Bagley 1 Dalton Bagley Dr. Angela Velez-Solic British Literature II 5 May 2013 Compare and Contrast Kidnapped vs.

Treasure Island With the exclusion of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped and Treasure Island are both easily the most famous and recognizable works of Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS). The two pieces of work are more similar in style, content, and audience then they are different. However, it is their differences that make them both great works that can stand alone and separate in their own merit. Treasure Island Published in 1883, Treasure Island is a captivating adventure story for both young male readers and all readers alike. The story revolves around Jim Hawkins, a relatable youth on an enticing adventure for buried treasure. Jim is relatable to RLS target audience, young male readers. He is the epitome of the average young male. Jim is relatable because he has no real qualities that make him extraordinary. He is just really lucky. Jim is a lot more adventurous than a normal young man, but he is average in all sense of the word. He is relatable because he is average, and he just so happens to always be in the right place at the right time. The familiarity of the narrator makes the story easy for readers to

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Bagley 2 connect to. This intelligent and average young male becomes the archetypal narrator and hero for RLS adventure novels. The underlying theme in Treasure Island is trust and loyalty when it is in the confides of criminals. Because the story is a pirate story, the main characters are normal citizens like Jim, being thrown into a whirlwind of adventure with hardened criminals like Long John Silver. Loyalty is forced to switch when lives are at stake, and trust is developed when criminals save normal citizens lives, but also murdering the innocent. This reminded me of Mario Puzos The Godfather. In Puzos novel, the reader becomes intimately involved of the inner workings of a New York Mafioso crime family. While lost in the story, readers begin to find themselves questioning their own morals, because at the end of the day, these lovable characters are still murderous thugs. In a similar way, the readers of Treasure Island are entranced by the adventure of treasure and pirates, but at the end of the story, pirates are also murderous thugs. My reaction to Treasure Island is probably pretty similar to the normal young reader, what an adventure! I think that the main character was really easy for me to put myself in. I think that of all RLS works that I have read, Treasure Island is my favorite. I am a sucker for pirates and the moral questioning was pretty fun. I think that the vocabulary made it an enjoyable read for an older young male reader. I also found the descriptions of peril to be suspenseful and exciting. The inclusion of historical fiction, with time and setting, made the novel more of a history lesson as well as an adventure. Kidnapped

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Bagley 3 Published in 1886 in a boys adventure magazine, Kidnapped revolves around another RLS archetypal narrator. David Balfour is a young male leaving his house, to travel to his Uncle Ebenezers and claim his inheritance. However, Uncle Ebenezer has a different, sells David to a Sea Captain, and David is officially kidnapped. David is just another average young male. He fits the archetypal for hero used in other RLS adventure stories. David is an average seventeen year old. He is a fully rounded character, in that; we get the entire story from his perspective. We know all of his thoughts as we follow him through his reluctant adventure, and we praise his highs and suffer with his lows. The underlying theme throughout the novel is perseverance and friendship. The perseverance is shown in David, that even when he goes from orphan, to royalty, to kidnapped, to shipwrecked, and so on, he never gives up. This models for young readers an internal monologue that they can take with them in life. The relationship between David and Alan grows into a real friendship. It is the type of friendship modeled in the bible with David and Jonathon. They are battle-hardened in their friendship with the trials they go through together. The friendship between David and Alan is good for young ale readers and models the values of a good friendship. I have always liked Kidnapped. I think RLS does such a good job of describing a scene through the narrator so well, that I become the narrator and the story becomes a memory. I loved the adventure and I thought the intense scenes and relationship complexities between characters were well rounded.

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Bagley 4 Conclusion The stories are similar in ways, but their differences make each piece valuable on its own. They both tell the story of a hero. This coming of age average young male, overcomes adversity with a hint of luck, and proves that with heart, any young male can overcome any obstacle. Both stories have adventure, trials, riddles, and deceit. Both stories model good vs. evil, and teach young male readers how to deal with morally complex situations. These coming of age adventure stories are written beautifully for coming of age readers. The stories have the same message, but through different trials. Both stories have the positive message of perseverance and overcoming deceit and adversity, but they focus them in different lights. Kidnapped shows the deceit of family and how dirty holding a grudge can be. Treasure Island uses the deceit of criminals and pirates to show that trust shouldnt be placed in just anyones hands. Kidnapped focuses more on friendship, where as Treasure Island uses the comrade of a crew to show how loyalty is developed. The archetypal RLS young reader hero can handle a myriad of adventures, but a new and different lesson can be learned from all of RLS young reader novels.

All research was gathered from Robert-Louis-Stevenson.org