The Response of a Reader to the Book "Treasure Island"

Plot Summary 

The book Treasure Island is a book full of craziness and adventure. Jim Hawkins, the main character and narrator. After the death of his father, he tried his best to help mother work at the Inn. His parents owned an Inn called Admiral Benbow. An old seaman, Billy Bones, came in one day and asks if they would allow him to stay at the Inn. The old seaman asked Jim Hawkins to be his lookout person. Then, one day an old sailor arrives. They get into a heated conversation and get into a fight. Since Billy Bones is a little older, his health turns for the worst. Dr. Livesey tried to help take care of him. Though, Billy Bones was in denial of his drinking problem and did not listen to Dr. Livesey to stop. Then an older gentleman who was blind went to Billy Bones and gave him the black spot, not too shortly afterwards he died. Jim Hawkins and his mother found a key on his body. They use the key to open the chest and get what money they need for his stay at the Inn and decided to flee before the pirates come. The pirates go in there to look through the chest. They were fairly upset to find out that someone else has been through it. Desperate, Jim Hawkins seeks help and reaches out to Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney. Once the men saw what they were dealing with they were thrilled and curious. So, the men made arrangements to sail to the island they found on an old oilcloth that mentioned something about a mysterious treasure. The ship that they decide to go on is called the Hispaniola. New additions were added to this crew so that they can sail. There was only one person everyone on the crew had trouble dealing with and that is the Captain Smollett. Although, once they arrived on the island they started to get along a little better and the Captain was not clashing with anyone. When the crew was sailing across the sea all was well. Until one night Hawkins overheard Silver wanted to kill the some of the men. So Hawkins addressed this to the Dr. Livesley and him and a group of people came up with a plan to defeat Silver. Once they have reached the destination of the island the Captain let his pirate crew go out on the island. Jim Hawkins follows and sneaks out of the boat and goes on the island. A war breaks out against Silver and his men and the other men. They found a man who has been on the island for three years and he helps. They brought the treasure to the ship, it was in a cave because Gunn hid it there. All head home and split the treasures and used it on many different things.

Favorite Characters

One of my favorite characters is Jim Hawkins. He is the main character and narrator of the story. He is the son of parents who own an Inn. This young boy was afraid of the outside world and too shy to even go and do anything. I would describe him as timid. All he knew is that he needed to help his parents out with the Inn. His father sadly passed and he needed to be a bigger man than before. He needed to be there for his mother when he passed. Everything was different when he met Billy Bones. He quickly changed and learned many new things when he met them. Billy Bones promised to pay him if he was the lookout for him and of course Jim Hawkins was questioning doing it, but he did. I would be scared to he was an older creeper man. Billy Jones and Jim Hawkins became closer. Though, he lose Billy Jones when he had a stroke and passed away. After two deaths that had a big impact on his life, he quickly matured. He helped his mother out and many other things. The discovered a key and went to seek the treasures that this map had. Once they discovered the map and started to sail I think this opened Hawkins to new opportunities. He became more adventurous and curious. He wanted to learn more all the time. Many of the men helped answer a lot of his questions so that he could learn a lot more. I think throughout the journey he showed his bravery and confidence. He informed the Dr. Livesey when Silver was making plans and if he was his old self back at home he may not have done that. He tried to stand against Silver and the other on his own. Although, he was starting to mature he still was a child and made silly mistakes. Jim Hawkins was one of my favorite characters.

Another one of my favorite characters was Dr. Livesey. He was a kind man who used his kindness to help others out. He may have been kind, but he was also sturn and stress too. He did not let anyone walk over him. He believed what he believed.He was also a great mentor towards Jim Hawkins. He was willing to help people even though they did not want to be helped. He was willing to help Jim Hawkins everytime something bad happened to him. He also, Billy Bones was an addictive drinker, but Dr. Livesey was trying to help him stop. He was one of the more inspiring characters throughout the book. I think that Dr. Livesey was a brilliant man who thought there everything thoroughly. Things like strategies and plans. I think that Dr. Livesey is a great man.

Quotes

“But what is the black spot, captain?” This was a question of Jim Hawkins a young curious boy he was. He does not understand the life of a pirate in this story the black dot was a big deal. This was to resemble guilt and judgement amongst the pirates. It is only a black paper circle. It meant that the pirate was no longer a leader or may be killed. Even though, Billy Bones was threatened with this black spot he died of stroke instead and did not have to die of someone else killing him. This is one of my favorite quotes because I think it is something that had an impact on Jones life and terrified him when it happened. I think that this was a part of the story that many people did not understand fully, but it did mean life or death for Billy Bones.

The words of Dr. Livesey explaining to Billy Bones that if he keeps drinking rum he could die as he says, “ I have only one thing to say to you sir if you keep drinking rum.” Clearly the Dr. Livesely was trying to emphasize to Jones that he has a bad drinking problem and that it needs to stop. He is trying to get him to stop at this point also because he is not making those payments either and everyone is too scared to ask him to make those payments as well. When he wants his rum he wants it. I think this quote is important also because after the death of Billy Bones there was a big turn in the story and a lot of questions that needed to be answered.

Conclusion

I think this is a great story. This story had a lot of plot twists and surprises. It was a very fun and adventurous. I loved the way that it had a young boy narrate the story and he made things very clear and understanding. There was always something going on in the book and there is never a moment you will be bored. I would recommend this book to people who are seeking to read about adventures. I really enjoyed learning more about pirates I never knew that much about them. Because some of the violence and a few bad words, I would let a more mature age group read this book.

Citations

• Stevenson, Robert. Treasure Island: The Franklin Library, 1899.