Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
payment page
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews April 3, 2023 March 27, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
“I have only one thing to say to you, sir … if you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel!”
These words, which Dr. Livesey addresses to Billy Bones in Chapter I, emphasize the conflict between the civilized world and the lawless criminal world in Treasure Island. Billy has usurped power for himself, as he refuses to pay his bills and assumes that everyone will immediately fall silent whenever he slaps the dining-room table. Billy’s power is, in fact, quite real: Jim’s innkeeper father is too scared of Billy to demand payment, and everyone does stop talking when the seaman slaps the table. Though Billy is a stranger in the area, shows no special virtues, and has no political or financial power, he nonetheless holds an extraordinary and mysterious power over everyone. This power, which Long John Silver also displays, fascinates Jim. Power of this sort is an insult to the civilized world, as it offends the values of order, responsibility, and propriety. The practical Dr. Livesey, who embodies the traditional, ordered world, predicts that the rum will soon kill Billy and declares that the pirates are scoundrels. Livesey judges the pirates through the lens of his own world and its accompanying values. However, by the end of the novel, we learn that both the doctor’s world and the pirates’ world are flawed, and that both worlds can inspire and destroy.
Please wait while we process your payment
