Who is the villainous pirate in the book treasure island?
Long John Silver
Who is the villainous pirate in the book treasure island? John Silver is a fictional pirate captain and one of the main antagonists in Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure novel Treasure Island. He appears in chapters 10–11 of the story. In his youth, Silver was captured by pirates, sold into slavery, and forced to serve Captain Flint. After escaping, he became a successful buccaneer and eventually gained control over Hispaniola.
Silver is described as being “a man of great stature, broad shoulders, thick waist, long legs, and enormous feet.” His face is scarred, and he wears a black patch over his left eye. He is known for his love of rum, women, and gambling.
In the novel, Silver captures Jim Hawkins and takes him aboard his ship, the Hispaniola. Silver plans to sell Jim to the Spaniards, but Jim manages to escape. Silver pursues Jim across the Caribbean Sea. Along the way, Silver encounters several obstacles, including a hurricane, a mutiny led by Billy Bones, and a fight against the Spanish treasure fleet commanded by Admiral Smollett. Eventually, Silver reaches Porto Bello, where he attempts to capture a richly laden Spanish merchantman. However, Jim and the crew of the Hispaniola manage to save the vessel. They sail away from Silver, and he is later killed by a cannonball fired by Jim.
Profile
John Silver, nicknamed Long John Silver, is one of Treasure Island’s most famous fictional pirates. A swashbuckling hero, he appears in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island (1883), where he is portrayed as a tough, resourceful sailor who takes part in several daring acts of piracy.
The character is based on real life Scottish sea captains Henry Morgan and William Kidd, both notorious pirates during the 17th century. In fact, the name “Long John Silver” is derived from the nickname given to Kidd by his crew because of his long legs.
Stevenson’s depiction of Silver greatly influenced the modern iconology of the pirate. His parrot, Captain Flint, became a popular mascot among pirates. The parrot is usually perched on Silver’s shoulder, although sometimes it roams free around the ship. Its constant chattering is meant to mimic Silver’s speech pattern.
In addition to his parrot, Silver carries a wooden peg leg, which he uses to hop about the deck. This allows him to move quickly across the deck without tripping over obstacles. As the story progresses, Silver reveals that he had lost his leg while fighting against the Spanish Armada in 1588, and that he was the only survivor of the battle. When asked why he survived, Silver replies that “it was God’s mercy”.
Early life
Silver was born into poverty in Scotland, probably near Edinburgh. His father died soon after his birth, and his mother remarried. At some point, Silver joined a band of smugglers led by Benjamin Gunn, a notorious smuggler who operated out of the Firth of Forth. After Gunn was killed, Silver took command of the group and renamed it the Sea Rover Company.
During the reign of King James VI of Scotland, Silver helped capture Sir Francis Drake, the English admiral. Although Drake escaped, Silver was rewarded with a pardon and a knighthood. However, after being captured again, this time by the Earl of Argyll, Silver fled to France and later Spain, where he met up with Black Dog, a pirate captain. Together, they raided the coast of Portugal, capturing ships and plundering towns.
Adaptations and related works
The number of minor adaptations remains endless. For a time, in London there was an annual production of the musical Treasure Island, based on a book by Bernard Miles and Josephine Wilson. The music was composed by Cyril Ornelle and the lyrics by Hal Shaper. The musical was performed at Mermaid Theatre, originally under the direction of Bernard Miles, who also played Long John Silver, partshe had played in various television versions. Comedian Spike Milligan would often play Ben Gunn in these productions, and in 1981 Tom Baker played Long John Silver. In 1983, Pieces of Eight produced a musical version of Treasure Island, directed by Pieces theatre Jules Styne and starring Tom Hewitt as Billy Bones. Sebastian wrote the score and sang most of the songs. Skattøen, a Danish language musical version of Treasure Island by Sebastian, premiered in Copenhagen in1986. In 1987, the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a large scale outdoor production of Treasure Island outside the theatre on King Street, Bristol directed by Sally Cookson, with music by Benji Bowers. From October 2011 to April 2012, Mind the gap Theatre Company held a national touring production of Treasure Island, retold by Mike Kenny. In 2011, Tom Hewitt starred inB.
Barry and Vernon Morris’s stage adaptation of Treasure Island, which officially opened on 5 March at the Iron deld Centre in Brooklyn, In July2011 Bristol Old Vic staged a large-scale outdoor production of Treasure Island outdoors the theatre on King Street, Bristol directed by Sally Cookson, featuring music by Benji Bower exploring the story of Long John Silver and his men, including Billy Bones, Squire Trelawney, Dr Livesey, Jim Hawkins, Flint heart Glom gold and Mr Smiles. In 2013, Youth Plays published Long Joan Silver by Arthur M.
Television
Robert Newton followed up his two feature films with a 1955Australian-produced television series titled “The Adventures of Long John Silver”. This show starred Peter Wyngarden as the eponymous pirate, and it ran for three seasons.
In 1958, he returned to the screen with another adventure serial, “The Adventures of Ben Gunn”, starring Bernard Miles as the title character. This was a spinoff of the popular radio program of the same name, about a man wrongly convicted of murder who escapes from prison and joins a band of outlaw pirates led by Blackbeard.
BBC Television has presented the story in miniseries format four times, with the role of Silver being played by Bernard Miles in 1951 and again in 1957,Peter Vaughan in 1968, and Alfred Burke in 1977.
Miles played the part one final time when he reprised the role in a 1982 TV movie.
Ivor decided to play Silver in an Italian four-part miniseries, “Il Signore degliAnni” (“The Lord of the Years”), which aired in Italy in1959. He did so because he had been impressed by the quality of the previous miniseries, and thought that the character would make a good lead for a new production.
He was replaced by Ivo Garrani who portrayed Silver in an Italian television miniseries, “Le avventure di John Silver”(translated into English as “The Adventures of John Silver”) (“Long John”),which aired in Italy in 1959.
This version of the character was very different from those seen in the British and American versions. Instead of being a swashbuckling buccaneer. He was now a hard-working farmer whose life was turned upside down when he was captured by pirates. However, The character retained many elements from the original radio programs, such as the fact that he was known by the nickname “Lucky Jim,” and that he was able to speak fluent French.