Book Summaries – “Treasure Island” – 2

Part Two and Part Three of “Treasure Island” describe Jim’s travels to London where Dr. Livesey has employed Trelawney to conjure up the vessel Hispaniola to be used for their journey to Treasure Island.  Among new characters introduced are Long John Silver and the ship’s captain whose instincts at the outset suspect the possibility of trouble on the upcoming voyage.  

During the voyage, these characters become concerned about possible mutiny once the treasure is found.  Jim, Dr. Livesey and the captain assess that of the 26 crew members aboard 6 of them would be on their side with the remaining part of the possible overthrow of the ship and treasure.  

Once land is spotted, they draw in close and launch 2 vessels filled with men to advance to the island in search of the buried treasure left upon the Island by the captain “Flint.”  Once reaching land, Jim quickly dashes for the woods before the second vessel arrives, which carries John Silver.  While exploring the island, Jim hears the screams of a man in the forest and surmises it is one of the men on his side, Alan, who has been murdered.  He then sees John Silver with another man, Tom, speaking about their activities to be on the island and Silver ends up murdering this man confirming to Jim that the mutiny is already underway.  

While in the forest, Jim meets another character, who was apparently abandoned on the island by another vessel 3 years prior, but is aware of the treasure on the island left by Flint.  These 2 develop a relationship of trust and Jim agrees to take him aboard the ship and back to civilization, which the man craves, if it is not overrun by the rebels, once the treasure has been acquired.

The story is fun to follow as the setting of an island in the 1700s filled with treasure left by pirates is imaginative and definitely reflective of another time.  The language is difficult to follow at times, seemingly written in the language of Old English, most notably when the characters converse with one another in the broken language and using their inside sailor slang with each other.

Book Summaries

Book Summaries – Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island”

I have read many books and published reviews on various books from various genres of literature.  Among many others I plan to read and comment on,  I’ve chosen a classic literature piece written by Robert Louis Stevenson, “Treasure Island.”  I think every person who loves literature should venture to read all of the classics as a matter of enrichment.

Part One of the novel “Treasure Island,” written by classic writer Robert Louis Stevenson, is fairly entertaining.  During these first few chapters, “Captain” is the focal point of the story.  He appears seemingly out of nowhere to Jim and his parents’ Inn to stay.  They find him a bit on the rough side in demeanor and do not seem to really take to his mannerisms much.  Their main interest is to make money from his stay and undoubtedly the captain has the money required to stay at the inn with the trunk that he has brought with him containing valuables he has stolen while sailing the high seas as the likes of a pirate.  

Captain is on guard during most of his stay at the inn as he tells Jim to let him know if he ever sees the likes of a one-legged man, who turns out to be somebody who is seeking out the captain, most likely for revenge of some sort.  Jim agrees to do so for extra pay each month.  An old foe or sailor mate shows up to the inn by the name of Black Dog one day and converses with the captain that ends up into a fight wherein Black Dog flees from the captain’s presence.  Later that day, a blind man discovers the captain at the inn and hands him something and requiring receipt of something else later that night.  Surprisingly, the captain drops dead in this first part of the book from his binging on rum leaving the contents of his trunk to Jim and his mother.  

Jim and his mother confiscate the dead captain’s monies and leave the inn as Black Dog and the blind man, Pew, show up and attempt to collect whatever it is that the captain has that is of value to them.  Upon discovering the captain is dead in the inn and the contents of his trunk having been ravaged and missing what it is they seek they set out to find Jim and his mother who are hiding under a bridge near the river bank.  Magistrates of the local township approach on horses and the blind man takes a tumble and his life ends at this point and Black Dog escapes from the party.  The magistrates are told the happenings of the captain and what they have collected from him and decide to ride to Dr. Livesey’s office, who is also a magistrate, to inquire what they should do with the left-behinds of the captain.  

Once Dr. Livesey investigates the possessions of the captain it is determined it is a map to a place where supposedly great treasures are buried.  Jim, Dr. Livesey, and his squire make plans to obtain a ship and travel to the destination outlined in the map, undoubtedly for the hopes of getting rich.  

Part One of this novel is entertaining with the introduction of some interesting characters.  I think the plot of the entire story, finding a long lost buried treasure, has been effectively established in this first part of the book and one can easily tell that there will be eventual future conflict between the survivor, Black Dog, who knows about the map to the treasure and whoever else he has on his side to recover it and Jim, Dr. Livesey, and his squire who have acquired the map themselves who are setting out to discover it.

Book Summaries

Welcome to my book summaries blog.  Here you will find book summaries, reviews, and commentary on a variety of published literature from all genres.  Book summaries, opinion and comments will be posted regularly and comments and discussion are welcome.  I hope some of these book summaries, reviews, opinions and commentary will be informational for lovers of literature and those interested in writing.