Treasure Island: Adapted & Abridged For Teenagers

Main Characters

Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins is the protagonist of Treasure Island. He is merely a boy when the events of the story take place. From a young age, Jim is used to manage responsibilities at Admiral Benbow, an inn owned by his ailing father. He is full of curiosity and the initial thoughts on an adventure out at sea excite him immensely. However, he soon learns that he is still not quite prepared for the adventures that await him on board the Hispaniola. Jim, however, is naturally clever and quick-witted: he is able to think fast and hide from danger when he needs to. But at the same time he is rebellious and is not able to stick to duty on various occasions. He does realize his mistakes later and tends to feel guilty about breaking the rules. He is special in many ways, yet not superhuman. He is like any boy of his age, who goes through all kinds of feelings such as fear, excitement, confusion, and guilt.

Dr. Livesey

Dr. Livesey is a family friend of Jim’s parents. He is the one who takes care of Jim’s father until he passes away. He is dutiful and resourceful, making him a point of contact for Jim in case of any trouble. He is one of the first to recognize the significance of the treasure map. He, along with Squire Trelawney, arranges for the ship and the crew in order to sail for the treasure. The doctor is an intelligent man, loyal to those who are loyal to him. He too is fascinated with the idea of wealth and adventure that motivates so many characters in the book. He thinks of pirates as low and murderous creatures, and has no sympathy for them. Meanwhile, he is almost a father-figure for Jim, looking out for him at every step, even when Jim disappoints him.

Squire Trelawney

A good friend of Dr. Livesey, Squire Trelawney is a good-hearted guy, extremely patriotic, and generous. He, along with Dr. Livesey, unveils the treasure map, and it is the Squire who tells everyone just how frightening and powerful Flint was. Squire Trelawney doesn’t think much and is the one who gets everyone in trouble. He is the one who puts up the money for the voyage, and he’s the one who (accidentally) hires a crew of pirates. He has a tendency to gossip, and sort of gives away the news about the treasure, which results in Silver and the other disloyal pirates becoming crew on the ship.

Silver

John Long Silver is a cunning and sly pirate, who enters the ship as a cook, and brings along his team of nasty and notorious pirates. He has lost his leg in some kind of battle when he was part of Flint’s group of buccaneers. He is represented as someone even dreaded men such as Billy Bones (the one-legged man) and Flint was scared of. He is able to initially charm Jim, Squire Trelawney and even Dr. Livesey, who are unable to see his true intentions. Soon, though, it becomes clear that Silver is evil and manipulating. He cares more than anything else about ensuring his own survival, and will do whatever it takes to save himself—even if that means betraying one group, then turning around and betraying another.

Captain Smollett

Captain Smollett hired by Squire Trelawney to head the Hispaniola, is all about duty and discipline. He senses from the beginning something wrong with the crew and his suspicion of the voyage. Although the Squire and Jim despise him initially for his strict nature and for finding fault with a seemingly amicable crew, the Captain is proved right soon. The Captain insisted on rules and regulations at all times, and anyone found neglecting duty or breaking rules was sure to be pulled up by him. Sometimes, because of his insistence on rules, the Captain failed to see the value of practical solutions which employ a bit of cunningness.

Ben Gunn

Formerly a member of Flint’s crew, Ben Gunn is a marooned sailor whom Jim Hawkins meets on the island. Unlike the other pirates, Ben Gunn is not wicked and murderous. He is a survivor, who against all odds, manages to live for three years on the island by himself, killing and preserving goat meat and looking tirelessly for Flint’s treasure. And he even manages to find it! He is considered slightly crazy by all, probably from living alone for so long. He is afraid of the other pirates, specially Silver. Meanwhile, Gunn is so grateful to have met Jim and found him friendly that he pledges full loyalty from his side.

PART I 

THE OLD BUCCANEER

1

The Old Sea-Dog at the Admiral Benbow

At the behest of Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and a few others, young Jim Hawkins begins to narrate his adventures on the Treasure Island. Jim decides to record every detail of what took place, but omits mentioning the island’s exact location, as he believes that a part of treasure still lies buried there.

The story begins with Jim recounting his first meeting with an old sailor called Billy Bones. Asking to be addressed as the Captain, this large, ragged man walked into Admiral Benbow one day, an inn owned by Jim’s ailing father. Carrying a mysterious chest and many marks of war, the Captain came seeking a quiet and out-of-the-way place to live in, and found Admiral Benbow, overlooking the sea, to be just that. The old sailor doled out a few gold coins and self-appointedly moved in, eventually staying for far longer than his payment covered.

A silent man by custom, the Captain spent his days walking the cliffs and observing the sea through his brass telescope. His evenings meant drinking lots and lots of rum and singing his seachanty:

Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest –Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

His raucous drinking and coarse singing often frightened the other inmates. On some days, the drunken Captain would terrorise everyone else to join in the singing of his violent sea songs and then listen to his dismaying accounts of wicked men, dreadful storms, and grim life. Jim’s father worried that the inn would be doomed as the people would cease coming owing to the Captain’s preposterous disposition. But Jim believed the Captain’s presence was in fact good, bringing some excitement into the boring, quiet country-life. It was the notoriety of the Captain that attracted customers and he even earned some admiration from younger locals who considered him a real old salt.

Not just notoriety, there was enough mystery surrounding the Captain as well. He was always dressed in rough filthy clothes and never spent a penny. Throughout his stay he never received or sent a letter, never spoke to anyone but the neighbours (mostly when drunk on rum), and his great sea-chest was always locked. Meanwhile, the Captain himself was wary of a seafaring man coming after him and checked out any seaman visiting Admiral Benbow with utmost caution before making himself public. He made Jim his confidante and promised him a small fee every month if Jim kept his weather-eye open for a seafaring man with one leg, and alerted the Captain the moment one such appeared.

One evening Dr. Livesey was at the inn, attending to Jim’s father’s deteriorating health. At this time, the inebriated Captain broke into his sailor song in full blast, banging the desk alongside, in a manner that would mean a quiet submission for all around.

"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!"

Dr. Livesey, a stranger to this high drama of every evening in Admiral Benbow, did not oblige the Captain with his demand for silence while he roared, and kept his business and conversation alive. The Captain was angry and threatened the doctor. In response, Dr. Livesey calmly predicted that death would be near if the Captain did not stop drinking.

…if you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel!

These warnings further enraged the Captain who threatened the doctor with a knife. The undeterred doctor, who also happened to be a district law enforcement official, had the Captain subdue his rage after he warned that he’ll have the Captain arrested if he kept threatening the people.

The Captain held his peace that evening, and for many evenings to come.

2

Black Dog Appears and Disappears

On a cold January morning soon after, the Captain was out on a stroll along the beach and Jim was readying the breakfast table for his return. A pale stranger, wearing a cutlass and missing two fingers on the left hand walked into the inn. Although curious looking, Jim made a quick note that this wasn’t the seafaring man with one leg. The stranger ordered some rum and asked Jim if his mate Bill was there at the inn. Jim, unaware of the Captain’s real name (Billy Bones) until this point, at first refused to know any Bill, but as the stranger rightly pointed to a scar on the Captain’s right cheek, Jim confirmed his lodging at the inn and said he is about to return soon.

The stranger kept hanging about in the inn, waiting impatiently for the Captain’s return, peering around the corner like a cat waiting for a mouse. Sensing that this person may mean harm to the Captain, Jim tried to start out to warn the Captain before his return to the inn, but the strange man prevented him from leaving.

Pulling Jim behind the parlour in spite of his unwillingness, they both waited it out for the Captain. Soon the Captain approached, almost gasping as the stranger called out his name Bill. Although startled as if a ghost had appeared the Captain did recognize this person and addressed him as "Black