Book Response

In Treasure Island, the main character is Jim Hawkins, he and his mother are running a small inn when they come across a murderous band of pirates who will do anything to get their hands on a certain treasure map. This treasure map just so happens to be in Jim Hawkins hands.

A major issue in this book is trust, in several parts of the book Jim is forced to trust his companions, sometimes with his life. Some of his companions are honest, and good people. Some are lying theive's who will betray him, over and over again. When Jim sets sail to Treasure Island with a several other people, a captain, and a crew, he gets to talking with the cook, Long John Silver. Jim trusts Silver because he feels that Silver is the only one who he can relate to and who understands him, if Jim tried talking to other crew members, they would not understand.

I have a lot of friends, but only a few who I can actually have a deep conversation with. There are only a few of them that I would actually feel safe telling them what I'm really thinking about, and what is really in my heart. You can almost tell from a person's behavior, and their personality if they can actually dig deep enough, and understand you. Sometimes you will tell someone something, and they will make a big mess out of the whole thing.

Jim confided in Silver because he thought Silver seemed like a really sincere, nice person. What Jim didn't know was that the whole person that he thought Silver was, was fake, made up. Silver actually created an alternate personality, for when he was talking to Jim. If Jim had known Silver's true personality and past, he would have killed him on the spot. This is why trust is a very tricky thing, if you trust the wrong person, things can go very wrong.

Once I pulled a prank on my third grade teacher, and later that day told a classmate about it. Unfortunately for me that kid was a big snitch and told on me. I was pretty pissed that I had so easily trusted him with such a secret, and I paid the price with two detentions. When you trust someone with information about you they can use it against you, and hurt you.

Jim trusts Silver a lot, and by chance Jim over hears Silver and the crew talking about about mutiny, and killing everyone on the ship, including himself. Jim is terrified, and alarmed that he had trusted someone who now wants to kill him. He also wonders how he could not see through Silver's devilish alternate personality.

Trust is a tricky concept to deal with, you have to be able to calculate how much to give to who, and who to give it to. Because if you trust the wrong person, then it can come back at you and stab you in the back. Just like how Silver betrayed Jim, When Jim thought that Silver was the one person he could trust and talk to.