TreCharles Pease
Mrs. Sparks
English 9- 4th period
10 October 2012
From a Boy to a Man In the novel Treasure Island, Stevenson creates an adventure that allows a young boy to mature and in many ways become a hero. He must embark on a dangerous quest to find a treasure that has been lost for over two decades. In his novel, Treasure Island, Stevenson explores the universal them of a young boy coming of age. As Jim Hawkins often follows his instincts instead of the rules enabling him to survive and eventually stop the pirates from killing the crew and taking the treasure, he matures from a young boy into a man. When Jim hides in the apple barrel, he reveals his tendency to follow his instincts in order to survive. Even though Jim was told not to eat the apples from the barrel, he did and this allowed him to overhear the plot of mutiny. The supplies were running low on the voyage to the island. He was told not to get an apple but he wanted one anyway. He heard voices coming from the kitchen so he hid in the barrel and listened to the conversation. Jim could have left the barrel if he wanted to but he stayed in the barrel because he wanted to hear what they were saying. If he had done the thing he was told and not gotten an apple he never would have heard the conversation about taking over the ship. Jim, like many young men, ignored his orders given to him. In doing so, he actually gained insight into the pirates’ plans. Jim’s will to survive is demonstrated again when Jim’s curiosity pushes him to trust his instincts. Even though Jim was told to stay off the island, he went anyway. This allowed him and the other honest men to see that Long John Silver was plotting to kill anyone who would not join his side. Jim is wandering on the island when he hears Long John Silver’s voice. “And now I began to feel that I was neglecting my business, that since I had been so foolhardy as to come ashore with these desperadoes, the least I could do was to overhear them at their councils, and that my plain and obvious duty was to draw as close as I could manage, under the favorable ambush of the crouching trees. Jim is spying on the pirates and he keeps watching as Long John kills two of them. Seeing two men murdered allows Jim to see the complete danger at hand. His childhood innocence is lost. With this new insight Jim decides to disobey his orders and leaves the ship to explore the island. Once on the island, Jim realizes the reality that Long John is a murderer. By following his instincts, he is able to see the danger that he and the other men are in. As Jim continues to learn about the pirates and follow his gut, he is able to warn the