Field Notes - ENGL 817AJ - Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Second book for this class was Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883). It was a fun action/adventure story with a lot of history and facts about how the story came to be that Stevenson wrote about in his "My First Book" reflection.

I'm thinking about focusing on Treasure Island for my term paper and that's where the inclusion of Muppet Treasure Island from 1996 might come in. Some further research is needed and I will list what questions I'm going to ponder and look at while watching the movie (its been a very long time since I've seen it) at the end of this post.

Anyways, here is the map that inspired the story of Treasure Island:

As I mentioned, the providence of the map is a little questionable. Stevenson claimed that it was he who created the map, but his step-son also later claimed that it was him who made it (he was a child at the time) and that Stevenson appropriated it for his story. So, again, like The Hobbit, authenticity of the map's author is at play. But, in the case of Treasure Island, its about the creator of the map before the story, not so much the author within the text. In the text, Captain Flint, former captain of Long John Silver and associates, is the author of the map. 

Furthermore, as Stevenson notes in "My First Book", the original map that inspired the story was lost during the publication process and therefore, the map had to be recreated from the details in the story. So, who then is the actual author of the map that was published with the novel? Stevenson notes that his own father signed the map as the hand of the map-maker in the story. Is Stevenson's father the actual author then, and not Stevenson or his step-son? This makes for an interesting line of thought and questioning.

Moving on to details in the text about the map and how it plays within the story:

1. I want to note how easily decipherable Long John Silver's mutiny was going to be by the very clear foreshadowing of having Silver's Inn named "The Spyglass Inn" which is an exact match to Spyglass Hill on the treasure map. It was a complete and total dead giveaway. I was a little disappointed that it was that obvious and there wasn't a little bit more of a build up to for the readers to actually be shocked when Jim overhears Silver's backstabbing plans. But alas.. I guess this is a children's book.
   
   
2. The idea and plan that it was a treasure map makes the location - the easily obtainable and decipherable location - of the island disappointing as well. I was craving some The Goonies-esque puzzle-solving and exploring. Not so much what I found in the pages of Stevenson's novel. Billy Bones kept the map hidden and secret for quite sometime just to have Silver and the remnants of Flint's crew come in and just know where to go. That doesn't scream treasure map and adventure time story to me.
   
   
3. It was noted in class (for which I was not present, but I got notes from someone) that the even though Treasure Island was not a real island it is still rooted in the real-world because of the all the references to where the voyage starts on the Spanish main. Based on this and the vector of the voyage, the island is located in the Caribbean. This makes it real and not-real because the island is part of the world, but is also just off-world in the fantastical because it is indeed not a real island at all. This was an interesting observation that I had not picked up on when reading the text.
   
   
4. The scale of the island (9 miles by 5 miles) makes a lot of plot points in the text plausible. Such as the fact the Jim, a young boy, was able to traverse and find his way around the island without getting lost or into too much trouble. But that makes the island also very small then too. It would be quite hard to locate at all without the very specific directions the map provides.
   
   
5. I really should have followed along on the map when things were happening in the story. I'm not one to usually reference maps in books (this class is likely to change that), but in the case of Treasure Island, I really should have been using the map more. Particularly when the characters were wandering around on the island and referencing the landmarks and most definitely when the Hispaniola was drifting along the coast and Jim sailed it to the other bay. I was very lost on the directions and where this was happening along the coast.

Now, for Muppet Treasure Island these are the questions that are on my mind already and what I'll be thinking about and taking notes on while I watch:

• Is the map the same or different in the film?
• Is the map used the same or differently in the film?
• How does the map factor into the story in the film versus the book? Same or different?
• Are the character interactions with the map the same or different in the film?
• Is the island the map depicts more real or fantastical in the film? Or is it a mix like in the book?
• Does the film treat the map more like a treasure map or like a locations map such as the book?
• How does the film depict the 2D island from the map into a 3D visual for the screen?
• How similar is the visualization? Or, are there very glaring differences?
• Does the MTI map lend itself to the creation of the story on film like the drawn map did for the text? Basically, where were the creative liberties, often taken with film, evident and used?

I'll likely have more questions as I watch, but these are the key things I'm keeping in mind.

On a side note, someone on the internet made a funny observation about Muppet Treasure Island in the below meme (originally posted by sephiramy on tumblr). And, like the response says, I think they're point is spot on.

     

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Upcoming field notes on James Joyce's Ulysses "Wander Rocks" episode (1920) and Thomas More's Utopia (1516). I have some thoughts and ideas I've been pondering about for my seminar paper for Utopia including a possible link to Star Trek that I'm exploring (I've been keeping jot notes for these so they don't get lost). The Utopia post will be after my paper and presentation is completed... so, there may even be some notes on places I wish I could have gone with my seminar.