Literary Devices in Treasure Island
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
The whole idea for Treasure Island started with Robert Louis Stevenson and his girlfriend's son designing an imaginary island together, so it should be no surprise that a map of Treasure Island pla...
Setting
Treasure Island is supposed to be set in the 18th century, but we don't see any signs of this historical disjunction from the time it was written, except maybe that pirates seem marginally more bel...
Narrator Point of View
Jim is both the narrator and the central character of the book, which means that we follow his personal view of events from his encounter with Billy Bones at the Admiral Benbow Inn to his departure...
Genre
Technically, Treasure Island is an example of historical fiction, because it's set in the 1700s, a century before it was published. Still, the "historical" part of this novel's genre is much less i...
Tone
As our narrator, Jim Hawkins definitely has a flair for the dramatic. He likes to remind us that he's involved in a high-stakes search for treasure. The potential reward is enormous (gold bars) but...
Writing Style
Treasure Island is an adventure story. If there's one thing that Indiana Jones, that dude from Avatar, and Jim Hawkins all seem to agree on, it's that if you're looking for adventure, you have to g...
What's Up With the Title?
We have a question for you: do you like treasure? And do you like islands? Yes to both, right? We think Robert Louis Stevenson was banking on the popularity of both when he called his first novel T...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
"To the Hesitating Purchaser"If sailor tales to sailor tunes, Storm and adventure, heat and cold, If schooners, islands, and maroons, And buccaneers, and buried gold, And all the old romance, retol...
What's Up With the Ending?
The plot of Treasure Island is pretty gosh-darned simple. It's about treasure and pirates – that's about it. The complicated twists and turns of how Jim deals with the pirates to get the treasure...
Tough-o-Meter
Treasure Island is an adventure novel. Stevenson spends most of the book crafting cool twists and turns for the plot, and goes light on heavy-duty philosophizing and character development. So it's...
Plot Analysis
Jim Hawkins joins Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey in the coastal town of Bristol to prepare for their treasure hunt. Explanation/Discussion:Because this novel has a lot of plot, the set-up req...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Jim Hawkins doesn't exactly start out in rags, but he's not a wealthy kid. His parents own an inn, but his father passes away in the first chapters of the novel. His mother is clearly concerned a...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
Jim Hawkins is a boy working at his parents' inn when a drunken old sailor comes to stay. This sailor, Billy Bones, has a treasure map leading to the buried hoard of fearsome pirate Captain Flint....
Trivia
Since Robert Louis Stevenson was just starting out when he published Treasure Island, the editor of the magazine Young Folks suggested that he publish his work under the pseudonym "Captain George N...
Steaminess Rating
Since this is a Victorian novel for kids, it will come as no surprise that there is absolutely no hanky-panky going on. Pretty much all the excitement Stevenson offers us is bound up in drinking an...
Allusions
Admiral John BenbowBlackbeard (6.22)Admiral Edward Hawke (7.13; 2.8.15)The battle of Fontenoy (16.8; 4.21.2)King George II (30.16)" Lillibullero " – Irish marching song (16.2., 4.16.4, 4.16.21)"...