Treasure Island has an exceptionally morose beginning, after
which Jim is left without a father figure or much of a livelihood at all. Amidst
absent parental figures and the uninspiring Dr. Livesy and Squire Trelawney,
the introduction of Long John Silver is fantastic. Silver and the pirates
inspire Jim to be his most adventurous, most individualistic self and
perpetrate Jim’s coming of age by representing possibility of Jim’s life. The
role models for Jim in this story are his parents, Dr. Livesy and Long John
Silver—and while the parents and Livesy are capable, intelligent, and kind,
their passive life is not what Jim hopes to live. Made safe through adventure
and fun, the ambiguity of Long John Silver introduces children to the idea that,
through action, they can make their lives what they wish it to be.
Jim’s father is marked by his
passivity and absence. After the arrival of “the captain” Jim’s father is
immediately submissive to the man. The old pirate never pays or follows any
sort of decorum, but Jim’s father will not react. Jim describes the situation:
“In one way, indeed, he bade fair to ruin us;
for he kept on staying week after week, ad at last month after month, so that
all the money had been long exhausted, and still my father never plucked up the
heart to insist on having more…I am sure the annoyance and the terror he lived
in must have greatly hastened his early and unhappy death” (16-17).
Jim’s
father will not stand up against the captain, and consequently Jim’s family
succumbs to the captain’s whims. After the death of Jim’s father, this
continues through the passivity of Jim’s mother, who swoons and flees at any
whiff of danger—as well as the whole village, which Jim describes as infected
with cowardice (43).
Dr. Livesy, though more competent,
is not a man of action either, but is instead marked by how steadfast he is.
When he is first confronted with the captain and his preposterous orders, the
doctor uses words to fight back. The captain, offended, immediately jumps up
and threatens Dr. Livesy with a knife. However, “the doctor never so much as
moved,” but spoke to him in the same calm and steady way as before (19). The
doctor is characterized by his plans and calm capabilities. Later on, it is Dr.
Livesy that sets up the stockade—a definite symbol of steadfastness.
On the other hand, Long John Silver
is bursting with movement and action. Every time Jim describes him, he marvels
at his athletic ability. “His left leg was cut off close by the hip…he managed
with wonderful dexterity, hopping about upon it like a bird,” Jim describes on
their first meeting, and later remarks on how Silver can speedily undertake the
island’s wild terrain. It is Long John Silver who finds Jim capable,
intelligent, and daring, and it is Silver who says to Jim “you’re young, you
are, but you’re as smart as paint…and I’ll talk to you like a man.” When Jim
returns from his sea adventure, Silver is the one who saves Jim’s life, simply
because he believes in Jim’s capabilities and admires his gumption. When Jim
runs away from the camp and ventures out to sea, it is the most defining
adventure of his coming-of-age, and yet it is a move that contains an
impulsivity and strength of action that follows the values of Long John Silver
rather than Dr. Livesy. While Silver is certainly the antagonist, he is never specifically
antagonistic toward Jim, but rather encourages Jim to have faith in himself and
take action.
In the end, Silver is not painted as
a purely antagonistic force. He follows his own code of honor and certainly
acts with a violence that Squire Trewlaney and Dr. Livesy do not approve of. But the romanticism of the story certainly
favors Silver’s eccentricities and movement, making his gray morality more of a
possibility for children to consider—after all, it is Silver who encourages Jim
to become his own man and make a life of his own.
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