Treasure Island

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1883

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Loyalty Versus Mutiny

The novel’s central theme revolves around concepts of loyalty and mutiny. Broadly speaking, the captain and his men represent the forces of loyalty, while the pirates represent the forces of rebellion. Accordingly, each party reaps the consequences of each quality. That is, the captain, the doctor, the squire, Jim, and the other honest men remain loyal to one another, to their country, and to their mission. As a consequence, most of these men survive the pirates’ attacks and discover and secure the treasure. In contrast, the pirates rebel against the ship’s rightful captain, against their duties as crewmen, and ultimately against their own elected captain, John Silver. As a consequence, the pirates fail to capture the treasure for themselves, and most of them die in the process. In this way, Treasure Island is a moral tale that teaches the virtues of loyalty.

This lesson is complicated by the fact that Jim rebels against his own crew twice. After Jim escapes from the stockade, he expresses feelings of guilt for abandoning his duties. He reflects, “I was a fool, if you like, and certainly I was going to do a foolish, overbold act” (210). When he meets with the doctor while held captive by the pirates, he tells him, “I have blamed myself enough; my life’s forfeit anyway” (298). Jim understands that it is a moral mistake to break one’s original loyalties, wherever they may lie. Yet both times that Jim acts independently, without taking orders from the captain, his adventures wind up helping the captain’s men in their mission. Once the doctor learns that Jim has commandeered the ship and beached it safely on the north side of the island, he tells him, “Every step, it’s you that saves our lives” (300). The doctor tells Jim that finding Ben Gunn is “the best deed that ever you did, or will do, though you live to ninety!” (300). Jim’s success in his “rebellious” actions suggests that there are instances in which mutiny or independence are appropriate responses.

The novel illustrates that motivation determines whether an action is virtuous. Since Jim acts with the crew’s interests at heart, his mutinous choices are honorable. The pirates, on the other hand, always act out of self-interest, and therefore even seemingly virtuous words and deeds turn out poorly.

Greed as Vice

Throughout Treasure Island, greed disorients characters and obscures their objectivity. The squire demonstrates this in Chapter 6; once he learns of the treasure, he attempts to act too quickly and thinks in exaggerated terms. He tells the doctor he must quit his practice “at once” (60). He says he’ll find “the best ship” and “the choicest crew” (62), and predicts “favorable winds, a quick passage, and not the least difficulty in finding the spot” (62). Of course, the passage is not quick or easy, but the squire’s ability to think clearly is momentarily impacted by the allure of immense wealth.

The pirates show this quality as well. When John Silver is first handed a version of the treasure map in Chapter 12, his “eyes burned in his head” (110). This suggests that there is a devilish quality to his interest in the riches. Later, in Chapter 29, the pirates mean to demote Silver as captain until he reveals to them that he possess the treasure map, at which point they allow him to remain their leader. As they approach the tree where they believe the treasure is buried in Chapter 33, they begin to run, whereas just before they had been walking in fear of ghosts. All of these details suggest that the pirates’ ability to think logically and clearly is greatly affected by their desire for great wealth.

Perhaps the clearest declaration of greed as a vice comes from Jim. At the end of the novel, he says, “Oxen and wainropes would not bring me back again to that accursed island” (342). Here, Treasure Island becomes a metaphor for greed itself. Jim firmly condemns such greed when he states that he never wants to return to that “accursed” place.

Discipline Versus Disorganization

Just as the pirates and the crew serve to contrast loyalty and mutiny, they also demonstrate the differences in disciplined and disorganized behavior. The captain grows angry with his men when he finds that they have abandoned their posts in Chapter 21. Jim says:

“It was the first time we had ever seen him angry. ‘Quarters!’ he roared. And then, as we all slunk back to our places, ‘Gray,’ he said, ‘I’ll put your name in the log; you’ve stood by your duty like a seaman. Mr. Trelawney, I’m surprised at you, sir” (192).

Such anger demonstrates just how important to success the captain believes discipline is. The fact that the crew win out in the end means that such discipline was warranted.

The pirates, meanwhile, are often seen lazing about on the shore, overeating, drinking rum, fighting amongst themselves, and generally doing whatever they like. Such disorganization contributes to their loss in the end and underscores the virtuous nature of the crew’s discipline.