(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called "classics," then write essays on whether or not they deserve the label

Essay #32: Treasure Island (1883), by Robert Louis Stevenson

The story in a nutshell:
Inspired by a doodle from his step-son and originally written as a rainy-day family diversion, the slim 1883 children's book Treasure Island (originally published serially in 1881 and '82) was not only the first novel of sickly genre author Robert Louis Stevenson's short career, but eventually one of his most famous. Essentially the tale of young adventurer Jim Hawkins, the story opens with him as a dutiful mama's boy off the southwest coast of England, helping to run a family inn that sees little action because of being located much more inland than most of the other local sailor-oriented hotels. Ah, but this is exactly what brings the drunken, scary Billy Bones there, where it becomes quickly apparent that he is on the run and in semi-hiding from a whole crew of mysterious, nefarious characters; and when they finally show up after Bones' alcoholism-related death, the family realizes that they are in fact pirates, on the hunt for a treasure map that Bones stole from a recent mutinous voyage that went horribly, horribly wrong. This then convinces a group of local Victorian gentlemen and family friends to go after the treasure themselves, eventually buying a boat and hiring a local crew to take them to this far-off tropical island; but little do they realize that the sailors they've hired are none other than the surviving pirates of the former mutiny, led by the charismatic yet psychopathic one-legged "ship's cook" Long John Silver, who plan on turning on the ship's owners once actually reaching the island and retrieving the treasure they were forced to leave behind during their last voyage. The rest of the book, then, is essentially an adventure tale, full of all kinds of legitimate surprises that I won't spoil here; let's just say that a lot of swashbuckling takes place, that many details regarding ship-sailing are faithfully recorded, and that the day is eventually saved by our fast-thinking teenage hero Jim, no surprise at all for a book designed specifically to amuse fellow teenage boys.

The argument for it being a classic:
Well, to begin with, it's arguably the most famous pirate tale ever written, and in fact established for the first time many of the stereotypes now known within the genre, including one-legged buccaneers, treasure maps with a big 'X' on them, shoulder-sitting parrots squawking "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!," and even the very idea of British pirates being associated with exotic tropical islands in the Caribbean, an association now so strong that it's almost impossible to separate the two; and of course it's also the novel that created the unforgettable Long John Silver, now a thoroughly ingrained part of our Western culture at large. Add to this that it's simply an incredibly thrilling tale (rumor has it that England's Prime Minister at the time stayed up until two in the morning to finish his first reading of it), that it still holds up surprisingly well even 126 years later, and that it's also of immense importance to fans of Stevenson, a prolific author whose genius is just now starting to be widely recognized, after being dismissed by the literary community for almost a century as a frivolous "kiddie writer;" and now add to all this that Treasure Island is a surprisingly sophisticated examination of the era's ethics and moral code as well, taking an unblinking look at the "Victorian Ideal" as manifested in different ways among the stuffy gentlemen "heroes" (unable to improvise in changing circumstances, much to their detriment), the anarchic pirate villains (who almost kill themselves off just on their own, through drunkenness, ignorance and jealousy), and the ruthless yet principled Silver who straddles both these extremes.

The argument against:
A weak one at best; like many of the genre prototypes of the late Victorian Age, one could argue that this is simply too flippant a tale to be considered a classic. But we already established a long time ago here at the CCLaP 100 that genre stories are indeed eligible for "classic" status in this series, making this argument inapplicable in our case.

My verdict:
Holy crap! What an incredible book! And what a refreshing change in this case to not have to add my usual caveat to statements like these regarding late Victorian genre experiments: "...you know, for a century-old children's story that's kind of outdated and that you need to take with a grain of salt." Because the fact is that Treasure Island to this day still reads as fresh and exciting as the day it came out, which is a real testament to the writing skills of Robert Louis Stevenson (who I was already a big fan of before this essay series even started, because of his superbly creepy and also surprisingly relevant Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); what a shame that this illness-plagued author ended up dying at the age of 44 in the prime of his career, instead of surviving to pen the truly mindblowing mature works I'm convinced that he had been capable of. And it's exactly for the reasons that his fans bring up that this book remains such an amazing one, and how it is that it can still easily be read for pleasure instead of having to force one's way through for historical purposes; because it is indeed not only a thrilling adventure tale, not only written in a style that largely rejects the purplish finery of the Victorian Age in which it was created, but is also a deceptively complex look at the entire nature of "gentlemanness" that was so prevalent at the time, gently poking holes in the entire notion of what it means to be a Refined Citizen of the Empire, even while acknowledging that a complete disavowal of these gentlemanly standards is even worse. There's a very good reason that Long John Silver has endured so strongly in our collective imagination over the last century, when so many other fictional pirates have fallen by the wayside, because he turns out to be a surprisingly complicated character worth coming back to again and again, a vicious killer but with a consistent internal moral code worth perversely admiring; it's but one of many reasons that I confidently label this book a undeniable classic today, and highly recommend it to anyone on the search for the best of 19th-century literature.

Is it a classic? Absolutely

Treasure Island is arguably one of the most influential tales in the world of fiction. Every pirate stereotype that we take for granted these days we can see the foundation somewhere in this magic tale. Approaching this story; I am quite lucky that I knew nothing about the plot except that there was a map where X marked the spot showcasing Captain Flint's legendary treasure. I went into the task of reading this like a happy youth, wide-eyed looking forward to experiencing a legendary story for the first time without being hindered with prior knowledge of the narrative, the characters, the pace and the plot twists.

So the story goes something like this. An alcoholic ex-pirate Captain spends his days in a local bar drinking himself to death whilst singing jolly pirate songs. "Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum" etc... He, unfortunately, passes away and leaves a chest which contains a secret map amongst other treasures. The map is highly sought after by all the wrong people. Our 1st person perspective young superstar Jim Hawkin's finds the map and speaks to his friends Dr. Livesey and a squire, Mr. Trelawney and they decide to venture to this mystical treasure island to hunt for said treasure.

Leaving from Bristol, they gather a ships worth of pirates and hands. Experienced in their own ways but none more so than pleasant, pub-owning ship's cook Long John Silver. So off they go on this adventure. They get the treasure and go home and live happily ever after. But, that obviously didn't happen because that would not make a legendary story.

The main protagonist, Jim is a great character. This is typically seen as a children's book (although some of the sea and pirate terminology is quite specific and complex) and having the first person perspective shown from the view of a young kid adds to the remarkableness of the story. The fact Jim is a young man who performs extraordinary deeds, often going against the odds on the Hispaniola (the trusty vessel that takes them to treasure island) or the island itself amongst hardened sea-faring men means we really have his back and support his deeds throughout the tale. We feel close to him because of how well Stevenson writes this character. Every time the plot progresses, it is because of an amazing deed that Jim has done, often on his own back without the consultation of the most senior members of the group. We route for him every second of the way because he is us.

Things don't work out smoothly when they get to the Island. A divide occurs. Mutiny some might say. A split is presented so Jim, Dr, Squire and a few trusted men are on one side. Old pirates who were part of Captain Flint's crew rally under who we thought was a nice dude. Long John Silver.

He is the most complex character in this short book. Peg legged, parrot on his shoulder "pieces of eight" are some of his characterisations that you will probably see some 12-year-old child imitating this Halloween. You never quite know where you stand with Silver. He starts off seeming good. Jim overhears his plot of mutiny whilst hiding in a barrel. At that point, he is portrayed as purely evil but towards the end, he seems more human and complex. Sticking up for Jim Hawkins when the rest of his sea mates want to kill the poor lad.

Other notable characters are Ben Gunn, the Robinson Crusoe-esque marooned island dweller and Dr. Livesey. It is ingeniously written that in such a short book we can care about so many of the players and their complexity is unrivaled.

There are lots of cool scenes. Shootouts on the Island between the two factions. Jim vs. Israel Hands. Meeting Ben Gunn and when Jim goes back to the safe haven of the wooden castle expecting to regroup with his friends but alas... it is not to be.

I will end this review with a few pirate clichés that frequent Treasure Island. "Shiver my timbers" "Shipshape" "Jolly Roger" & "Pieces of Eight" come to mind.

I really enjoyed this. So different to Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde that I have previously read by Stevenson. Yet, that makes a good author, being able to flaunt his linguistic skills in various genres making tales such as these which will last forever.

Cap'n Tivendale at your service.
www.youandibooks.wordpress.com

Someone recently asked me what review I enjoyed writing the most, and, well, this is it:

I have a massive problem with this book. It’s one I’m a little embarrassed to admit. The problem is not with the writing or the characters that Stevenson has created; it’s not even with the plot. The problem resides with Kermit the Frog. (Stay with me here!) I grew up watching the muppets. I became slightly obsessed with them. I kind of wanted to join them. So, whenever I read about Captain Smollett and Long John Silver all I can see is Kermit fighting Tim Curry!



Therefore, I just can’t take this book seriously. Well, at least not completely. The Muppet Treasure Island is such a great film; it’s hilarious. This book was much more serious. The pirates in here aren’t singing toys; they’re hardened criminals that created the pirate stereotype. They’re the sort of men you don’t want on your ship because they’d likely cut your throat in your sleep. They might wake you up first if they’re feeling kind. So, they wouldn’t try and gain your trust by singing you a jolly song about piracy, like Tim and his muppet mates would.



But, muppet based comparison aside, this is a good novel. I did quite enjoy it. It all begins when the young Jim Hawkins comes across a map for buried treasure, except he hasn’t got any money to fund the voyage. He Gonzo and Rizzo goes alone and seeks the help of Fozzie Bear Squire Trelawney. As a member of the Victorian gentry, he takes the map for himself with the intention of filling his own coffers with the loot. He’s not a very nice bear guy, and he’s not overly intelligent either. In his frugality he accidently hires a group of twisted muppets pirates that, unsurprisingly, mutiny against him.

This all sounds terrible, I know. But, it’s not all bad because the ship’s captain is none other than Kermit the Frog Captain Smollett who is absolutely in love with Miss Piggy no one. Indeed, Smollett is in direct contrast to the money driven Fozzie Trelawney because he is everything he is not; he is brave and honourable; he is completely true to his word. He is competing, unknowingly, for the attention of Jim. The young boy is looking for a farther figure, and in Silver and Smollett he sees two potential role models, and two potential life choices.



It all works out in the end though because this is a muppet movie adventure book after all. In all seriousness, it is an exciting book. But, for me, that’s all it is. There are no hidden motives or dark secrets. Everything is straight forward, clean cut and simple. It is a nice easy read. Stevenson’s masterpiece is most definitely The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde. That’s where the real mystery is at. But, it doesn’t have muppets…..

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