It’s me, Erin, and I have a…different review for you today. I know a lot of people who love the book Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I myself love Stevenson’s poems. (I remember when I recited The Land of Nod at a talent show when I was ten.)
But, honestly, I didn’t care for Treasure Island. I have a review for you today that is different because it doesn’t exactly showcase the book in a positive light.
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Is it important to keep a promise to a pirate? Many people would answer, "Absolutely not,” but Robert Louis Stevenson has something different to disclose on the matter. In Treasure Island, Stevenson builds on this idea as he tells what some feel is the world’s best work of literature. Notably, Treasure Island, which is an adventure novel with a hint of mystery, was written with the help of Stevenson’s stepson. Although he was ill much of his life, Stevenson wrote Treasure Island in 1883. It was published serially. Writing often, Stevenson also penned Kidnapped, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and many poetry collections. While it was not popular when it was first written, Treasure Island is a classic that many enjoy reading.
Treasure Island begins with Jim, an interestingly impulsive yet intelligent teenager. At the Admiral Benbow, his mother’s inn, Jim likes meeting the different strangers that inhabit the inn. Notably, he enjoys Billy Jones, a pirate who is a long-time resident of the inn. Billy Jones is an absentminded old sea captain and often forgets to pay rent. When the captain dies, Jim and his mother open the captain’s treasure chest since they need to reconcile his debt. They run out of time. Grabbing a bundle of papers, Jim and his mother quickly flee. After talking to a doctor friend, they realize what the papers are worth. The doctor and Jim set off on a grand adventure with a large crew, including the seemingly trustworthy Long John Silver.
Near Treasure Island, Long John Silver begins to show his true colors. Jim discovers plans for mutiny. They soon reach the island. They are outnumbered by twenty. Holing up in a barricade, the faithful few struggle to defend themselves from the dastardly mutineers. Thankfully, the mutineers are forced to stay in a swampy marsh, which has many mosquitoes, giving them malaria. As the novel progresses, Jim impulsively decides to steal back their ship, meeting a strange man named Ben Gunn in the process. Jim succeeds but returns to find the mutineers have stolen their barricade. Jim makes a deal with Long John Silver, promising that he will not run away since he wishes to save himself and his friends.
Eventually, both the mutineers and the loyal few discover where the map showed the treasure to be. A skeleton rests there. Ben Gunn, who had been marooned by Captain Flint (the man who buried the treasure), previously hid the treasure in a cave elsewhere because he did not wish the greedy mutineers to get their sticky hands on the treasure. Hiding somewhere as the mutineers enter the cave, Ben does an impressive imitation of Flint’s last words, frightening the mutineers away. Jim and the loyal few find the treasure and leave the island with Ben, marooning the mutineers. When they leave, Long John Silver disappears and Ben Gunn is given the treasure. After a week, he is broke, and the loyal members of the crew all live happily to the end of their days.
Treasure Island has been named the greatest work of fiction in the 20th century. Honestly, however, this book is not worth the time it takes to read. Throughout the novel, the slow-moving action falls short of the hopes readers have for the book. Suffering through too much description, readers naturally feel that the plot is obscured since there is so much excess fluff in the book. Although this is a major issue, the worst part of the book is the moral: always keep one’s promises, even to a pirate. This is important to note. People should not have to keep promises to someone who means them harm, which is what Jim did. Despite this, the novel ends in a way Shakespeare would describe, “All’s well that ends well” (Shakespeare).
Bibliography
Shakespeare, William. All’s Well That Ends Well. Project Gutenberg, 1623/2021. gutenberg.orgfiles/1529/1529-h/1529-h.htm.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. Duke Classics, 1883/2012. jclc.overdrive.com/jclc-pinson/content/media/785219.
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Remember, we all have different opinions. Whether or not you enjoy Treasure Island, please read and comment on this post with your thoughts!
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