Treasure Island 2

     My latest readings of Treasure Island have left me utterly confused.  Seeing as Jim was alone on the Island with Ben Gunn, the author Robert Louis Stevenson has switched temporarily switched to using the Doctor as the narrorator for a few chapters, not Jim, in order to inform us what is going on back at the ship.  This tactic did not work too well for me because I really had no idea what was going on back at the ship.  I was able to infer something about the Doctors rowing out in a life boat to the island, and bringing supplies each time.  One thing that was mentioned that really messed me up was that there was a “log house” on the island (the place he was bringing supplies to).  I was thinking “Ok, where did that come from? Did I miss something? When did that get built?” That being said, I’ve assumed that it was built the last time the pirates were on the island with Captain Flint, or that Ben Gunn made it.  It could just as easily be either of the two. 

    What I know for certain is that all the “Good Men” from back at the ship piled into a lifeboat (causing it to be very tippy) and began rowing to the shore. On the way there, they managed to shoot down a buccaneer back at the ship.  When they did this however, the buccaneers shot at cannonball at the “Good Men’s” boat, causing it to sink along with the gun powder they were bringing.  Luckily, they were close enough to the shore to survive, but the firing of the cannon caught the attention of the pirates already on the island.  Soon, all the honest men were confronted by Long John Silver and his pirate cronies.  In this confrontation, each side lost a man.  In order to mourn the man lost by the Good Men, Captain Smollet hung the flag of England on their log house.  It’s bright colours made it an easy target for cannon balls, so the buccaneers have been continually shooting at it from the ship.

     This is where Jim Hawkins, thanks to the help of Ben Gunn, finds his way back to doctor, the Captain, and all the other trustworthy men on the island who’re all relieved by his safety.  That night, Long John Silver approaches the Log House to make a deal, involving him becoming the new Captain of the Hispaniola.  Like that will happen…     As you can imagine, Captain Smollet is outraged by this proposal and ensures Silver that that will never happen.  This scene shows us the tension between Captain Smollet and Long John Silver continues to grow.  During which, the ever calm Captain Smollet “loses his cool” and ends up screaming at Long John. 

     This was the most difficult passage I’ve read so far in Treasure Island.  I’m aware that I’ve previously said that the language barrier wasn’t really a problem, but this reading has proved that wrong.  Along with that, certain points of the story were not made clear at all (ie: the mysterious log house).  Hopefully now that Jim is back narrorating the story, I’ll have an easier time understanding what exactly is going on.

Treasure Island

     Treasure Island is getting juicy! The drama and controversy has begun.  First of all, Jim overheard Long John Silver planning  a mutiny and informed the Captain and the other “Honest Men” on the ship.  Then, the story got even better when they began exploring the island.  Jim went off on his own, trying to avoid Silver, but ended up overseeing him murder one of the crew mates, Tom, who did not want to kill Captain Smollett.  As well, one of Silver’s men murdered another man who, like Tom, did not want a mutiny.  Out of fear, Jim has run off into the woods of the island and has been discovered by a man name Ben Gunn.  Ben Gunn has been on the island for 3 years since he was marooned, and is slightly mad. 

     This section of the book has been much more interesting than any other part of the book so far.  Now that there are many main issues that the “Honest Men” are facing the read is much more intersting.  Having cliffhanger endings at the end of each chapter have kept me reading and reading. 

     I’ve gotten past the language barrier, seeing as the book has been written in an old-english style.  Things are a little hard to understand at times, and very easy to understand during others.  I think it all depends on how interesting the passage is.  If it’s really interesting, i dont notice the wording as much.  I cannot wait to see how the story unfolds.

     So far I’m really enjoying this book, and recommend it to anyone who wants a really good story.

Treasure Island

A few weeks ago I started to read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I chose to read this book because the last story I read was a very . . . “girly” book (Where the Heart Is) so I wanted to read a story with a completely different theme and style.

When I was in grade 6, I tried to read Treasure Island after going on a trip to the Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands with my extended family. While we were there, We went snorkelling in a cave that my uncle told us was the Cave that Robert Louis Stevenson imagined to be “the cave” in Treasure Island. I found this to be very interesting. However, the language was too difficult for me to understand way back when, so it took me weeks to get through the first chapter. After finally completing this chapter, I decided not to read the rest of the book. Knowing I needed to choose another book after finishing Where the Heart Is, I searched my sister’s bookshelf and saw it sitting there. I still wanted to read it, so I decided I would.

I’ve always wanted to read all the classic novels like Treasure Island because they’re just great stories of adventure. If this story was written more than 100 years ago and is still known for its greatness, I know it will be interesting to read.

I’m about 60 pages into it so far. Within the first chapter, I actually noticed the author “hook” me in. He informed a character in the story, as well as the reader, to be wary of a “seafaring man with one leg.” This kept me interested, and so far I’ve been enjoying the reading. All the characters are about to set sail in the Hispaniola. What I’m really looking forward to is when they actually get on the Island, and when all the trouble erupts. I want some excitement! Everything is just getting set-up right now, so it’s been a bit dry to read, but it’s all part of it.