Treasure Island: Life as an Adventure, Taking Risks

Treasure Island
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Date:
Treasure Island
The author does not want the audience to learn anything from the novel other than the elements of taking life as an adventure and taking risks into the unknown. As such, there is intricate level of thrill that is associated with the content. For the readers the main thing that they can pick from the novel is that related to adventure and living one's life to the fullest. The novel, takes the form of a narration with Jim being the main character. Ideally Jim gives the accounts of his life and the various encounters that he had. This was a common theme in the novels that were written in the nineteenth century. Using the main character to tell their story, recounting aspects about their lives from the past. There are no elements of personal development that can be established from the novel however, the content and context of the novel allow for more than one reading (Barry). It is a novel that uses an assortment ingredients to bring out stories about adventurous quests. One of the major themes that can be established in the novel is that of the need for adventure (Ossian). This is an aspect that is also depicted even in the title of the novel. Treasure is always associated with adventure and most cases means that one has to go looking for the treasure to find it. As such treasure hunting involved quests and discovery of something of value (Billington). Even the inclusion of the name island further rings out the theme of adventure, in light of the fact that, as it is combined with the word treasure; it indicates that the treasure quest would involve voyage across the sea to get to it.
In the novel Jim is young and impressionable. The idea of going on a voyage is intriguing and creates a need to experience life away from home (Billington). Given the timing on the novel, girls were not allowed to be away from home, which would explain why the author used the boy character in the novel. His live was not as interesting before he went on the voyage. As such, this gave him the chance to experience life in the sea and also grow as a person from the different experiences that he had on his journey. Jim does not have a lot of money and he does not have a lot of education either. For him this is a journey that is supposed change his life and bring some glamour (Barry). Having been brought up by an ...