Billy Bones is a character in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Which of us was not fond of exciting stories about fearsome pirates in childhood? Most likely, there are very few of them. After all, searching for treasures on a map is a favorite entertainment for adults and children to this day, and films made on a pirate theme invariably enjoy the viewer's love. Such popularity of the genre dedicated to the adventures of sea robbers owes much to Robert Lewis Stevenson, who was the first to decide to adapt it for a children's and youth audience.

To make the plot more authentic, the author studied a lot of materials about the life and laws of pirates. Thanks to this, the reader has the opportunity to get acquainted with certain terms and concepts of sea cutthroats. Like, for example, the “black mark” that Billy Bones received at the beginning of the novel, thus initiating the amazing and dangerous adventures describedStevenson. What is the history of the creation of the novel "Treasure Island", and what is remarkable about the image of the old pirate Bons?

History of writing a novel

The author came up with the idea for Treasure Island while playing with his stepson Lloyd Osborne. Noticing how the boy was drawing something similar to a map, Stevenson joined him and was so carried away that soon the outlines of the famous island appeared on paper, the secret of which was subsequently kept by Billy Bones. The creation of the storyline was also not long in coming, with Lloyd actively involved in Stevenson's work on the novel. The boy helped to come up with symbols and names of places on the map, endowed with certain character traits of the characters and insisted that there were no heroines in the adventure story that would distract attention from the main events of the work.

The writer's father also contributed to the creation of the novel. It was he who advised Stevenson to introduce into the plot the chest in which Billy Bones kept the treasured card. As a result of such cooperation, the book turned out to this day, beloved by children. And this is not surprising, because, while reading the novel "Treasure Island", every teenager can imagine himself in the place of the main character - Jim Hawkins and go through with him all the dangerous adventures associated with the search for a pirate treasure.

Is Billy Bones a fictitious pirate or a real one?

There is reason to believe that this character has the character traits of a very real person - William Thomas Bones, who was a member of the team of the famous captainpirates - Edward Blackbeard Tich. Despite the fact that Bones had nothing to do with treasure, the sad story of the island and the chest was present in his life.

Once, part of the crew of the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" rebelled against the cruel captain Tich. Among the dissatisfied was our hero, who became famous thanks to Stevenson as Billy Bones. Unfortunately, the rebellion was put down and the rebels landed on a small rocky island called Dead Man's Chest in the Virgin Islands.

Without water, the pirates were doomed to death, besides, the insidious captain gave everyone a bottle of rum, which in the end only increased thirst and brought death closer. It is believed that this story was the theme for the legendary pirate song "Fifteen Men for a Dead Man's Chest".

Meet Billy Bones in Treasure Island

The appearance of an overweight stranger with a scar on his cheek in a hotel owned by the parents of the main character - Jim Hawkins was, of course, not accidental. Despite a clear desire to remain inconspicuous, the old captain, as the stranger ordered himself to be called, constantly got drunk, swore dirtyly, bawled songs and rowdy. No less strange seemed to Jim the guest's errand. He paid the boy to look out for a certain sailor, while he himself studied the coastal rocks and peered at the sea horizon for a long time. Everything indicated that the captain was hiding from someone.

Old Pirate

An uninvited guest opened the veil of secrecy, the guest called himBlack Dog. After an argument and a fight with a visitor, the captain had a stroke. Dr. Livesey came to the rescue by performing a bloodletting. During this procedure, he discovered a tattoo with the real name of the guest - Billy Bones. The attack was removed, and the patient felt better, but the doctor warned him that it was time to stop drinking, otherwise the next blow would be the last.

After meeting with the Black Dog, the captain's mood changed, he was depressed and, apparently, not only because of the blow. Continuing to drown painful thoughts in alcohol, Bones once revealed to Jim a part of the truth about himself. It turns out that once he was the first assistant to the famous pirate captain - Flint. Prior to that, on the ship of Captain England, he was called Billy Bones - navigator. The old pirate, talking to the boy, briefly revealed his positive human side. Jim even felt sorry for this unfortunate and lonely man in his own way, who, for unknown reasons, was now forced to hide from his former comrades.

Treasure Island Map

Soon another visitor came to Bons, as it turned out, it was his old friend Blind Pew. There were no long conversations, the blind man simply put something into the hand of the dumbfounded Billy and immediately left. The sight of this item produced the effect of a lightning strike on Bons. As it turned out, it was a "black mark", which served as a symbol of the verdict for the pirate brethren. He let out a heart-rending scream and fell. It was the second and this time the fatal blow.

The owners decided to take the chest of the deceased for themselves on account of the unpaid debt for accommodation. Among the usual things, an ingot of silver and a map of a certain island were found. Now it became clear to Jim what the pirates were looking for, and why Billy was hiding from them. Despite the fact that Bones died almost at the beginning of the novel, his very appearance at the Admiral Benbow Hotel served as the beginning of an amazing and dangerous story, in which Jim Hawkins and the crew of the Hispaniola were involved.

Character B. Bones in Literature

The extraordinary and strong personality of Billy Bones, thanks to Stevenson, has also interested other writers. Delderfield Ronald, in his novel The Adventures of Benn Gunn, mentions Bons as the patron and mentor of the protagonist. Ben Gun considered Billy a good person and a brave warrior who had to join the pirates due to tragic circumstances. Prior to this, Bones served as an honest skipper in the Royal Navy. In the books by Stephen Roberts, the pirate Bons is the main character, who tells his story before the events described in the novel Treasure Island. In Roberts' novels "Piastres, Piastres" and "The Island of Wrecks", the reader can find interesting facts about Billy's early life and the reasons why he became a pirate.

Billy Bones: Black Sails Movie

The audience has seen the old pirate Bons many times on the screens, since the novel "Treasure Island" was filmed five times, and also served as the basis for creating various animated versions. The viewer did not know anything about the life of young Billy until the appearance of the American television series Black Sails. Premiere ittook place in 2014. The viewer immediately fell in love with the new story about old heroes, so after the first season two more came out, and in 2015 the series was extended for the fourth season.

Billy Bones in this TV project is played by Tom Hopper, known for his role as the knight Percival in the TV series "Merlin". Of course, in his performance, the character received more charm and attractiveness, therefore he enjoys the love of the viewer. From the plot of the film, the viewer learns how a very young Billy was forcibly taken to serve in the Royal Navy, where he worked like a convict. How the meeting with Captain Flint changed his life, and what difficulties Billy Bones is already overcoming as a pirate. On the black sails under which he is now destined to sail, the pirate symbol flaunts. What adventures await him? The next seasons of the TV series will tell us about this.