Jim Displayed In Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island

Jim is desperate. His father has died and the Admiral Benbow, their only source of income, is now wrecked. All that is left to him is some coins, a journal, and a map; all from a dead pirate’s sea chest. The map brings him little hope; it has 3 red crosses, one of which simply reads, “Bulk of treasure here.” In Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jim must overcome the numerous impossibilities he encounters. He has no choice but to go on, regardless of the impracticality of continuing. Billy Bones, a pirate afraid of seafaring men, introduces himself to Jim Hawkins with the identity of “the captain,” and lodges at the “Admiral Benbow.” Soon, Jim’s father dies of an unknown illness and Billy dies of a stroke. Upon unlocking the pirate’s sea chest, Jim and his mother find a map, a journal, and coins. When Jim presents his findings to the squire and Dr. Livesey, they assemble a crew of 27 to travel the ship Hispaniola in search of the treasure. Well into the voyage, Jim discovers a mutiny among the crew, and that they are outnumbered 7 to 19. Upon reaching the island, a number of attacks occur on their stockade, changing the odds from 7:19 to 4:9. Jim then runs off and finds Ben Gunn’s boat. Upon sighting the Hispaniola seemingly empty, Jim boards it at sea, and secures it ashore. Jim then goes back to the stockade, now

For the novel surrounds pirates, it takes on a piratical dialect enhancing and giving a natural feel to the writing. Stevenson writes, “…cetemery-cemetery, he must have meant…” (p.84), “Wot’s Wot” (p.152), “hurly burly” (p.112), “I ain’t sich an…” (p.134). Not only does the dialect enhance the writing, but helps distinguish the pirates from Jim, and measures the propriety of the character. Using words like “s’pose, sperrits, Tain’t, natur’, Fo’c’sle, etc. that focus on the pronunciation rather than the spelling also enhance the piratical dialect of the