Foolhardy In Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island

727 Words3 Pages

In Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Jim Hawkins is a curious young boy who finds a treasure map which leads him on an adventure to Treasure Island. In this book, Jim is portrayed as an extremely foolhardy person. A foolhardy action is one someone makes without thinking through it, potentially putting them in danger. Jim is shown as foolhardy when he goes out from under the bridge, goes off of the ship with the pirates, and runs out of the stockade. One time Jim is portrayed as foolhardy is when he goes out from under the bridge. When pirates come to their hotel, Jim and his mother find a hiding spot under a bridge and they are safe and hidden, but Jim lets curiosity take the better of him and goes out from under the bridge. His …show more content…

The pirates and the honest hands had a fight, and the honest hands are tending to their wounds. In the stockade, only two men are able to fight and the others are weak. This is when Jim decides to run away, leaving them defenseless. “The squire and Gray were busy helping the captain with his bandages; the coast was clear; I made a bolt for it over the stockade and into the thickest of the trees” (Stevenson 188). This was foolhardy because Jim ran away from protection, potentially putting himself at risk of the pirates capturing. It was especially foolhardy because he ran after a fight when the honest hands might have needed him the most. When he said “bolt”, it suggested that he wasn’t thinking about his actions and that he just ran as soon as he had the thought. In conclusion, this action shows that Jim is foolhardy because he isn’t thinking about his actions and he is leaving the injured honest hands defenseless. As it has been shown, Jim is foolhardy because he ran out from under the bridge, goes off of the ship with the pirates, and runs out of the stockade. Although Jim’s actions were extremely foolhardy, they worked out in the end because of luck. Jim’s actions demonstrate that he is a foolhardy person because, in times of peril, he doesn’t take the time to think and makes bad decisions, putting himself and often others in danger. In conclusion, Jim is a foolhardy person