Long John Silver is a fictional character and the mainantagonist in the 1883 novelTreasure Island byRobert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg and parrot, in particular, have greatly contributed to the image ofthe pirate in popular culture.
Long John Silver is a cunning and opportunistic pirate who wasquartermaster under the notoriousCaptain Flint.[1] Stevenson's portrayal of Silver has greatly influenced the modern iconography of the pirate.[2]
Long John Silver has aparrot, named Captain Flint in honor—or mockery—of his former captain,[3] who generally perches on Silver's shoulder, and is known to chatter pirate or seafaring phrases like "Pieces of Eight", and "Stand by to go about". Silver uses the parrot as another means of gaining Jim's trust, by telling the boy all manner of exciting stories about the parrot's buccaneer history."'Now that bird', Silver would say, 'is, maybe, two hundred years old, Hawkins—they lives forever mostly, and if anybody's seen more wickedness it must be the devil himself. She's sailed with England—the great pirateCap'n England. She's been at Madagascar, and at Malabar, and Surinam, and Providence, and Portobello... She was at the boarding of theViceroy of the Indies out of Goa, she was, and to look at her you would think she was a baby'."[4]
Silver claims to have served in theRoyal Navy and lost his leg under "the immortalHawke". "His left leg was cut off close by the hip, and under the left shoulder, he carried a crutch, which he managed with wonderful dexterity, hopping about upon it like a bird. He was very tall and strong, with a face as big as a ham—plain and pale, but intelligent and smiling."[5]
He claims to have been the only man whom Flint ever feared. Although treacherous and willing to change sides at any time to further his own interests, Silver has compensating virtues. He is wise enough to save his money, in contrast to the spendthrift ways of most of the pirates. He is physically courageous despite his disability: for instance, when Flint's cache is found to be empty, he coolly stands his ground against five murderous seamen despite having only Jim, a boy in his teens, to back him.[6]
When Silver escapes at the end of the novel, he takes "three or four hundredguineas" 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. (The repentant marooneeBen Gunn is the other, but he spends all£1,000 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."
Silver 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. He confides in his fellow pirates that he and his wife plan to rendezvous after the voyage to Skeleton Island is complete and Flint's treasure is recovered, at which point Silver will retire to a life of luxury. Ironically his "share" of Flint's treasure (£420) is considerably less than that of Ben Gunn (£1,000) and what Silver boasts was his share from England (£900) and from Flint (£2,000).
According to Stevenson's letters, the idea for the character of Long John Silver was in part inspired by his real-life friendWilliam Henley, a writer and editor.[7] Stevenson's stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, described Henley as "...a great, glowing, massive-shouldered fellow with a big red beard and a crutch; 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".[8] In a letter to Henley after the publication ofTreasure 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, was entirely taken from you".[9]
British historian Dennis Judd presents Silver as the main character in his 1977 prequel,The Adventures of Long John Silver,[10] and in the 1979 sequel,Return to Treasure Island.[11]
John Silver is also the protagonist in Björn Larsson's fictional 1995 autobiography,Long John Silver: The True and Eventful History of My Life of Liberty and Adventure as a Gentleman of Fortune and Enemy to Mankind, published in Sweden in 1995.[12]
Silver is the main character in Edward Chupack's 2008Silver — My Own Tale as Told by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder.[13][full citation needed]
Silver is a minor character inAndrew Motion's 2012 novelSilver: Return to Treasure Island, a sequel to the original book. Set many years after the end of the original, Silver is now half mad and blind, living in the company of his wife and daughter.[14][15]
In theStephen King novelFirestarter, the main protagonist's father Andy McGee receives a psychic warning that his daughter has been deceived by a lead antagonist, the scarred assassin Rainbird, in the form of a vision of Silver.
There have been several major stage adaptations made.[24]
Starting in 1966,[when?] in London, there was an annual production of the musicalTreasure Island, based on abook byBernard Miles andJosephine Wilson. The music was composed byCyril Ornadel and the lyrics byHal Shaper. The musical was performed at theMermaid Theatre, originally under the direction of Bernard Miles, who played Long John Silver, a part he also played in various television versions. ComedianSpike Milligan would often play Ben Gunn in these productions, and in 1981,Tom Baker played Long John Silver.[25]
The 1954 film,Long John Silver, again starred Robert Newton as the title character, which he would reprise in television (see below).
The 1971 anime film depicts Silver as an anthropomorphic pig who captains his own pirate ship, sporting a hook prosthesis on his left hand rather than a missing leg.[29]
In 1971,Boris Andreyev played Silver in the Soviet versionOstrov sokrovishch.
Charlton Heston portrays Long John Silver in a made-for-television movie,Treasure Island (1990 film). This version starred various notable actors such as Christian Bale, Oliver Reed, Christopher Lee, Julian Glover, and Pete Postlewaite. Produced by TNT, it featuring an original soundtrack by The Chieftains. This version of the story is noted for its faithfulness to the book, with much of the dialogue coming directly from it, as well as recreating several of the more violent scenes from the book.
Tim Curry portrays Long John Silver in Disney's1996 Muppets musical film adaptation. This version has Bad Polly Lobster as his pet instead of a parrot. At the end of the film, Long John Silver left in a rowboat that was deemed unsafe and ended up swimming back to Treasure Island while Bad Polly Lobster was among the followers that were detained.
One thing screenwritersTed Elliott andTerry Rossio took from their experience onTreasure Planet, was the simple premise of, "Is Long John Silver a delightfulFalstaffian character or a contemptible villain?" That idea was something they carried into CaptainJack Sparrow.[30] Both Jack Sparrow andHector Barbossa are based on Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver.[31] In an article, The Guardian noted that "Nowadays all pirates (though not Somali pirates, interestingly) are in some sense a version of Long John Silver, even when they have got two legs – think of Captain Jack Sparrow."[32]
Peter Wyngarde played Silver in the 1958 TV seriesThe Adventures of Ben Gunn.
BBC Television has presented the story in miniseries format four times, with the role of Silver being played byBernard Miles in 1951 and again in 1957;Peter Vaughan in 1968; andAlfred Burke in 1977. Miles played the role one final time in a 1982 TV movie.
In 1959,Ivo Garrani played Silver in an Italian television miniseries.
Ivor Dean played the character in an acclaimed European four-part mini-series in 1966. He intended to reprise the role in another series with more adventures of Silver and began writing it with directorRobert S. Baker, but his sudden death in 1974 stopped all further plans. In 1985, the Ivor Dean script was used as foundation for theDisney 10-part TV seriesReturn to Treasure Island, starringBrian Blessed as Long John Silver.
A Ballad of John Silver, a poem by John Masefield, was published in 1921.[36]
Long John Silver is a Franco-Belgian comics series written by Xavier Dorison and illustrated by Mathieu Laufray which was published in French and English.[when?][37][full citation needed]
In May 1960,The Silver Beetles (later to become known asThe Beatles) were backing a young musicianJohnny Gentle, during his tour throughScotland. For the duration of this tour, the whole band decided to give themselves pseudonyms. Band memberJohn Lennon became Long John for this occasion.[39]
One of the prominent characters from the role-playing gameCyberpunk is Johnny Silverhand, referencing to John Silver. He is one of the main characters in the video game adaptationCyberpunk 2077.
^Stevenson, R.L. (1906).The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, Vol. 1. Methuen and Co. p. 92. Retrieved2 October 2024.I will now make a confession. It was the sight of your maimed strength and masterfulness that begot John Silver in TREASURE ISLAND. Of course, he is not in any other quality or feature the least like you; but the idea of the maimed man, ruling and dreaded by the sound, was entirely taken from you.
^Burgess, Edwin (1 August 1976). "The Adventures of Long John Silver (Book)".Library Journal.102: 1678.
^McKellen, Tess (November 1986). "Return to Treasure Island (Book Review)".School Library Journal.3: 100.
^Masefield, John (1921) [1902].Salt-Water Poems and Ballads. New York, NY: The Macmillan Company. pp. 64–65. Retrieved21 February 2017. Masefield's original 1902 work was entitledSalt-Water Ballads.
Stevenson, Robert Louis (1883).Treasure Island. Cassell & Company. Archived fromthe original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved21 February 2017.
Elwin, Malcolm (1939).Old Gods Falling. New York: The Macmillan Company.OCLC968055.
Prince, Alison (1994).Kenneth Grahame: An Innocent in the Wild Wood. London: Allison & Busby.ISBN9780850318296.
Karg, Barbara; Spaite, Arjean (2007).The Everything Pirates Book: A Swashbuckling History of Adventure on the High Seas. Avon, MA: Adams Media.ISBN9781598692556.
Jolly, Arthur M (2013).Long Joan Silver. Los Angeles: YouthPLAYS, Inc.ISBN9781620882054.
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