave to her hold. Silver still claims to be on the Doctor"s side and helps them at every opportunity. Finally, they set sail and leave Treasure Island and the last couple of pirates behind. They first sail the Hispaniola to America to get more crewmen and docked there for the night. In the morning they discover that Silver and some of the treasure had disappeared. Finally, they return home, the Captain makes a full recovery. Ben Gunn becomes a more respectable citizen (for three days) and Jim says he would do it again anyday. No one ever hears of Long John Silver again.

The conflict is solved when silver and the pirates capture Jim. The problem of the story is solved when Jim and his friends finding the treasure. Then escaping off the island without getting attacked by the pirates. The only other problem is that Long John Silver took some of the treasure and disappeared. My opinion of the story is it was very cool and interesting. I liked it because it had a lot of detail and exciting events. I enjoy reading stories with suspense and action. I also like reading about science fiction. If I were to change anything I would change how Long John Silver disappeared at the end. I didn"t like how they just told you he disappeared like that. I like cliffhanger, but not in this book. I also don"t like how Billy Bones died so early. I would have made it so he live and they found the map on Treasure Island in an old chest in the attic. I liked his character, so I would have liked it to tell more about him. I would recommend this book to children 12 and above. I think this age is expectable because some of the language might have been harder for younger children.