Medium: Audiobook
Publisher: Audible
Length: 6 hours 23 minutes
Rating: 3/5
From the moment young Jim Hawkins first encounters the sinister Blind Pew at the Admiral Benbow Inn until the climactic battle for treasure on a tropic isle, the novel creates scenes and characters that have fired the imaginations of generations of readers. Written by a superb prose stylist, a master of both action and atmosphere, the story centers upon the conflict between good and evil - but in this case a particularly engaging form of evil. It is the villainy of that most ambiguous rogue Long John Silver that sets the tempo of this tale of treachery, greed, and daring.
I do this thing when I read classics where I go into the experience assuming that over the years of hearing the title of the novel over and over, and of having read books that invoke or allude to the story, that it means I know what happens in the novel. I (incorrectly) assume that I have absorbed the plot of the book through cultural osmosis. Despite almost constantly being wrong and indeed having no ever-loving clue what happens in most of these classics, I still waltz into almost every one with this mentality.
[On a side note: I have correctly assumed I knew the story of three classics in my
reading experience. Those three classics were -- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin,
Romano and Juliet by William Shakespeare, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert
Louis Stevenson.]
This was not one of those rare occasions. I can tell you exactly what I thought happened in Treasure Island, I thought it had the same plot as Disney's Treasure Planet (which to be fair is an adaptation of this classic novel, but...Disney-ified). Anyway, let's get into it.
Hi, My Name Is
This was a unique reading experience because I listened to the dramatized, full cast version of the story produced by Audible. For those of you who have never heard of this concept, it is similar to the radio plays of old. With very little setting and narration, this is a dialogue driven version of the story. Sometimes I love this way to read a story, but sometimes it can be confusing. If the voice actors sound too similar or if you miss the initial character introduction, someone could be talking and you have no idea who they are. This happened with a few of the side-pirate characters like Gray and Hands. It didn't help that everyone had no less than three different names by which they are referred. I could recognize the voices of the main cast of characters, but the background pirates blended together, especially once everyone started dying.
I have very strong opinions on the main cast of characters though. Everyone has such strong personalities that it is hard not to, which is probably the point.
Mrs. Hawkins: I very much dislike this woman. I couldn't tell if it was due to the internalized misogyny of the times or if it was the way she treated Jim or how blunderingly unhelpful she is in a crisis. In any case, I didn't like the way she blames and guilts Jim from start to finish.
Long John Silver: I thought his characterization was really fascinating. Although self-preservation is always his main goal, and he is unafraid to murder to achieve that, he has his own set of morals that he sticks to. The very definition of a morally-gray character. His protection of Jim sells it for me. I did wish that he had stuck around, or invited Jim along with him in the end, but I can concede that it would have changed the takeaway of the story.
Dr. Livesey: Is a menace! He is a plot triggering character in a lot of ways, so it tracks, but I cannot stand him. He is a wishy-washy character who cannot figure out his moral, ethical, or protective standing. His constant disregard of Jim pisses me off irrationally. I know he is a man of his time and tends to ignore children, but one would hope for a little more graciousness for the person who brought you the map to treasure.
Jim Hawkins: His character growth throughout the story is, arguably, the main point of the story. Although he is meant to be almost a self-insert character, his devotion to doing what he believes is right against all odds makes him frustratingly loveable. You root for him even as he makes choices you question. His ending is my favorite because it is left wide open for the reader to imagine. His storyline can almost be described as a classic (lol pun) coming of age story, just with more murder and possible death. (and pirates, don't forget the pirates.)
The Moral of the Story
I don't think there is one. Treasure Island feels more like a character study than anything else. Each of the older male characters who we are introduced to from Mr. Hawkins and Dr. Livesey to Long John Silver and Ben Gunn, is a possible future version of Jim. These men are meant to show the different paths that Jim could follow depending on the choices he makes now and in the future. Like I mentioned before, this is essentially a coming of age story where our main character is learning about himself and who he wants to grow up to be. I think this is driven home by the final scene where Jim returns to the Admiral Benbow and his mother. Mrs. Hawkins doesn't believe that this is her son who has returned because he is no longer the boy who left. It is also made clear in Jim's last conversation with Long John Silver. He has seen too much to return the same and has experienced too much to see his home the same. Jim has started to learn where his personal morals lie.
I enjoyed this book a middling amount. It wasn't blow-my-socks-off awesome, but it also wasn't dig-me-a-grave boring. I am glad I read it and now know the source material for future literary references. If you have read Treasure Island before, what did you think of it? Did you also have strong opinions on the main characters? Who was your most forgettable side-pirate? Let me know in the comments!
And for now,
Keep wondering and stay wandering!
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