Jim Hawkins: a brief description of the character

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

One of the most famous English writers of the 19th century is Robert Louis Stevenson. "Treasure Island" is considered one of his best works, the book is included in the golden fund of world literature. Captivating adventures, captivating plot, witty dialogues, humor and, finally, magnificent lively language have earned the novel fame all over the world.

General characteristics of the work

The protagonist of the novel is a young man named Jim Hawkins, on whose behalf the story is being told. It is from his words that the reader gets acquainted with the rest of the characters: Dr. Livesey, Captain Smollett and the main villain Silver. The plot is not very original: the heroes discover a map with treasures buried on some island and go in search of them. On the way, they will have many adventures in the genre of adventurous prose: chases, fights, betrayal, and so on. But the witty construction of the narrative, the colorful images of the characters, the fast, lively action made the novel a classic of the genre. There are many works written in the same spirit, but Robert Louis Stevenson still holds the leading position. "Treasure Island" can be safely called a leader ina number of works of this kind. Only the famous dilogy about Captain Blood by R. Sabatini can compete.

The place of the hero in the composition of the novel

Jim Hawkins is a character who, in principle, can be called the engine of the plot. It is with him in many respects that the whole story with the search for treasures begins. He gets a map with the coordinates of the island and a description of the location of the treasure. He witnesses a skirmish between Captain Billy Bones and a pirate named Black Dog and subsequently identifies the latter. Jim Hawkins overheard Silver's conversation with his accomplices and told his comrades about their plans to take over the ship. Subsequently, he more than once found himself in the center of the most climactic and dramatic moments. He found Ben Gunn, stole the ship from the pirates himself, and finally played an important role in finding the treasure.

Character

Jim Hawkins is definitely a positive character. He is endowed with the best qualities inherent in a young man of his age. The young man is brave, enterprising, bold and inquisitive. He is devoted to his comrades and willing to take risks for the greater good. However, Jim is by no means recklessly brave. On the contrary, he is very cautious: if he decides on some kind of dangerous and risky enterprise, then at first he carefully considers his actions, which leads to success.

Hard life taught him a lot. Jim Hawkins helped his mother run the inn, and so withchildhood accustomed to harsh everyday life. Caring for his mother early aroused in him a sense of responsibility and discretion, which later proved to be so useful to him in those adventures and trials that fell to his lot. Jim Hawkins is very friendly and outgoing. Therefore, it is not surprising that he immediately arouses sympathy among his new acquaintances, and even the ferocious pirate Silver treats him friendly, protecting the boy from the revenge of his terrible accomplices.

Relations with other characters

It is indicative that the writer made Jim the narrator of this amazing story of Captain Flint's treasure hunt. The honesty, openness, enterprise of the young man, as well as common sense inherent in him, immediately attracted to him those whom he had to face during this amazing expedition to the treasure island. The boy immediately becomes everyone's favorite. It is noteworthy that the decency and conscientiousness of this hero immediately arouse the respect of those around him, who completely trust him and treat him as an equal.

Friendship of Heroes

Jim is valued as a devoted comrade. All adult members of the expedition show sincere concern for him. There is no doubt that each of them in the depths of their souls treated him as their son. Dr. Livesey's care for Jim looks very touching when the latter fell into the hands of the pirates. Even Ben Gunn, a friend of Jim Hawkins, who at first knew almost nothing about the boy, immediately took a deep liking to him. The image of the narrator is the undoubted success of the author, in many respectswhich determined the success of the work.

Storyteller language

It has already been said above that it is no coincidence that it was Jim Hawkins who became the narrator. "Treasure Island" unfolds before the mind's eye of the reader just from his words. Firstly, Jim is young and therefore very receptive to the people around him and to the events taking place around him. He has a lively mind, he is inquisitive and at the same time objective in his characteristics, perhaps precisely because he has a noble character. In addition, he is in adolescence, when people are very sensitive to what they become eyewitnesses. Therefore, the narration on behalf of Jim turned out to be very lively and entertaining. He is very simple in his assessments and is clearly not inclined to embellish anything or, conversely, slander anyone.

He writes about his exploits and ventures without any boasting. His stories are distinguished by restraint, accuracy, but at the same time they are very bright and expressive, because the narrator himself was clearly carried away by the adventures that fell to his lot. It seems that he tried to share his amazing story with the reader simply because it is all very interesting and exciting, and not to show off his exploits.