Examine the way Robert Louis Stevenson portrays character in ‘Treasure Island’ and look at how characters change throughout the novel.

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Treasure Island

Examine the way Robert Louis Stevenson portrays character in ‘Treasure Island’ and look at how characters change throughout the novel.

‘Treasure Island’ with its tale of adventure on the high seas has long been a well-read and well-loved classic.  There is not one who in some way or another has not been made aware of the existence of characters such as young Jim Hawkins, blind Pew or especially Long John Silver.  The fact that even those who have not enjoyed the swashbuckling adventures of the crew are likely to recognise the name of the dreaded pirate and the significance of the cross which marks the spot of buried treasure is testament to the piece’s continuing charm.

The book starts humbly, setting the scene of a rundown seaside tavern by the name of ‘The Admiral Benbow’, run by the Hawkins family, parents and young son Jim.  At this stage it is difficult to imagine the book being written for young children, with its traditional language it’s confusing and when first read difficult to understand.  However, persistence is rewarded as the text changes from near-gobbledegook to clear expressive, gripping story-telling.

The main characters are Jim Hawkins, a young lad, and Long John Silver, a buccaneer.

Jim is the main narrator of the story.  He meets Billy Bones, ‘The Captain’, when he comes to stay at the inn.  The captain is a rich character, who drinks too much rum and is generally a bully of a man who soon recruits Jim to look out for a ‘one legged seafaring man’.  He is an old sea shanty, constantly singing, ‘Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest, yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!’ much to everyone’s displeasure.  Jim is a very young gentle boy, eager to please and has nightmares about the one legged sailor.  Jim very soon is introduced to wicked old sailors who come by to have heated and threatening conversations with the captain; Black Dog and old, blind Pew.

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When tragedy strikes in the form of Jim’s father and the old captain dying, the reader does not grieve too much as these events are written as an aside to the main story.

Jim’s bravery starts to emerge when he returns to the ‘Admiral Benbow’ to observe six or seven sailors who are rummaging through the dead captains chest in search of ‘something’.  Luckily Jim had already removed an oilskin package which we later learn contains the map of ‘Treasure Island’.

The reader is already rooting for Jim to ‘win through’ whatever project he embarks upon – ...

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