Treasure Quote by Robert Louis Stevenson
““Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17—, and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow inn and the brown old seaman with the sabre cut first took up his lodging under our roof. I remember him as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding to the inn door, his sea-chest following behind him in a hand-barrow—a tall, strong, heavy, nut-brown man, his tarry pigtail falling over the shoulder of his soiled blue coat, his hands ragged and scarred, with black, broken nails, and the sabre cut across one cheek, a dirty, livid white. I remember him looking round the cover and whistling to himself as he did so, and then breaking out in that old sea-song that he sang so often afterwards:””
About This Quote
Source Book: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883
The narrator recounts a vivid memory of a scarred seaman, setting a tone of adventure and nostalgia for the tale to follow.
In simple terms: A scarred sailor is remembered, launching the story.
Embrace vivid detail to draw readers in.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- writing introductions
- historical fiction
- character sketches
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the sailor’s appearance reveal about his life?
- How does this memory shape the story’s mood?
The focus on physical scars may distract from deeper themes.