The Many Father Figures of Treasure Island

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Fathers are men who help to shape and mold children, youth, and young adults into the adults they become. Some fathers are biological, but many are men that are introduced through daily interactions and occurrences. The father figure may have a positive or negative impact on the child. This is true with the character Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island. Many characters guide his growth throughout the book with good and bad traits. He looks for a father because his own father is not a factor in his life. He dies when Jim is a young child and does not seem to have a significant effect on Jim’s life. Ben Gunn, Dr. Livesey, and John Silver provide Jim with examples and characteristics he incorporates into the person he becomes. Jim, like many others, find father figures to identify with and pattern their own lives after whether it is a blood relative or a person they choose from their surroundings. Ben Gunn is the character in the book that shows Jim Hawkins how to survive, provide spiritual guidance, and be proud of whom you are. Ben is a pirate that lives alone on Treasure Island. He was left there by the pirate crew he belonged to three years ago after he was unable to find the treasure. Ben is a survivor. He has been able to provide food and a home for himself since he was left alone. He is also a man of faith. Ben tells Jim, “I’m poor Ben Gunn, I am; and I haven’t spoke with a Christian these three years.” (15) Even though he has been alone he is relying on God to help him survive. Ben is content with his station in life. He does not need a title or friends to make him feel important and others realize this about him. One of the crew members, George Merry, says "Nobody minds Ben Gunn [...] dead or alive, nobody minds him" (32.30)... ... middle of paper ... ...im discovers that he agrees with Israel. John is a person who lives his life and has no regrets about his decisions. Jim discovers that John Silver is a mysterious and complicated role model. The most important lessons he learns from John is courage and how important it is to make decisions for himself. All children and teenagers will discover character traits and qualities that they want to possess from the adults they come into contact with. Jim Hawkins is no different. He uses the attributes he learns from Ben Gunn, Dr. Livesey, and John Silver to help mold him into the man he is becoming. Works Cited Stevenso n, Robert. Treasure Island. City: Publisher, Year of Pub. Print. Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

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