STEVENSON ROBERT LOUIS: TREASURE ISLAND

AUTHOR'S BACKGROUND

Stevenson, R. L. was born on 13 November, 1850 in Edinburgh. He studied law at Edinburgh University but, against his family’s wish he turned to literature rather than legal practice. His reputation as a literary giant was slow, but it has been a lasting one. Poor health made him to stay in France for a long time, and his first travel books were written there. He got married to an American woman, Mrs. Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne, in 1880 with whom he travelled widely in the United State. His travel experiences are described in many of his books.

For his style and presentation arguments especially on literary topics, Stevenson derived his fame. He is best known for his romantic adventure stories: Kidnapped (1886), Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1866), and Black Arrow (1888).

An essayist literary critic, poet, and author of travel books, Stevenson died in the South Seas on 3 December, 1894.

TEXTUAL BACKGROUND AND SETTING

R. L. Stevenson’s Treasure Island is a ‘picaresque novel’. A picaresque novel is one that deals essentially with tales of adventure embarked upon by men of valour and determination in search of something. It is interesting to note that some of the characters are already used to life on the sea which brings some excitements as well as hazards.

However, one interesting point worthy of note in this novel is that among the characters that embark on the voyage in search of a Treasure Island are pirates who are already used to piracy at sea and all the risks involved. Therefore, they create schisms and chaos among the other characters because they desire the treasure all for themselves even though they have not yet discovered where it is hidden. This brings about a lot of fights between the loyal members of the crew and the pirates among them who decide to exterminate the other sailors on board.

At the outset of the novel, an old seaman who later introduces himself as Captain arrives at Benbow Inn, otherwise called Black Hill Bay, to have some rum. Though he wears a fearful appearance, the inhabitants of the tavern allow him in and serve him as much rum as he requests. But one thing,that is identified with Captain is his sea chest with which he comes into the tavern. His close companion is a young man by name Jim Hawkins to whom he gives the task of helping him watch if a seaman with one leg would pass by and let him know the time he appears, promising him some money. Apart from Jim Hawkins, Dr. Livesey who continually warns Captain against drinking too mouch of alcohol because it is detrimental to his health is introduced to us.

All that is clear to us at this setting – Benbow Inn – is that the old seaman – Captain – who is otherwise called Billy Jones has an axe to grind by his coming to seek refuge at Benbow Inn. No sooner has he arrived there than an old friend of his, called Black Dog, comes visiting and the next development is that a fight ensures between them. Leaving Billy Jones unconscious and his friend injured. Consequent upon this, Dr Livesey advises him to stay in bed for a whole week and abstain totally from drinking rum. It is at this point that events start unfolding themselves to the reader(s). Billy Jones confides in Jim Hawkins that his fellow seamen, who are also members of Old Flint’s crew, will use the opportunity of his being in bed for one week to come for his sea chest which contains a description of the place where Flint hid his treasure be confesses that he is Old Flint’s first officer and that he is the only one who knows the place. He however warns Jim not to tell anyone until he has received the ‘Black Spot’ which, according to him is a call.

Eventually a blind man visits Billy Jones and passes on something to him.

Scarcely has the blind man left when Billy Jones dies of shock. Jim and his mother take the opportunity to open the sea chest and take as much money as Billy owes them from his drinking rum and escape from the tavern. Later, the blind man and his men came looking for Flint’s writing which Jim had already taken. Jim decides to take Flint’s paper to Dr. Livesey or Mr. Trelawney. So it is from Dr. Livesey that ever sailed. The paper shows where Flint has been hiding his treasure and contains the map of an island showing the specific place where the treasure is hidden. Mr. Trelawney the initiates the idea of going in search of the treasure.

Their setting out on this voyage marks a turning point in the setting of the novel From now on, all the actions in the novel take place on the sea with series of close fights between the loyal members of the crew and the pirates among them who plan to exterminate the other men after getting the treasure on board. This second setting reveals a lot about what an adventure really entails. It exposes to the reader the excitements of sea life, the perils therein, the determination needed by seamen to forge ahead even when all seems to be lost, the fortitude of a seaman to bear losses and continue his journey in search of the golden treasure above all, the belief that man will never yield until he breaks new grounds.

PLOT

The plot of the novel is episodic in nature. At the outset of the novel, we have all the events being relayed to us by the narrator from Benbow Inn. However, after they have got ‘Flint’s writing, the events shift to the frantic efforts made by them to secure a ship at Bristol and get the best seaman in England to embark on an adventure in search of the Treasure Island. From now on, the events shift to the intrigue that ensure between the honest men on board and the pirates who are bent on exterminating them as soon as they get the treasure. Jim gets to know of the secret plan when Long John Silver reveals his plans to Dick. When Captain Smollet, Dr. Livesey, Mr. Trelawney and the other honest men on board get to know about this plan, they decide to catch the pirates unawares by launching the first attack on them. This development leads to the crew being divided into two camps the honest crew members and the pirates on board.

When the fight starts, Silver kills two of the honest men: Tom and Allan. This makes Jim to run for his dear life by escaping to land to seek refuge.

In his place of refuge, he meets Ben Gunn to whom he narrates his plight and who plans to come to his aid. He uses Ben Gunn’s boat so that he can get on board once again. He eventually locates the whereabouts of his people through the signals of the English flag hoisted by Captain Smollet. Jim reunited with his people and from now on the war between them and the pirates becomes fiercer until both parties eventually reconcile and go in search of the treasure which they are to find in the end.

THEME

The themes of this novel can be looked at from different levels of interpretation for example, from the literal and symbolic levels of interpretation.

At a literal level, we can say that the theme of the novel is essentially on adventure. Apart from the anticipated material gain, the voyage to the Treasure Island is partly motivated by the spirit of adventure among the honest characters. It is noteworthy however that despite the fact that the seamen foresee the dangers and perils awaiting them, they are not deterred. Adventure has already become an inseparable part of their lives and until they die, nothing will stop them from embarking on adventure in search of a new world.

A further thematic pre-occupation of the novel is that of human greed. This is portrayed in the behavior of the pirates who prominently feature as being motivated by the anticipated wealth. Even in the manner of criminals who turn against their leader, the pirates turn against their leader, John Silver.

Another prominent theme is that of the conflict in duality. In other words, the conflict we have in this novel is between good and evil. In the end, good triumphs over evil, but a great expense the loss of seventeen out of the twenty-six men that started the journey.

Also, at the symbolic level we have the theme of determination. The novel has a universal bearing to man’s endeavours on earth. Man is reminded of the need to forge ahead with renewed energy in the face of tribulations. He should not be daunted by any situation in which he finds himself. All he needs is to bear stoically all the terrible and harsh realities of life that come his way, bearing in mind that after, darkness comes a glorious dawn. To the adventurers it is only death that can put a seal on their yearnings and aspirations. Even when all seems to be lost, they do not cease seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

CHARACTERIZATION

Stevenson handles the portrayal of his characters very well. Indeed, we are going to discuss in this section the most important of the characters

Billy Jones

He is the most prominent character in the novel, even though he does not span the whole of the narration. He is a drunkard and an ill- tempered man. He is a brown old seaman, strong and heavy.

At the beginning of the story, he checks into the Benbow Inn to hide from his fellow pirates who are looking for him to retrieve Flint’s map which is in his possession. Being the first character to be introduced to the reader, he sets the mood of the novel by his queer behaviors

Captain John Flint

John Flint is referred to posthumously. He was a well-known seaman who was also a notorious pirate. He had several pirates working for him while he was the captain of the ship named “Walrus”. Billy Jones was his first officer, while Long John Silver was in charge of stores.

Flint is said to have buried the sum of seven hundred thousand pounds in a remote island in the presence of six of his men whom he later killed in order to keep the spot of the treasure an absolute secret known to him alone. But he drew a map of the island with detailed information about the location of the treasure obviously for his own private use.

Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins, the narrator, is a small boy whose parents own the Benbow Inn. He has a passion for adventure and he is extremely courageous and intelligent.

He hands over Flint’s map to Dr. Livesey who then discusses with Mr. Trelawney. This eventually leads to the voyage to Treasure Island.

Having survived the hazards of the voyage, he returns to give an account of it.

There are at least six times Jim escapes being killed.

Dr. David Livesey

Dr. Livesey is one of the three principal initiators of the voyage to Treasure Island, the other two being Jim and Mr. Trelawney.

Begin an eye-witness, he is important as a second narrator and he is also one of the most active characters in the story.

He is very energetic, intelligent and fearless. During the preparation for the voyage, Dr. Livesey warns Mr. Trelawney against talking too much and revealing the secrets of their planned voyage. Mr. Trelawney promises to be quiet although he does not prove as good as his word.

Doctor Livesey acts briefly as a narrator in the absence of Jim to provide full account of the first day of fighting on the island. He took an active part in all the fights.

John Trelawney

He is described by Jim as ‘the great man of our part of the country (p.17) residing at the Hall’. Being a wealthy and influential man, he finances the voyage. He is also a good marksman.

Trelawney is one of the few survivors of the voyage who return safely to England.

He is also responsible for having many pirates among the crew through his careless talk and his recruitment of their leader Long John Silver. Trelawney is incapable of keeping a secret.

LANGUAGE AND NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE

The language of the narration is descriptive. The most striking feature of the language used in this novel is its simplicity and consistency with a young boy’s account of his personal experiences. Since the novel is one of adventure, and the characters involved are supposed to be men of valour and determination, the writer employs a descriptive language that brings succinctly to the reader what an adventure really entails. These include various descriptions of the risks and hazards the adventures are exposed to sea. Besides, the descriptive language gives the reader and insight into the character’s adventurous nature and his resolve to sacrifice all in the name of adventure.

The author has made use of the first person narrative technique. Right from the beginning of the novel, a narrator, Jim Hawkins, is introduced to us. It is through him that the reader becomes aware of the setting of the novel and it is he who gives the reader an insight into other characters. He makes us aware of such characters as Billy Jones, Dr. Livesey, Mr. Trelawney, Black Dog, Long John Silver and a host of others.

He is the narrator from chapters one to fifteen from where he is separated from the other members of the crew to another part of the Island. Even when he ceases to exist in the mainstream of narration, the writer does not shift the narrative point of view to the third person technique. Rather, he maintains the first person narrative point of view, through another narrator, Dr. Livesey. Dr Livesey takes up the narration from chapter sixteen; he gives up the narration of chapter eighteen from where Jim Hawkins resumes narration till the end of the story.

One interesting thing about the first person narrative technique in this novel is that it gives the reader the impression of getting the events of the story unfolded to him through a first-hand source or narrator who is himself engaged in the events being enacted at one point or the other. This therefore gives the narration a good measure of authenticity.

REVISION QUESTIONS

1. Give an account of the meeting between Jim Hawkins and Benjamin Gunn on Treasure Island.

2. Discuss what takes places on the arrival of the old seaman at Benbow Inn.

3. Discuss the contents and significance of John Trelawney’s pre-voyage letter to Dr. Livesey.

4. Who is Benjamin Gunn, and what role does he play in the eventual recovery of the treasure?

5. Give a character portrait of Long John Silver and assess the importance of his role in Treasure Island.

6. With particular reference to the account in Treasure Island, discuss the dangers and risks of treasure voyages across the sea.

7. Give an account of the second round of fighting on Treasure Island and its results after the rejection of John Silver’s demands.

8. Describe Jim’s experience and attitude in the enemy’s camp up to the arrival of Dr. Livesey.

9. What is the significance of Dr. Livesey’s visit to the enemy’s camp to treat sick pirates?

10. Discuss the language and narrative technique of Treasure Island.

By Eguriase S.M. Okaka

STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS: TREASURE ISLAND