How does Jim grow and develop as a character in light of his experiences? Discuss. “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson was about a thirteen years old boy, Jim Hawkins, going on a treasure voyage. Jim grew and developed magnificently through his experiences from the beginning to end of the novel. Jim gained great courage and the ability to think Independently. Jim however did not gain great physical skills from his experiences. Jim grew from a timid child to a courageous mature grownup In light of his experiences in “Treasure Island”.
Courage was the main thing Jim gained from his experiences in “Treasure Island”. At the beginning of the story, Jim was a timid boy who had no courage in him at all. He was frightened by the pirate Billy Bones when he stayed at the inn, “How that personage haunted my dreams, I need scarcely tell you”. Jim was also scared by the blind man Pew, “l never saw in my life a more dreadful-looking figure. ” Meanwhile, Jim did not have the courage to go back to the Inn after the pirates’ attack if his mother did not Insist on going.
Towards the end of the story, when Jim was captured by the leader of the mutineers, Long John Silver, who was also a pirate Like Billy Bones, Jim spoke up to him about not fearing him: “l no more fear you than I fear a fly. Kill me, If you please, or spare me”. Furthermore, when Jim and the crew arrived at the island, he followed the pirates onshore secretly without telling Captain Smallest or Dry Lives, the two people he most relied on. Jim gained courage through his experience and grown mature from a timid boy.
Jim started to take risks, overcoming fears and he did things he would never have done if he was the boy he was at the beginning of the story. Jim developed and gained great courage, meanwhile he also learned to think independently. Jim started to think Independently and showed Increasing Initiative. The early parts of the novel demonstrates Jims reliance on the people around him, and the later parts shows Jims translator Into a smart mature Independent man.
Jim started to show Annihilative when he Insisted on handing the things he found Inside Billy Bones’ Hess straight to Dry Lives rather than giving it to Mr.. Dance, who would later give to Dry Lives. Furthermore, when Jim was in the apple barrel and heard the pirates discussing, Jim thought to himself: “for from these dozen words I understood that the lives of all the honest men aboard depended upon me alone”. Later, Jim left the stockade onshore and searched for the coracle Ben Gun made to sailed to the Hispanic (the ship Jim came on).
Jim then cut the Hispanic free and sailed it onshore, to prevent the pirates leaving the island on their own after finding the erasure. The novel had shown Jims development of thinking independently throughout the story. Jims experiences forced Jim to thinking for himself rather than relying on others. To look at Jims full development, It Is essential to look at growth of Jims physical skills. As this point, Jim grew mentally from his experiences in Treasure Island, yet he did get him through. Jims luck was what made him considered as a hero, not his actual skills.
Jim was lucky to fell asleep in the right place to hear the pirates’ conversation ND he was in the forest the right time to meet Ben Gun. Later, Jim killing Israel Hands was an accident, he had two loaded pistols and it went off without a conscious aim when Israel’s knife hit Jim. Jim was no help to any of the pirate battles on the island and he only managed to dodge Job Andersen’s sword blows by tripping and falling at the same time. Jim had no have or gained any physical skills in “Treasure Island”. Jims experiences did not needed or forced him into growing physically, his luck had all the problems sorted.
Jims experiences in Treasure Island forced Jim rowing mentally but did not make Jim grow physically. Jim Hawkins’ experiences in Treasure Island made Jim a courageous independent man, rather than a timid child as he was at the beginning. Jim started to overcome his fears and think for himself as the story went on. Jim had nightmares about his adventure to Treasure Island after. Although he did not gain great physical skills, Jim did gain the two most important things in his life, courage and independence. In light of Jims experiences in Treasure Island, he gained courage and became a mature man.
