Treasure Island
Treasure Island: Who is Long John Silver?
Treasure Island us a classic adventure story, featuring an ordinary boy, Jim
Hawkins, who is transported to a treacherous world of pirates and buried treasure. Jim's
adventures begin when he and his mother discover a pirate map in the chest of Billy
Bones, a guest at their lodging-house. Jim's experiences on the ship Hispaniola and on
Treasure Island test his resourcefulness and teach him important lessons about loyalty and
physical courage. Long John Silver is the book's most powerful and developed character,
one whose motivation is believable but not ambiguous and whose complexity makes
Treasure Island a true work of genius. Silver is much more than a character type; he is a
genuine individual who is attractive and repellent, frightening, sympathetic, and always
compelling.
Robert Louis Stevenson is the author of Treasure Island along with many other
books such as Kidnapped, Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde, and many more. He is known for
many of central themes and significance/symbols of main characters. In this case Long
John Silver is the main character, most likely the antagonist of the book. Long John Silver
is the cook on the voyage to Treasure Island. Silver is the secret ringleader of the pirate
band. His physical and emotional strength is impressive. Silver is deceitful and disloyal,
greedy and visceral, and does not care about human relations. Yet he is always kind
toward Jim and genuinely fond of the boy. Silver is a powerful mixture of charisma and
self-destructiveness, individualism and recklessness. Through out the book, Long John
Silver meets and establish a somewhat relationship with Jim Hawkins. Jim...
Please login to view the full essay...