Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Treasure Island Post 3: Chapters 4-6

Chapter 4

At the end of the last chapter, I mentioned that Jim called out to his mom. In chapter 4, Jim told his mom about the pirate's plan to get Billy's sea chest. Because of this, Jim and his mom head off to a neighboring village to get some help. No one is willing to help. Armed (but not necessarily dangerous), Jim heads back to the inn with his mother. Jim looks around for Bill's key, and finds it hanging around the corpes' neck. They open the chest with the key, and find some gold. Hearing footsteps outside, Jim gets out of the house quickly with his mother, after grabbing some papers that were in the chest. While running, his mother faints, and Jim drags her along. Jim finds a hiding place under a bridge, still being able to hear what's going on in the inn.



Chapter 5

Jim finally looks out from his hiding place and witnesses a handful of men that are surprised that the inn door is open. Among them is the blind man that showed up earlier. The men are dissociated to find that there is only gold in the sea chest. Jim hears them tell each other hat if they can find what they're looking for, they'll be rich beyond their wildest dreams. A kerfuffle breakes out and Jim hears a gunshot. Leaving Pew (the blind man) on the road, the rest of the men flee. Meanwhile, Pew is ran over by men on horses that came to investigate. Pew dies. Jim returns to the inn eventually and finds that the whole place is trashed. He inks that the paper he stuck in his pocket at the last minute might be what the pirates were lusting after. He refuses to give it to the police officer. Jim says he'd rather show them to Dr. Livesey. So Jim and officer Dance go to Livesey's house.

Chapter 6

When the gang shows up at Livesey's house, that learn that he is dining at Mr. Trelawney's house. They head over there to speak to Livesey. Trelawney says that the paper belongs to pirate Flint. It turns out that the paper is not just a list of all the places Flint found money, but it's also a treasure map! The gang makes plans to find the treasure, and they bring Jim along. Everyone makes a promise to keep everything confidential.



Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Treasure Island Post 2: Chapters 1-3

Treasure Island Chapters 1-3

Treasure Island is an adventure book narrated by a timid, yet tenacious boy named Jim Hawkins. Living during the times of pirates, Jim is not conformable with the people he lives with. The whole pirate thing wasn't his cup of tea, or, rum in this case.

Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

Jim's age is never specified, but he's probably around twelve to thirteen. Throughout the whole book, we see Jim mature. In the first few chapters however, he is still just a little boy.


Many people die in the first three chapters of Treasure Island. All the deaths were due to pirates being greedy, violent, or just plain temperamental.

In chapter two, a man with just eight fingers enters, and asks Jim if he's seen his mate, "Billy Bones." Jim knows who this guy is talking about, and lets him know that he'll be back soon. When Billy Bones gets back, he tries to kill Black Dog, which is what he calls the man. In the process of attempted murder, Bill has a stroke and is later cared for.

Jim goes to visit Bill, and Bill asks for some rum. Reluctantly, Jim gives him one glass, and it affects him like a teenager drinking a Redbull®. He is instantly rejuvenated and says he wants outsmart his peers. He tells Jim how they want his sea chest. That night, Jim's father dies. After returning from his dad's funeral, Jim meets a blind man who want to see Bill. When they [Bill and the blind man] meet, the blind man gives Bill a "black spot," which seems to be like a certification that you're a pirate. Bill reads it, says he only has six hours left, then keels over and dies. Jim reminds us that he's still just a boy, and calls for his mom.

A bottle of rum