Treasure Island 1029they devised. Even though the novel was aimed at
and appealed to children—and still does—Treasure
Island also gained Stevenson a number of older
admirers, including the novelist Henry James and
then the British prime minister William Gladstone.
Before its publication, Stevenson had produced
shorter fiction and travel writing. His penchant for
travel is obvious in Treasure Island, in which young
Jim Hawkins gets caught up in a tale of intrigue
involving pirates, seafaring, and buried treasure.
While it is a “boys’ tale,” Treasure Island also intro-
duces many of the themes developed in Stevenson’s
later works, including Kidnapped, The Master of Bal-
lantrae and The Strange CaSe of dr. JeKyll and
mr. hyde—notably, coming of age, the shifting
nature of identity, and the difficulties posed by
ethical and moral conundrums.
Katherine Ashley
comInG oF aGe in Treasure Island
While Treasure Island is an old-fashioned adventure,
it is also a tale about the adventure of growing up, a
classic coming-of-age story. Each of the novel’s six
parts presents the narrator, Jim Hawkins, with new
challenges. Facing death, separation, adventure,
injury, and other obstacles, Jim grows into a man
both intellectually and emotionally.
Following the arrival of a pirate at his family’s
inn, Jim’s “quiet country life” abruptly gives way to
a whirlwind of adventure. By the end of part 1, his
life has changed irrevocably: He has dealt with his
father’s death, eluded pirates, acquired a map to bur-
ied treasure, and been engaged to go to sea with Dr.
Livesey and Squire Trelawney.
The effects of these dramatic events are quickly
felt. Jim is so full of “sea-dreams” and “charming
anticipations” that at first he does not understand
the implications of his voyage. When he is allowed
to “stay one night with his mother,” he soon realizes
that by choosing adventure he must leave her and,
ultimately, his childhood, behind. This leads to an
“attack of tears” caused by the awareness that he has
“turned a corner.” From this point on, Jim is without
parental guidance, though he is not left to face the
world alone. Indeed, during the search for treasure,
a series of men act as surrogate fathers and mentors
who compel Jim to decide how best to act: Livesey
and Trelawney, of course, but also Captain Smollett
and, at times, the infamous pirate Long John Silver.
At the end of part 2, Jim overhears Silver’s
plans for mutiny. Unaware of Jim’s discovery, Silver
continues to treat him like a child, suggesting he
“climb trees” and explore, but Jim inwardly recoils
at Silver’s “cruelty, duplicity and power.” This inci-
dent is important for two reasons. First, it increases
Jim’s self-awareness as he recognizes that he has let
himself be flattered by Silver. Second, it increases
his appreciation of the dangers of his situation:
He learns that “gentlemen of fortune” are not
gentlemen at all, but “common pirate[s]” who will
do everything necessary to secure the treasure for
themselves. Knowledge means responsibility: Jim
feels his duty is to protect “the lives of all the honest
men aboard” the Hispaniola. Thus, when Jim reveals
Silver’s plans to Trelawney and Livesey, it changes
the nature of his relationship with them, so much so
that Trelawney declares his “prodigious faith” in him.
In part 3, Jim secretly goes ashore and behaves,
by turns, like a child and a man. On the one hand,
he professes to have lost all appetite for adventure,
hating the “very thought” of the island; on the
other, he succumbs to the “joy of exploration” but
is overwhelmed with fear and faints when he wit-
nesses a murder. Here, Jim’s knowledge is “fatal”
for he does not yet have the wherewithal to deal
with the situation single-handedly and there is no
one to whom he can turn for help; consequently, he
flees the scene in a panic. Later, armed with more
confidence, knowledge, and weapons, he confronts
danger head-on.
During the siege of the stockade in part 4, Jim
takes a further step toward adulthood. By virtue of
his youthful lack of experience, he is not given a gun.
He does, however, join his companions in fighting
the mutinous pirates. Furthermore, in a defining
moment of his coming of age, he is injured by a
cutlass that strikes him across the knuckles. In the
heat of the moment, Jim hardly feels the “flea-bite”
and continues to fight.
In parts 5 and 6, Jim finally comes into his
own. Intellectually, he accepts responsibility for
his actions and is no longer in thrall to the pirates.
This enables him to outmaneuver Israel Hands
and challenge Silver. When he outwits Hands, Jim