Treasure Island/Characters

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Jim Hawkins

The main protagonist of the book.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• Badass
  • Action Survivor: While not much of a fighter, he can hold his own.
• Kid Hero: Implied to be in his early teens.
• Momma's Boy: Quite devoted to his mother, though not above being annoyed by her foibles.
• Shell Shocked Senior: As revealed in the prologue, the entire adventure has turned him into this in retrospect.

William "Billy" Bones

An old buccaneer who rooms at the Admiral Benbow.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• The Alcoholic: Drinks lots of rum almost constantly, and by his own admission it's to escape his Dark and Troubled Past. He also dies as a result of it, as it causes him to have two strokes, the second one being fatal.
• Badass: He was the first mate of an even more ruthless pirate
• Book Dumb: His grammar is barely passable, and aside from being smart enough to do some basic math (and even that he screws up in his personal ledger book), he's not the intellectual type by any means.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He shares parts of this with other people, and it's obvious his life has been filled with blood and treachery, a fact that many, Jim included, note haunts him and drove him to drink to forget.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Denies Bones is his real name, but he does so at least partially for his own protection.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Only known as "The Captain" to Jim and the other characters, until his real name is confirmed shortly after his death.

Black Dog

A former crew member who served alongside Billy Bones.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• Dirty Coward: He tries to hide it, but when push comes to shove, he's not very brave.
• Obviously Evil: Jim immediately realizes he's not a very nice guy at all.
• Red Right Hand: Is missing a few fingers.

Dr. Livesy

A doctor and magistrate of the area where the Admiral Benbow Inn is located.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• Badass: Proves it not long into his first meeting with Bones, where he coolly stares down a knife being waved in his face and calmly tells the Captain to put it away or he will ensure that he hangs.
  • Retired Badass: Was a former soldier in the British military.
• Honor Before Reason: Why he saved the captain from a stroke. He didn't like the man, but his duty as a doctor compelled him to save his life no matter how much he admitted the world would be better off without him.
• Only Sane Man: Typically the calmest, most rational character of the good guys.
• Opposites Attract: He and Squire Trelawney are almost polar opposites, yet are quite good friends with one another as a result.
• The Spock: Is the calmest and most rational character in the book. Becomes almost parodic when he takes over for Jim in narration, which is still delivered in his calm, detached manner.

Squire Trelawney

A nobleman and friend of Dr. Livesy who makes possible the voyage for Treasure Island.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• Badass: Despite his impetuousness, he's no coward.
• Hot Blooded: A trait that annoys Livesy to no end.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Is quick to dismiss Smollet as a Jerkass and Silver as trustworthy. He turns out to be partially wrong on the former and utterly wrong on the latter.
  • To his later credit, he owns up to this fault.
• Last-Name Basis: His first name, David, is mentioned only once by Captain Smollet.
• Nobles Who Actually Do Something: He's a competent fighter and is very proactive, being the one to set the whole treasure hunt in motion using his own resources.
• Upper Class Twit: Tends to be blinded by his lust for adventure.

Pew

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• Evil Cripple: Makes it obvious his blindness is no reason to sympathize with him.
• Handicapped Badass: He points out to the other thugs who follow him, snarking about him, a blind man, how he was the only one brave enough to face down Billy Bones.

Dance

An officer of the King's Army, who later reports to Squire Trelawney.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• Asshole Victim: What he thinks of Pew after he hears about the blind man had done after Jim explains everything. Squire Trelawney concurs and makes it official.
• One-Scene Wonder: He's present in one and a half chapters only, but his one major appearance has him pulling a Big Damn Heroes and trampling Pew to death with his horse.

Captain Flint

A late yet still feared pirate captain.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• The Dreaded: To the point anyone who was even remotely associated with the man carries the same terror Flint himself inspired.
• Posthumous Character: Already dead by the start of the book, though his existence still has bearing on the plot.
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast: He was so feared that anyone even remotely associated with him scares the crap out of anyone who hears his name.
• Wicked Cultured: Implied to have excellent schooling when the Squire, Jim, and Livesy examine the now late Billy Bones personal effects.

Tom Redruth

The senior gamekeeper of Squire Trelawney's estate.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Not very friendly or sociable, he's nonetheless a loyal servant of the Squire and thus trusted greatly by his employer.
• Undying Loyalty: He and his boss trust one another implicitly.

Long John Silver

A one-legged man who runs "The Spy-Glass" tavern in Bristol. Was formerly the quartermaster of Captain Flint

• Badass: Hands relays a story to Jim of Silver taking down four men barehanded.
  • Handicapped Badass: Even without a leg, Silver is still a formidable fighter.
• Devil in Plain Sight: Zig-Zagged. He turns out to be far from virtuous, and Jim realizes he should have trusted his initial impulse to not trust "a sea-faring man with one leg", as Silver turns out to be exactly who the Captain (Billy Bones) warned him about. At the same time, while Silver is still a career criminal with blood on his hands, he does turn out to have some lingering decency. He risks the Black Spot over sparing JJim's life.
• Lovable Rogue: Jim is suspicious of him from the start, but Silver proves to be so charming these suspicions are almost certainly eliminated, despite all sorts of reasons why Jim still has to suspect him of treachery. Jim was right all along, but it still doesn't prevent Silver from being incredibly charming.
• Mixed Marriage: Is married to a black woman.
• Wicked Cultured: By his own admission, he's not led an entirely virtuous life, but he's still regarded as intelligent and well-schooled, as confirmed by Israel Hands.

Tom Morgan

An old, gray-haired sailor, first seen at the Spy-Glass tavern.

• Dumb Is Good: Silver comments on how Morgan is honest but stupid.

Mr. Arrow

• The Alcoholic: Which leads to his demise.
• The Load: He proves himself so useless he's never formally introduced and disposed of in one chapter. No one really misses him.

Captain Alexander Smollet

• Badass: Not long after he is cornered by mutinous pirates, he's threatened with death if he doesn't cooperate. His response boils down to Bring It.
  • Commanding Coolness: It's why he's The Captain.
  • Retired Badass: After the story.
• Brutal Honesty: He's not the most diplomatic of men, a fact that rubs the squire raw, though Dr. Livesy immediately sees this as a good reason to trust him.
• The Captain
  • The Good Captain: Despite his gruffness and curtness, he proves competent and morally upright in the long run.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Subverted. He immediately pegs Abraham Gray as a honest man, and is proven right.
• Jerkass Has a Point: He's a bit blunt and cold about his misgivings with his crew and orders, and while Trelawney takes offense to this, his points are legitimate.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: He is rough and abrasive, but it's only because he's not a very diplomatic person by nature. He's still utterly loyal to doing the right thing and satisfying his obligations to his employer.

Israel Hands

• Devil in Plain Sight: When the protagonists discuss who among the crew can be trusted, the idea only those picked by Silver are this trope is shot down by the Squire, who remarks Hands was one of his choices, shooting the theory of this trope to pieces.
• Foreshadowing: Makes an offhand comment about how Silver is a very competent fighter, which we get to see in action later.
• Would Hurt a Child: Shanked Jim with a dirk at one point.