Character Thursday: Jim Hawkins

Following my thoughts about R L Stevenson's Treasure Island, I'd like to mention one of the characters, in fact, the main character, Jim Hawkins.

Jim is an ordinary good boy who lives in his parents inn. Everything is normal for him until an old sailor (who later turns out to be a pirate) comes and stay in that inn. As the story develops he has to leave his homeland in search of Flint's treasure,

In the novel, Jim is the narrator of the story. As a narrator, he does his job well. He doesn't very much talk about his feelings but focuses on how the story develops. In that sense, sometimes we as readers forget that he's there as a part of the story, especially after a long, long description of events.

Character-wise, Jim is more quiet than most of the main characters I've experienced before. He is a good, obedient boy at a time, but later he shows himself as a courageous, smart boy who is also ready to sacrifice himself on behalf of his friends. These qualities even impress the terrible Captain Silver, who at last joins his side.

As I said before, though, Jim is not a stereotype novel hero who is better than other characters in the story. On the contrary, Jim is not braver than most of his friends such as Trelawney, Livesey, or Smollet, and not a better fighter than most of the pirate crews. But there's something in him that is so likeeable to all of us. He makes us feel that even an ordinary boy can do brave and honourable things just like great heroes in history.

The scene I love best? When he steals the ship Hispaniola, alone. That's really something. And also the scene with Silver and his crews.

“Well,” said I, “I am not such a fool but I know pretty well what I have to look for. Let the worst come to the worst, it’s little I care. I’ve seen too many die since I fell in with you. But there’s a thing or two I have to tell you,” I said, and by this time I was quite excited; “and the first is this: here you are, in a bad way — ship lost, treasure lost, men lost, your whole business gone to wreck; and if you want to know who did it — it was I!.. And as for the schooner, it was I who cut her cable, and it was I that killed the men you had aboard of her, and it was I who brought her where you’ll never see her more, not one of you. The laugh’s on my side; I’ve had the top of this business from the first; I no more fear you than I fear a fly. Kill me, if you please, or spare me. But one thing I’ll say, and no more; if you spare me, bygones are bygones, and when you fellows are in court for piracy, I’ll save you all I can. It is for you to choose. Kill another and do yourselves no good, or spare me and keep a witness to save you from the gallows.”

To think that a boy actually says that in front of Captain Silver and all his crew. Whew!

So that's my Character this week. Who's yours?

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Character Thursday

Adalah book blog hop di mana setiap blog memposting tokoh pilihan dalam buku yang sedang atau telah dibaca selama seminggu terakhir (judul atau genre buku bebas).

- Kalian bisa menjelaskan mengapa kalian suka/benci tokoh itu, sekilas kepribadian si tokoh, atau peranannya dalam keseluruhan kisah.

- Jangan lupa mencantumkan juga cover buku yang tokohnya kalian ambil.

- Kalau buku itu sudah difilmkan, kalian juga bisa mencantumkan foto si tokoh dalam film, atau foto aktor/aktris yang kalian anggap cocok dengan kepribadian si tokoh.

Syarat Mengikuti :

1. Follow blog Fanda Classiclit sebagai host, bisa lewat Google Friend Connect (GFC) atau sign up via e-mail (ada di sidebar paling kanan). Dengan follow blog ini, kalian akan selalu tahu setiap kali blog ini mengadakan Character Thursday Blog Hop.

2. Letakkan button Character Thursday Blog Hop di posting kalian atau di sidebar blog, supaya follower kalian juga bisa menemukan blog hop ini. Kodenya bisa diambil di kotak di button.

3. Buat posting dengan menyertakan copy-paste “Character Thursday” dan “Syarat Mengikuti” ke dalam postingmu.

3. Isikan link (URL) posting kalian ke Linky di bawah ini. Cantumkan nama dengan format: Nama blogger @ nama blog, misalnya: Fanda @ Fanda Classiclit.

4. Jangan lupa kunjungi blog-blog peserta lain, dan temukan tokoh-tokoh pilihan mereka. Dengan begini, wawasan kita akan bertambah juga dengan buku-buku baru yang menarik