The current essay is an attempt to reflect on the ‘Treasure Island’ theatrical performance. Numerous film and theatre adaptations have been made based on the novel written by Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, that was published in 1883. Before providing my opinion on the performance in the second part of the essay, it is logical to start with a brief summary of one of the most popular books about pirates of all time.
The story occurs in the mid-1700s near Bristol, in England. The main character of the book is a young man named Jim Hawkins. He lives with his mother and father, who is ill, in their seaside inn called Admiral Benbow. One day a “captain”, Billy Bones, arrives at the inn and rents a room there for a few months hiding from a seafaring man with one leg. While drinking rum, he reveals to Jim that he is a pirate and has a sea chest with a treasure map inside. Sometime later the ‘captain’ Billy is visited at the inn by a man named Black Dog. His appearance frightens Billy and he has a stroke. He explains to Jim that Black Dog has arrived to steal his sea chest. Later on, Billy is visited by a man named Pew, gets a stroke and dies.
After Billy’s death, Jim and his mother take his sea chest in order to pay his debt to the inn. Jim finds a treasure map that Billy talked about and shares it with a local doctor Livesey and Trelawney, a district squire. They decide to get a ship and go to the island. They hire a crew with the help of the one-legged man named Long John Silver, who travels with them as a ship’s cook. On the way to the treasure island Jim overhears one-legged man’s conversation with other seamen planning to appropriate the treasure and kill others, including Jim, Dr. Livesey, Trelawney and the ship’s captain. They understand that it is impossible to fight nineteen pirates, so having arrived to the island, Jim sneaks off and meets Ben Gunn, a former pirate who stuck on the island. The rest of the story is devoted to the long fight and the victory over the pirates. Jim and others return home with the treasure and share it. However, more treasure is abandoned on the island, but Jim is not eager to go back there.
In the second part of the essay I reflect on Treasure Island’s performance, analyzing the main themes, their purpose and the main characters. First of all, I should note that the theatrical performance evokes extraordinarily strong emotions, compared to the book. In my personal opinion, the performance conveys adventurous part of the story and depicts main characters in a more precise way through theatrical scenery, costumes and the actor’s play.
Secondly, to my way of thinking, the most significant aspects of the ‘Treasure Island’ story are the key topics that were addressed. One of them is the growing up process of the protagonist, Jim Hawkins. At the beginning of the story Jim is an immature, unexperienced boy, who lives with his family. Having gone through numerous difficult events, such as death (including his own father’s), fears, betrayal, the travel across the sea, he learns to be a grown-up man with a strong character. Throughout the adventure he makes mistakes, but he continuously learns from them. It is clear from the story that growing up and the process of getting mature are connected with mistakes and difficulties on that way.
For me, another major theme that is explored in the novel is a battle between good and evil. The author offers readers to make their own choice in this opposition. However, by the end of the story Stevenson demonstrates that everyone gets what he or she deserves in accordance with their actions. For instance, we see that the pirates end up badly, while the main character and his friends return home with the treasure. Apart from the obvious conflict between good and evil, the author brings up the topic of moral ambiguity. It is not always a straightforward choice between good and evil in some situations. The excellent example is the personality of Long John Silver that is controversial. On the one hand, he is shown as evil, as he betrays people on the ship in order to steal the treasure. However, on the other hand, he is very kind to Jim. Silver is not a random character in the story, but a reminder of the complexity and non-obviousness of choice.
Another vital issue that was addressed in the novel is the inevitability of losses on the way to self-sufficiency and maturity. At the beginning of the story, the protagonist, Jim, loses his father. Further on his way he meets people that to some extent replace him: Dr. Livesey, the squire Trelawney, the Captain of the ship and Silver. All of them were the role model for him at different stages of the adventure. He learns from these people, but by the end of the story he becomes a man, adult and responsible for his life.
I am confident that the ‘Treasure Island’ performance is worth watching, as it is a great adventure story that identifies fundamental and complex issues and brings up truly strong emotions. Moreover, I believe that this story is intended not only for young people, but also for adults, reminding of the complexity of life’s experiences and the importance of mistakes and personal growth.