Treasure Island

From the old sea captain in Part 1 through the adventures on Treasure Island, rum features prominently in many of the descriptions of the pirates and their behavior. The sea captain sings loudly and inappropriately after Jim’s father’s death, doesn’t pay his bills, and falls onto the floor after an encounter with Black Dog. It’s suggested that such dissolute behavior is connected to the sea captain’s regular consumption of rum. The novel’s attitude toward abundant rum consumption is best illustrated by the doctor’s interactions with the old sea captain, when he says, “the name of rum for you is death” (22). When the captain continues to drink rum then dies shortly thereafter, it foreshadows the fate of the pirates on Treasure Island, who likewise drink abundantly and likewise mostly perish. As Jim notices, it is “drink and the devil” (222) that kill most of the pirates.

The Hispaniola is a symbol of the captain’s integrity and ability. It is said to handle “heavy weather” (97) well, just as the captain handles the challenges of first the squire’s disagreements and later the pirates’ mutiny. It is for this reason that the captain takes “a downright fancy” (97) to the ship and says of it, “She’ll lie a point nearer the wind than a man has a right to expect of his own married wife, sir” (97).