earticle

영어

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island encompasses complex and diverse meaning structures including moral and economic aspects, and especially shows an ambiguous morality. These aspects in the novel reflect the social background of the late 19th century, when the middle-class began to expand. James Hawkins, the protagonist and hero of the novel, is also portrayed as a middle-class figure, showing abilities that were required of the middle-class, including accurate counting ability. Based on this idea of middle-class characteristics, substantial research shows that James Hawkins and Robinson Crusoe are similar hero figures. This paper, however, will show that although James Hawkins and Robinson Crusoe do share some similarities, they also have some differences that lead to James Hawkins being an ambivalent character who has both domestic and romantic aspects. Moreover, this paper will argue that this ambivalence is also shown in the character Long John Silver, and that Silver is the character who influences James Hawkins the most and acts as a mentor for him. In fact, Silver’s influence leads James Hawkins to return to domesticity in the conclusion of the novel, making him different from other traditional hero figures. Not only will this paper closely analyze the text, but it will also conduct digital-based analysis and sentiment analysis, to support some of its points.