Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas
explored in a literary work.
The Search for Heroic Role Models
Treasure Island is an adventure tale,
but it is also the story of one boy’s coming of age. At the outset
of the novel, Jim is a timid child, but by the end he has matured
incredibly. He has outwitted pirates, taken over a ship, and saved
innumerable lives. Jim has become an adult in character if not in
age. Like any maturing boy, Jim must try out various male role models.
Jim’s father does not appear to be a significant role model: he
passes away early in the novel, and even before that he does not
seem to have much effect on Jim’s inner life. In fact, Jim scarcely
mentions his father in his narrative.
Alternatively, we might expect a local authority figure
to act as role model for Jim. Dr. Livesey, for example, has high
social status in the community and represents the civilized, rational
world. When Jim finds the map, he immediately thinks of Livesey
when wondering what he should do with it. It therefore initially
seems that Jim looks up to Livesey as a role model. Squire Trelawney,
like the doctor, is another symbol of worldly authority. However,
while both men are upstanding citizens, they do not captivate Jim’s
mind or inspire him. They are simply too staid and predictably upstanding.
When the pirates appear, however, Jim begins
to pay close attention to their actions, attitudes, and appearance.
He describes Silver with an intensity and attention to detail that
he does not show for any other character. Soon, Jim is imitating some
aspects of Silver’s behavior. He acts impulsively and bravely when
he sneaks into the pirates’ boat in Chapter XIII. He even deserts
his own captain in Chapter XXII, effectively enacting his own mutiny.
He sails a pirate’s boat out to the anchored ship, kills the pirate
Israel Hands, and names himself the new captain of the ship. The
pirate side of Jim is so apparent that Silver himself remarks that
Jim reminds him of what he was like as a boy, hinting that Jim could
grow up to be like Silver.
At the end of the novel, the pirates’ influence on Jim’s
development is clear, and not necessarily detrimental. Jim displays
more courage, charisma, and independence than the captain, squire,
or doctor. Just as he has not mentioned his father, he does not
mention these men at the close of his narrative, an omission that
suggests that they have not been important to his development. Instead,
Jim pays a touching tribute to Silver and wishes the pirate well.
Indeed, Silver has been more instrumental than anyone else in shaping
Jim’s identity, hopes, and dreams.
The Futility of Desire
Treasure Island explores the satisfaction
of desires, and, indeed, the motivation of all the characters is
greed: everyone wants the treasure. By the end of the adventure,
Jim and the captain’s crew have sated their greed, having won the
treasure. Stevenson vividly describes how the men haul the gold
bars to the ship, as if to underscore the final satisfying achievement.
But Stevenson also casts doubt on the possibility of ultimate satisfaction.
For the pirates, desire proves futile and goals unattainable, as
the treasure map leads them to an empty hole. The empty hole becomes
a symbol for the futility of the treasure hunt and for the loss
of one’s soul in searching for the treasure. When the pirates dig
in the ground, it is as if they are digging their own grave. Their
greed and irrationality lead only to death, loss, and dissatisfaction.
Similarly, though Ben has possessed the treasure for
three months, he is half mad and living in a cave. Such treasure
is useless to him if he is alone on an island. Without the structure
and rules of a society that places monetary value on gold, the treasure
is worthless. Likewise, we see that Jim himself is not satisfied
by the gold. He does not mention its value and focuses instead on
the coins’ nationality and their design. He does not refer to his
share of the windfall or to what happens to the treasure when he
gets back home. The gold coins elicit nightmares, not dreams of
his riches. Jim displays no desire to return for the remaining silver
treasure left behind. Unlike other literary adventurers
such as Huckleberry Finn in Mark Twain’s The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn or Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey, Jim
does not want to travel or treasure-hunt endlessly. He has learned
that the desires associated with such lifestyles are futile—he will
never attain a good life through greed and bloodshed.
