Treasure Island Loyalty Quotes

Brock Moran

Mrs. Hill

Language Arts 3

1 May 2023

Characters Exhibiting Duty in Treasure Island

Loyalty, responsibility, allegiance. Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure classic, Treasure Island, has been read by tens of thousands of people for over one hundred forty years. Young Jim Hawkins, a Bristol native, stumbles upon a treasure map. He meets loyal characters along the way, such as Doctor Livesy and Squire Trelawney, but also meets dishonest and cruel characters, like Long John Silver and Pew. He presents the map to Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey, and they decide to go out and find the treasure. After some time on their ship, the Hispaniola, they discover that the majority of the shipmates are pirates. Throughout the book, many characters

After some time passed when Jim was sitting in the apple barrel, he hears some chatter above and takes those words to heart, “I would not have shown myself for the world, but lay there, trembling and listening, in the extreme fear and curiosity for from these dozen words I understood that the lives of all the honest men aboard depended on me alone” (Stevenson 72). This is one of the many examples that prove that Jim is willing to accept such challenges for the betterment of his crew. Close to the end of the book, Doctor Livesey states that running away from Long John Silver and the rest of the Mutineers would be a good idea, however, Jim declines “You know right well that you wouldn’t do the thing yourself, neither you nor the squire, nor the captain; and no more will I. Silver trusted me; I passed my word, and back I go” (Stevenson 212). This not only shows that Jim is loyal to his own shipmates who aren’t associated with the Mutiny but also being loyal to his closest enemies. Jim is a good example of a young boy, who focuses and puts his duty above adventure and

Doctor Livesey travels to the Admiral Benbow Inn, in hopes of saving Jim’s indisposed father, but instead, he finds Billy Bones lying on the ground in a stroke, due to apoplexy- “For my part, I must do my best to save this man’s terribly wretched life” (Stevenson 14). Doctor Livesey is willing to use his medical expertise to help cure someone who he believed had a wretched life. Doctor Livesey is in the enemy camp, and he cares for their wounds, even though they support the mutiny “He seemed under no apprehension, though he must have known that his life, among these treacherous demons, depended on a hair; and he rattled on to his patients as if he were paying an ordinary professional visit in a quiet English family. His manner, I suppose, reacted on the men, for they behaved to him as if nothing had occurred, as if he were still ship's doctor and they still faithful hands before the mast” (Stevenson 208). Livesey walks into the enemy camp, doing his duty as a doctor- he risks his life to save people who have different ideologies then him; we can all use Doctor Livesey as a good example of a person that risks their life for humans, no matter their