Notes On Treasure Island By Robert Louis Stevenson Chapter 1

 

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

       Treasure Island was written by Robert Louis Stevenson and was originally published on November 14th, 1843. The story focuses on a young man named Jim Hawkins as he sets sail with a seaworthy band of pirates in search of a legendary island renowned for a wealth of treasure. It is a tale of high seas adventure, firm friendships and bonds tested by exploration, disaster and mutiny. For generations, this novel has been classic and possibly even required reading for any and all pirate fanatics and nautical-loving readers alike. The author of this blog is a bit embarrassed to admit that they have never exactly read the book all the way through before. Perhaps, if commentary can be shared here online, the author will eventually be able to enjoy finishing the book. Without further ado, here are the author’s comments on chapter 1…

1. Interestingly, this novel appears to have been written from the point of view of Jim Hawkins himself. The author had assumed it would be written in third or secondary person instead of first person.

2. Perhaps this disheveled old seaman of which Jim speaks marks the first time that “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest— Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!” has been produced in text. The author may have to research that at a later point.

3. The author’s main point of reference for this story is Disney’s Treasure Planet, so seeing the Billy Bones character just move on into the Benbow Inn like this is a bit of a shocker.

4. ‘Billy Bones’ also apparently paid Jim Hawkins to keep an eye out for Silver while he stayed at the inn. This works great for building up an air of suspense and mystery for readers who do not know why Bones is doing this!

5. Unfortunately, the peg-legged mental imagery of Silver caused Jim more than a few nightmares of being chased by various monstrous versions of him.

6. It seems Bones was no less terrifying, though Jim remarks that he was far less afraid of Bones than he was of the nightmares he had of Silver. “Often I have heard the house shaking with ‘Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum”; all the neighbors joining in for dear life, with the fear of death upon them, and each singing louder than the other, to avoid remark.”, goes the quote. Everyone feared Bones and did not dare refute his songs or stories.

7. Not once does this chapter refer to Billy Bones by name so if the author has created a spoiler, my apologies. 

8. People were most afraid of Bones’ high seas stories: tales of hangings, walking the plank, storms at sea, wild deeds, the Dry Tortugas and places on the Spanish Main. Many of which seemed to feature men the likes of which Jim and others felt were the wickedest men on earth and in quite some explicit language.

9. Jim’s father is also notably not absent in this original story and helps Jim and his mother run the inn.

10. Jim’s father thinks that Billy Bones is bad for business but on the contrary, Jim noticed that people seemed to enjoy the fear, the thrill of the stories. He had even seen a few youths who seemed to admire the older man and had even created nicknames for him, such as “old salt” and “true-sea-dog”.

11. Eventually, the small amount of gold that Bones had brought with him ran out and he resorted to making himself silently threatening in order to avoid more payment for the room and board. Jim is certain that this is why his father died early.

12. Billy Bones kept so much to himself that he either went without clothing repairs or did the repairs himself and spoke on friendly terms to no one except the neighbors and then only when drunk on rum.

13. Jim and everyone he knew had never seen Billy Bones’ chest open.

14. Only once was Bones ever angered, when Dr. Livesey, a bright young country doctor, tried to ignore a drunken Bones and when attention was demanded, told him that if he kept on drinking, the world would the sooner be rid of a filthy old scoundrel.

15. Dr. Livesy is both doctor and magistrate and silenced Bones’s rough behavior by threatening to have him captured and hanged if he tried anything.

16. For a long time after that, Bones held his peace.

       With just chapter one alone, the author concludes that this story is not suitable for young children and could perhaps even be moved from the YA section to the adult fiction section of the book store. There are mentions of grim deaths and consumption of alcohol that make this a more grown up story that so happens to star a younger character at its center. More chapters are soon to come, however, as this work may prove to have themes that must be shared to stand the test of time.