Who Was Kidnaped In The Roaker, By Robert Louis Stevenson

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Following the death of his father, David Balfour a boy from Essendean,England, finds from the local minister ,Mr Campbell that he had wealthy relatives in a nearby town and it was his father’s desire that he should seek their help. Upon his arrival at his uncle's house, David discovers that he is unwelcome, and slowly the truth of his identity begins to unravel. Kidnapped is more than a story about a young man's search for his true birthright, however – Stevenson knew that more than that was needed to capture a young adult's attention for the length of an entire novel. Even as David is trying to find out the meaning of his uncle’s odd behaviour, his newfound relative is plotting against him. David suddenly finds himself kidnapped and aboard a ship destined for the Carolinas, where he is to be sold as a plantation …show more content…

Stevenson clearly uses the character of Alan to involve David in more dangerous adventures. However, many of the adventures that David experiences are also caused by his naivety and over-confidence. For example, early in the book he is so certain that he can handle his uncle's attempts to get rid of him that he unwittingly walks right into a trap. Later in the story, when he is shipwrecked on an island, he nearly dies of starvation and exposure before finding out that his "island" is separated from the mainland only when the tide is in. The combination of Alan's influences and David's own propensity for getting himself into trouble result in a novel that is sometimes humorous, sometimes invigorating, but always impossible to put

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