“Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum” (Stevenson 230). A desperate attempt to a filthy amount of wealth is made by a crew of men upon the ship, Hispaniola. In the search for treasure Jim finds trust in the one man he should be avoiding. This struggling yet exciting adventure that Robert Louis Stevenson portrays will pull you into the journey for wealth along with the crew. Treasure Island explains archetypes such as life or death, Jim’s rite of passage, the irony of the knife, the island as a lonely place, and the character analysis of Long John Silver and Robert Louis Stevenson.
In the archetype of life or death, Jim fights for his life on the island containing the treasure. “The island thus becomes Jim’s penile where he struggles; it is a life or death struggle for selfhood with the youth having to meet challenge after challenge” (Sandison 235). Poor Jim is battling for his life among a crew of men hungry for treasure and having no problem killing another shipmate to get it. Long John Silver kidnaps Jim and holds him hostage to better help him keep the rest of the men away from his treasure.
Throughout the novel Long John Silver keeps Jim worried for his life, but Silver changes and seems to become sincere to the boy. “I stood straight up against the wall, my heart still going like a sledge hammer, but with a ray of hope now shining in my bosom” (Stevenson 202). Long John Silver and his crew of rotten pirates had turned there backs on the well-being of young Jim. Silver though, does have a sudden change of heart, revealing to Jim and to all the men aboard the Hispaniola that he would never lay a hand on the boy. The truth of that further into the book does show that Silver never aime...
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Another part of the hero’s journey is known as “Tests”, these are challenges that the main character must overcome throughout his/her journey. One of the biggest tests that Jim Hawkins endured was dealing with Captain Long John’s betrayal, he and his shipmates engaged in war on the ship as well as the island and he could have been killed at any moment. “The ship shot another cannon, this one barely missed Jim as he struggled to climb the hill” (156). Another test he had to overcome was his fear of leaving his ordinary world, but throughout the story he was able to become independent and handle tasks on his own, which is something he had trouble doing during the start. “I made a promise that I would be the one to bring this treasure home to my mother, and I’m not going to let someone like Long John stop me even if I have to fight him myself” (107). Therefore, the fact that Jim is able to pass these tests proves that he is indeed a hero. He is the one who sets out on his own to sabotage Long John’s plans while they are at the island and succeeds, he is the reason the supreme ordeal is
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...im decides to tell Long John everything he did to try to ruin his plan to find the treasure he spares Jim’s life even though the other pirates want him dead. Long John also decides to stand by Jim even though he has a feeling his crew is going to take him out of his captain position. Jim shows a lot of courage and that he’s a man of his word when he is given the opportunity to run away but instead he decides to stay because he gave Long John his word that he will help him through his trial. Jim is taken to where the treasure is believed to be but when they dig up the area there was no treasure. The treasure is later discovered at site where Ben Gunn has hidden it. The reasons I mentioned earlier steers Jim in the right direction of the treasure because of him not trusting Long John but instead using his smarts and his very high maturity level to find the treasure.
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Money, money, money, and the love of money is the root of all evil. Money, has led the characters of Treasure Island to kill, lie, cheat, and put themselves in great peril to acquire it. The Squire Trelawney, the good Doctor, and Jim really have no cause to go in the search of the fortune that they did not earn or place where it rest. Wealth, whether found, earned, or inherited does not automatically speak well of the owner. The test of one’s character should be more than economical success.
All children and teenagers will discover character traits and qualities that they want to possess from the adults they come into contact with. Jim Hawkins is no different. He uses the attributes he learns from Ben Gunn, Dr. Livesey, and John Silver to help mold him into the man he is becoming. Works Cited Stevenson, Robert. A. A. Treasure Island. City: Publisher, Year of Pub.