Long John Silver Information
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver is also known by the nicknames "Barbecue" and the "Sea-Cook".
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In Treasure Island, Long John Silver is a pirate who was quartermaster under the notorious Captain Flint. Long John Silver had a pet parrot called Captain Flint, often seen sitting on his shoulder where she would nibble on seeds. A quartermaster on a pirate ship ranked higher than any officer except the captain himself, and could veto the captain's decisions whenever the ship was not in a battle. The quartermaster was elected by the crew and one of his tasks was to lead the boarding party from the quarterdeck during the boarding attack. Silver claims to have served in the Royal Navy and lost his leg under "the immortal Hawke". He claims to have been the only man whom Flint ever feared. Like many of Stevenson's characters, there is more than a modicum of duality in the character; ostensibly Silver is a hardworking and likeable seaman, and it is only as the plot unfolds that his villainous nature is gradually revealed. His relationship with Jim Hawkins, the novel's protagonist, is interesting, as he serves as a mentor and eventually father-figure to Jim, creating much shock and emotion when it is discovered that he is in charge of the mutiny, and especially when Jim must confront and fight him later on. Although willing to change sides at any time in the interests of his own survival, Silver has compensating virtues: he is wise enough to pay attention to money management, in contrast to the spendthrift ways of most pirates, and is physically courageous despite his disability; for instance, when Flint's cache is found to be empty, he coolly stands his ground against five grown men despite having only Hawkins to back him.
Historians[who?] have noted that Silver's account of his life experiences during the first half of the 18th century is at variance with the known history of the historical figures he mentions, and that Silver is either exaggerating the range and scope of his exploits for the benefit of Jim Hawkins or for potential pirates he is trying to recruit, or his memory is faulty.
When Silver escapes at the end of the novel, he takes "three or four hundred guineas" of the treasure with him, thus becoming one of only two former members of Captain Flint's crew to get his hands on a portion of the recovered treasure; a separate cache of bar silver is apparently left on the island. (The repentant maroonee Ben Gunn is the other, but he spends it all in nineteen days.) Jim's own ambivalence towards Silver is reflected in the last chapter, when he speculates that the old pirate must have settled down in comfortable retirement: "It is to be hoped so, I suppose, for his chances of comfort in another world are very small."
Stevenson's portrayal of Silver has greatly influenced the modern iconography of the pirate.[1] Silver has a parrot, named Captain Flint in mockery of his former captain,[2] who generally perches on Silver's shoulder. Silver has lost one of his legs, and uses a crutch to help him get around. He is married to a woman of African descent, whom he trusts to manage his business affairs in his absence and to liquidate his Bristol assets when his actions make it impossible for him to go home.
According to Stevenson's letters, the idea for the character of Long John Silver was inspired by his real-life friend William Henley, a writer and editor.[3] Stevenson's stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, described Henley as "...a great, glowing, massive-shouldered fellow with a big red beard and a crutch [Henley was crippled]; jovial, astoundingly clever, and with a laugh that rolled like music; he had an unimaginable fire and vitality; he swept one off one's feet".[4] In a letter to Henley after the publication of Treasure Island Stevenson wrote "I will now make a confession. It was the sight of your maimed strength and masterfulness that begot Long John Silver...the idea of the maimed man, ruling and dreaded by the sound [voice alone], was entirely taken from you".[5]
Modern portrayals
Orson Welles (above) as Silver in the film Treasure IslandActors who have portrayed Long John Silver in the various motion picture adaptations of Treasure Island include Wallace Beery, Ivo Garrani, Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Lance Henriksen, Robert Newton, Anthony Quinn, Tim Curry, Jack Palance, Brian Murray, Oleg Borisov, Boris Andreyev [6][7] and British actor Ivor Dean in a televised version of the novel. Robert Newton followed up his two Long John Silver movies with an Australian-produced TV series.[8]
BBC1 has presented the story four times, with Anthony Quinn, Bernard Miles, Peter Vaughan and Alfred Burke respectively as Long John Silver.
In the Soviet animated film "Treasure Island" of 1988, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan provided the voice talent for John Silver.
Ivor Dean played the character in an acclaimed European 4-part mini-series in 1966. He intended to reprise the role in another series with more adventures of Silver. He began writing it with director Robert S. Baker, but his sudden death in 1974 stopped all further plans. In 1985 this script was used as foundation for a Disney 10-part TV-series called "Return to Treasure Island" starring Brian Blessed in the role of Long John Silver.
John Silver was also the protagonist in Björn Larsson's fictional autobiography of the character, Long John Silver: the True and Eventful History of My Life of Liberty and Adventure As a Gentleman of Fortune and Enemy to Mankind (ISBN 1-86046-538-2 respectively 91-7263-285-2). The novel was first published in Sweden in 1995.
Silver is the main character in Silver—My Own Tale As Told By Me With A Goodly Amount Of Murder by Edward Chupack (ISBN 978-0-312-53936-8).
In popular culture
John Silver (left) is portrayed as a cyborg in Disney's Treasure Planet.- The rock band Jefferson Airplane had a song and 1972 album named Long John Silver.
- The 1978 Japanese series Takarajima, he is portrayed by a tall blond.
- Pornographic actor Long Dong Silver took his stage name from Long John Silver.
- Tim Curry portrayed Long John Silver in the 1996 film Muppet Treasure Island.
- The 2002 Disney film Treasure Planet, an animated science fiction adaptation of Treasure Island, depicts John Silver as a cyborg, voiced by Brian Murray.
- An early name for The Beatles was Long John and The Silver Beetles
- John Silver, a fictional space pirate with mechanical leg which appears in the Italian comic book Nathan Never was inspired by Long John Silver.[9]
- John Silver depicted in "L'ile aux tresors" a movie by Alain Berberian. Cast include Gerard Jugnot, Alice Taglioni
- In the Jethro Tull song "Mother Goose" (on the "Aqualung" album), there is a reference to four and twenty laborers, concluding with the line "and I don't believe they knew that I was Long John Silver."
- A "Monty Python's Flying Circus" episode on the original television series featured a football match between a team of white-coated gynecologists and a team of Long John Silver impersonators, who could only stand around in the field (with parrots on their shoulders), menacingly saying "Arrggh".
- According to J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan, Captain Hook was the only man that Silver ever feared.
- A restaurant chain, Long John Silver's, is named after the character.
References
- ^ Karg, p. 220.
- ^ Stevenson, Robert Louis (1883). "chapter 10: The Voyage". Treasure Island. Cassell & Company. pp. 80–81. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treasure_Island/Chapter_10.
- ^ Prince, p. 78.
- ^ Elwin, p. 154.
- ^ Stevenson, p. 316.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0028910/
- ^ http://www.russiandvd.com/store/assets/product_images/imgs/front/26033.jpg
- ^ "Adv LJS". Classicaustraliantv.com. http://www.classicaustraliantv.com/advljs.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
- ^ "''Nathan Never – L'isola del tesoro/Treasure Island''". En.sergiobonellieditore.it. http://www-en.sergiobonellieditore.it/auto/scheda_speciale?collana=39&numero=7&subnum=0. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
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Further reading
| Wikisource has original text related to this article: Treasure Island |
- Elwin, Malcolm. Old gods falling , New York, The Macmillan Company, 1939. OCLC 968055
- Karg, Barbara; Spaite, Arjean. The everything pirates book : a swashbuckling history of adventure on the high seas, Avon, Mass. : Adams Media, 2007. ISBN 9781598692556
- Prince, Alison. Kenneth Grahame : an innocent in the Wild Wood, London : Allison & Busby, 1994. ISBN 9780850318296
- Stevenson, Robert Louis; Colvin, Sidney, Sir. Letters to his family and friends, New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899. OCLC 9524286
External links
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Categories: Treasure Island characters | Fictional chefs | Fictional English people | Fictional pirates | Film characters | Fictional mass murderers | Fictional amputees | Treasure Planet characters | Fictional characters introduced in 1883
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