The passage of a near half millennium has done much in the way of reshaping the familiar genre of pirate literature of today. One familiar with the courageous and somewhat ridiculous story lines of Pirates of the Caribbean, needs merely to briefly leaf through the poorly written, and perhaps even plagiarized 17th century pirate play The Sea Voyage to confirm this notion. However, while the works of this genre, like the world itself, has evolved immensely in the past four hundred plus years, an important thread of continuity has remained which runs throughout the numerous stories of the pirate genre. Facilitating the rich, adventurous story lines, and the formation of lovable characters, the ability of the pirate genres protagonists to precariously …show more content…
Treasure Island the earliest of these three aforementioned texts, while panned initially by critics, has become a classic in the eyes of audiences today. Revolving around the adventures of the young Jim Hawkins, it’s the only text of the tree novels which does not feature a pirate in the protagonist role. However, Jim still possesses this characteristic boyish bravery of his counterparts, which literarily critic Bradley Deane acknowledges in his work Imperial Boyhood noting that Jim in addition to many other of “Stevenson’s children are less concerned with moral corollaries than with elaborating rules of their own, rules that might be spontaneously generated around even the most trivial pretext.” This defining characteristic of Jim is drawn into focus almost immediately in Treasure Island, as Jim makes a quick witted decision to remove the feared Captain Flints treasure map from a dead man’s chest, in the haste of being threaten by the remnants of a fearsome pirate crew. His actions contrast sharply with that of his morally governed, rational mother, who refuses to take any more than her fair share owed to her by Billy Bones, as the Jim tells us she was stubbornly “not consenting to take a fraction more than …show more content…
In the opening pages of chapter 22 Jim exemplifies his possession of this important characteristic as he exchanges the relative safety of his comrades and the stockade for the wild pirate filled jungle on a foolish pretense of attempting to find what would seem to be a useless boat. A much older Jim, in narrating the story, reflects upon this foolish action stating “I was a fool… and certainly I was going to do a foolish, overbold act” (128). Literarily critic Fiona McCulloch concurs with this judgment in her work Play Double, stating “again Hawkins demonstrates his lack of judgment” (71), however, while criticized heavily Jims decision once again provides audiences with a character which we can adore, while simultaneously to facilitating an adventurous tale. Showing regret to the doctor for his foolish truancy at the stockade he later apologizes to the doctor stating “I have blamed myself enough; my life’s a forfeit, I can die…I dare say I deserve it” (178). Jims admittance to his perhaps foolish actions mold a character we can sympathize with, as the doctor himself quickly demonstrates after Jims apology stating “I cannot find it in my heart to blame you” (178). In addition to