Mar 04, 2009 06:35 AM
3157 Views
(Updated Mar 04, 2009 06:39 AM)
A great book… written by born storyteller Robert Louis Stevenson; it acquaints readers even today of a few facets of the human condition, of once-good hearts swayed by greed and power, eventually trying to outwit nobler folks of higher character to no avail.
The book was originally titled: "The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys"; it is regarded one of the finer examples of a young man’s ‘coming of age’ story, representing the virtues of noble-minded morality and an frank appreciation for justice. Unlike some books of this era of writing, this tome contains not only a pit of tragedy, but avoids the trap of the slowly worsening march to destruction… instead providing a realistic way for the characters to climb out, and so as better people. The beginning of the book was written by Stevenson in the frigid Scottish highlands, and while reading one can almost feel the crisp, cutting wind and hear the banging shutters, the waves of the tide and the call of sea birds. It is all so simply told, in easily spoken prose… as if Stevenson is right there, sitting opposite you by the fire, smoking and regaling all within earshot of the tale in full.
The story begins with a fatherless boy, Jim Hawkins, a brave and hard-working young lad whose only concern is to care for his mother; he dreams of going to sea to ‘make his fortune’ when he comes of age. His mother, still mourning the loss of her husband, tries valiantly to keep her small family afloat by running the Inn, the Admiral Benbow, and does so fairly well despite her dwindling finances. They’ve taken in a boarder, a sea-faring wanderer of sorts ostentatiously named ‘Billy Bones’; he’s a drunkard with numerous pirate tales, a bad temper and ailing health. Between pints he roars and laughs, spins yarns and fills young Jim’s ears with tales of his former captain, the notoriously cruel ‘Cap’n Flint’. Despite the outward bravado, Bones harbors a secret fear and pays Jim to keep an eye out for a blind beggar asking too many questions. Jim goes about his chores, not suspecting the man’s fears have any credence… but they do. ominous music
Bones is in actually telling the truth in his sea-tales, well partially… he was indeed a mate on Flint’s crew, When Flint ‘expired’ the crew divvied up the unburied treasure and went their separate ways; the first mate a one-legged shifty-minded scalawag named Long John Silver took his share and opened up an Inn in Bristol. Old Pew, a once formidable pirate that had his eyes put out by Flint squandered his money and was forced to beg. Unbeknownst to them, Flint had made treasure map that led the way to the larger portion of the treasure, which Flint had buried years before his death; after it was buried far inland on an uninhabited island, Flint then killed the men six men who’d carried it there, returning to his ship alone.(This treacherous action sealed Flint’s fate as being both feared and loathed by his men for bringing a curse on them.) Ben Gunn, another member of the crew, tried to find the fabled buried treasure after Flint’s death but failed, and was subsequently marooned on the island in question by the rest of the crew.
Billy Bones found and stole the map, before his crewmates could, and high-tailed-it to the cold shores of his native land, coming at last to roost at the out-of-the-way Benbow. Flint’s old crew figured out whodunit and tracked Bones to England. They are lead by Old Pew, a once formidable pirate trusted by Flint; he(not surprisingly) wants the treasure for himself and is a bit irked at Bones for taking the map. The whole ‘no honor among thieves’ bit comes to mind several times as one reads on. Bones flings about Flint’s name a bit too much during his drunken tale-spinning bouts and soon word reached Old pew and the other crewmates. Pew appears before Jim and holds his arm in a vice-like grip, demanding to be taken before Billy Bones. The tough old salt in question pales with fear before the spindly blind beggar and even more so as Pew hurls a bit of paper at Bones, marked with one large spot of black ink. After making a hasty exit the beggar lurches off to plan the nights ‘bit o justice’ on Billy Bones and the Inn.
Bones collapses in a fit of terror(and perhaps bourbon) and is shuffled into bed by the innkeeper and her son. Being a bright lad, Jim Hawkins senses something is amiss and enlists the help of the good doctor Livesey and Squire John Trelawny. These are ideal allies, for not only medical help but also being experienced marksmen, not to mention fine, upstanding citizens. The Doctor examines Bones to a point, and a slight comedic moment ensues with the good doctor lightly berating the salty old pirate for not living a more healthy existence. Ironic inferences are one of the perks of the medical profession, methinks.
In the dead of night Jim takes his mother to safety to the squire’s home, though not before checking on Billy Bones; the man is in the last stages of a heart attack brought on by(take a wild guess) heavy drinking and the nasty shock of earlier. In between gasps he informs the concerned Jim what the near-invaders are after, Flint’s map; he tells the boy to take it before fading away into oblivion, his pistols by his side. A few minutes later what’s left of Flint’s crew descends upon the Benbow, at last finding the expired Bones. After clucking a bit disappointedly for being cheated of giving the death-blow, they search around for the map. Not finding it, Pew shrilly alerts them that it must have been ‘the boy whut tookit’. By this time the Squire and Doctor have rounded up a sizable posse of concerned citizens(thank goodness for gun-toting militia men) and descend upon the Inn in whipped up carriages; in the melee that follows Old Pew is run over in front of the Inn and most(but not all) of the pirates are either shot or arrested; in all fairness, they were shooting at the newcomers and most had warrants on their heads.
(review continued below.)
