Evolution of the Character Jim in Stevenson's Treasure Island

Jim's true role in Huckleberry Finn has long been argued. Some critics believe that he acts as a father figure for Huck. Others believe various other things. However, Jim's real role in the novel is to provide Huck with an opportunity for moral growth because, through his friendship with Jim, Huck learns a great deal about humanity.

Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, possesses an innocence and idealism as he sets off on a voyage for treasure; Jim fights against the Pirates to survive, leaving him with a new realistic knowledge and experience of the world. Jim first experiences the death of his father; then in the same time frame, he loses Billy Bones. After Billy Bones death, Jim discovers a treasure map, he, the doctor and the Squire set off to find the treasure. When Jim first meets Long John Silver, he appears as a “clean and pleasant-tempered landlord” (45). Jim has a clear image in his head of what a pirate looks like, and Long John Silver appears to be completely different. This reassures Jim's fears. Jim never sees what will occur after the

The love of money is the root of all evil, a statement that has proved itself true through the centuries. Loving money traps us, as human beings. It is not a bad thing to enjoy what money can do; however, the love of money is a wasted effort that can put all in grave peril. It is at our advantage that we have the ability to choose whether we ‘want’ to fall into that trap. Unfortunately, that choice is difficult since society associates one’s character with wealth and financial management. The mishaps, deaths, and hardships that occur from the beginning of the tale are the result of deliberate deception for personal gain. In Treasure Island, greed sends the characters on a voyage. Robert Louis Stevenson makes a social commentary on

Throughout all of his adventures Jim shows compassion as his most prominent trait. He makes the reader aware of his many superstitions and Jim exhibits gullibility in the sense that he Jim always assumes the other characters in the book will not take advantage of him. One incident proving that Jim acts naive occurs halfway through the novel, when the Duke first comes into the scene "By right I am a duke! Jim's eyes bugged out when he heard that..." In the novel, Huck Finn, one can legitimately prove that compassion, superstitious and gullibility illustrate Jim's character perfectly.

Treasure Island is a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. The story is about a boy named Jim Hawkins who finds a treasure map that leads to Captain Flint’s treasure. Jim takes the map to Dr. Livesey, who puts together a crew, who set sail on the Hispaniola to Treasure Island. One theme that is shown throughout Treasure Island is greed. Greed is an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food. (greed,1) The theme exhibited in this book, greed, causes dishonesty and betrayal. Three characters that vividly portray characteristics of greed are Long John Silver, Benn Gunn and Israel Hands.

Jim, who becomes Huck's friend as he travels down the Mississippi river, is a man of intelligence and consideration. "An understanding of Jim's character is by no means a simple matter; he is a highly complex and original creation, although he appears at first sight very simple" (Hansen, 388). Jim has one of the few well functioning families in the novel. Although he has been estranged from his wife and children, he misses them dreadfully, and it is only the thought of a lasting separation from them that motivates his unlawful act of running away from Miss Watson. Jim is rational about his situation and must find ways of accomplishing his goals without provoking the fury of those who could turn him in. Regardless of the restrictions and constant fear Jim possesses he consistently acts as a gracious human being and a devoted friend. In fact, Jim could be described as the only existent adult in the novel, and the only one who provides an encouraging, decent example for Huck to follow. The people that surround Huck who are supposed to be teaching him of morals, and not to fall into the down falls of society are the exact people who need to be taught the lessons of life by Jim. Jim conveys an honesty that makes the dissimilarity between him and the characters around him evident.

Now, Jim sees this in his father and swears to himself that he will never be the ¡°chicken¡± his father is. This leads to the decisions he makes in the movie, for example, going to the ¡°chicken¡± run to uphold his honor. He begins to take charge of his own life, being that strong man himself, going to the mansion with Judy to live on their own in order to not become like his father.

Thanks to his strong personality and nature, Jim develops into a wonderful man by the end of the novel, despite having gone through many difficult times. He used these tragedies to form himself into a strong person, instead of allowing it to break him down. When he was very young, he was orphaned, and sent to live in a new state, ‘I was ten years old then; I had lost both my father

In Jim’s early life he was born in Logan County, Kentucky in April of 1796. When Jim was six years old his family moved to Bayou Boeuf, Louisiana in 1802. In Louisiana, he developed the spirit of adventure. His usual hobby was wrestling alligators and just exploring around the areas he lived by. In 1812 he enlisted in the Louisiana militia after the start of the war in 1812 against the British but he was too late to see any action. Soon he was back in the Louisiana selling timber. But with the money that he earned he bought slaves. Jim later met Jean Lafitte, who was a gulf coast pirate who was involved with illegal slave smuggling. Jim’s brothers bought smuggled slaves and said that they found them and kept the money when they were sold at

I can tell he is very defensive in his speech because he says “Lord Sugar with the greatest respect that’s an exaggeration”. Jim is trying to persuade Lord Sugar he is incorrect in his thinking. However, Lord Sugar is not taking what Jim has said into account. Even though Jim is trying to tell Lord Sugar he is wrong in his thinking, he still addresses Lord Sugar in a formal way, this is most likely because he feels threatened by Lord Sugar and knows he has the power to ‘fire’ Jim, this is due to the control Lord Sugar has over the contestants. So Jim knows he must consistently respect Lord Sugar, even though he can say what he wishes to. Jim uses a very anxious tone to say this quote; this suggests he is trying to cover up he has done something wrong. Jim accuses the other contestants, trying to get himself out of trouble, he knows that if he -takes the blame Vincent is more likely to take him back in to the boardroom. The word “exaggeration” means Lord Sugar is making a bigger deal out of a situation than it actually is. This could also suggest Jim is trying to show up Lord Sugar as someone who over-exaggerates.

     Jim was brought up as a Methodist. He became quickly fascinated with the pulpit oratory. Vera Price, a childhood playmate remembers, ”He’d always be the preacher, standing up making sermons”(Axthelm 54). Even at the young age of seven Vera, recalls Jim’s speeches encouraging strict discipline. She remembers occasions when Jim was playing with other children and “he’d hit them with a stick and make them cry. He had a power that most boys don’t have”(Axthelm 54). As Jim matured into a young adult this internal power he possessed was not fully matured. In high school Jim was in the popular crowd, but never the leader of the pack. “Only in retrospect does anyone claim to have spotted seeds of the horror to come.’ I had a hunch something bad was going to happen to him,’ says a middle-aged man in Lynn. He was smart as a whip. But he had some strange ideas. He never fit in with the town. He was different”(Axthelm 54).

Huck Finn and Jim are characters created by Mark Twain in the novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The environment in which Huck lives in is very challenging, and as a result of this, he has to lie, cheat, steal, and defraud his way down the Mississippi river. Unlike Huck, Jim is a slave who gets depicted as a simple and trusting character. Despite Jim’s place as a slave, he walked together with Huck. Jim’s actions in the novel make him an authority figure. Jim’s trust and faith in his friend Huck also gets expounded throughout the novel. Just like “the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a novel by Harper Lee with Scout and Jem as the main characters. Like Huck, Scout is the narrator of the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The strength as well as the characters Scout portrays at school makes other students regard her as a masculine being. Despite this, she could easily walk in someone else’s shoes. In the novel, Jem portrays a character that successfully represents the idea of bravery. In tandem with this, he protects and helps Scout understand the impacts of the events around her. My aim is to delineate both the similarities and the differences between Huck and Jim, the characters in Mark Twain's

Jim is also a relatively flat character. He goes through the novel with very little change in his character. He is always superstitious, but also is very accepting of people. One example of his superstitions is, “And [Jim] said that handling a snake-skin was such awful bad luck that maybe we hadn’t got to the end of it yet.” (Twain, 64.) Jim always adheres to his superstitions, and in a way they govern his life. Even when Tom and Huck are attempting to set Jim free near the end of the book, Jim goes along with all their crazy machinations. This is similar to his superstitions, because he is willing to do silly things, since he believes they are essential to gaining freedom.

The main idea of the story is finding the treasure. Ben Gunn has lived on the island for three years, and knows where the treasure lies. Before the pirates find Jim and his mother, Jim grabs a key and an oilskin packet from the old sea chest. Jim’s father dies, and he and his mother flee to the nearby town and ask them to help them but they refuse to. They find a nearby bridge to hide under, and escape from the pirates. Finally, the people from the town decide to come to Jim and his mothers rescue. Later in the book, Jim hides in an apple barrel and overhears Silver and other crewmates about taking the ship once they have the treasure on the ship. When land was sighted a conflict went on between Silver and another group of pirates. Jim escapes while the fight is going on. He finds Ben Gunn and they become friends. Jim goes with Silver on the hunt for the treasure. They discover that the treasure is missing, and they fire into the surrounding area. The treasure was stowed in the Hispanolia’s lower deck. Silver steals a sack of coins and escapes.

Following the death of his father, Jim took this opportunity to discover himself on the open sea. It was at this time that Jim would embark on a journey he would never forget. “I said good-bye to my mother and the cove where I had lived since I was born, and the dear old Admiral Benbow” (Stevenson 59-60).