Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure Island. 1883; New York: Sterling, 2004. Print. Sterling Unabridged Classics.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

I think I read Treasure Island when I was a child, some time between fifth and seventh grade. To be honest, I am not sure if I finished the book, but it was a long time ago. Whether I did or not, reading or re-reading this classic made me realize that a few things have simply become a part of our culture thanks to this book: pirates and parrots, buried treasure, Long John Silver, the Black Spot, Ben Gunn, pieces of eight. Even if this was the first time I had read the book, I knew something of these things.

Treasure Island moves quickly. Our protagonist and usual narrator Jim Hawkins is a boy of about twelve who befriends an old sailor named Billy Bones at his mother’s inn. (His sick father dies early in the book.) Hawkins shares the treasure map from this sea captain with the doctor who attended Bones as he lay dying. With the financial assistance of Squire Trelawney, soon they have a ship and crew to go to the lawless Caribbean to find Skull Island, a.k.a. Treasure Island. (Our narrator drops enough clues that we understand the story is set in the 1750s.)

Other people looking for Billy Bones and his map include the menacing Blind Pew and other sailors of questionable intentions. When the ship Hispaniola is ready to sail, the captain understands his orders are secret and no one knows the contents of the map except for him, Jim Hawkins, the doctor, and the squire. Still, it seems most of the crew know more about the destination than the captain does. It turns out that nearly the entire crew are former pirates who want a share of the treasure and will stop at nothing to get it.

Jim Hawkins, as cabin boy, often assists Long John Silver, a one-legged old salt who is hired as a cook. We soon learn that Silver is the leader of the pirates who plan on taking over the ship after the treasure is taken aboard, if not sooner. It is not a coincidence that Silver’s pet parrot is named Captain Flint, after a notorious pirate, now dead. The squire, a former sailor himself, tells us:

Blackbeard was a child to Flint. The Spaniards were so prodigiously afraid of him that, I tell you, sir, I was sometimes proud he was an Englishman. I’ve seen his topsails with these eyes, off Trinidad, and the cowardly son of a rum-puncheon that I sailed with put back—put back, sir, into Port of Spain. (35)

That is about all I am willing to tell of the story in case there are readers who have not read it. Enjoy it yourselves!

Just as Treasure Island would influence people’s perceptions of pirates since (especially Hollywood’s) so some things in the novel were influenced by Robinson Crusoe. Ben Gunn has been marooned on Skull Island for over three years and has survived by catching wild goats. This was how Crusoe survived on his island, and before him the historical Alexander Selkirk chased wild goats to survive his ordeal. How Hawkins and a small band overcame a larger band of mutineers reminds us of how Crusoe and his small band quelled a mutiny near the end of his story.

Treasure Island has a lot more action than Robinson Crusoe. The appeal of books like the Hardy Boys, the Chronicles of Narnia, or most of Gordon Korman’s books is that not only are the main character or characters young, but these characters get directly involved in the main conflict and help solve the mystery or the problem. So it is with Jim Hawkins. He becomes one of the heroes of the book because of the actions he takes. He may not have been consciously thinking of solving the problem and thwarting the pirates’ plans: He just wants to have an adventure! Boy, does he get one!

After nearly a century and a half, Treasure Island still grabs our attention and keeps us going. It has become an icon hearkening back to the Golden Age of Piracy.

Yo ho ho!

P.S. It is strictly coincidental that we read two books by guys with the same last name (spelling differences being negligible) at around the same time.

P.P.S. Treasure Island is available in a number of abridged versions, but I would say that most people in grades five or higher should be able to read the complete version. It is not that long of a book. Since it is set in the 1700s and at sea there are some older expressions and nautical terms that may be unfamiliar to some readers. As much as part of me does not want to admit it, Cliff’s Notes has a great page on the book’s vocabulary for any landlubbers (people who never go to sea): https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/t/treasure-island/study-help/full-glossary-for-treasure-island.