Blind Pew
Blind Pew is one of the most terrifying figures in Treasure Island, a blind beggar who acts as the enforcer for the remnants of Captain Flint's pirate crew. His appearance at the Admiral Benbow Inn precipitates the death of Billy Bones, and his subsequent leadership of the raid on the inn marks a turning point in the story. Though he is blind, his cruelty, cunning, and commanding presence make him a formidable antagonist, and his violent death underscores the brutal world of the buccaneers.
Identity and Appearance
Pew is described as a "dreadful-looking figure" who is plainly blind, tapping before him with a stick and wearing a great green shade over his eyes and nose. He is hunched, as if with age or weakness, and wears a huge old tattered sea-cloak with a hood that makes him appear positively deformed. His voice is "cruel, and cold, and ugly," and he speaks in an odd sing-song. Despite his blindness, he moves with "incredible accuracy and nimbleness," and his grip is like a vise. He is a former pirate who lost his sight, as Long John Silver later explains, when he lost his "deadlights" in the same broadside that cost Silver his leg.
Role in the Plot
Pew's first and most consequential action is delivering the black spot to Billy Bones at the Admiral Benbow Inn. He forces young Jim Hawkins to lead him to the captain, and after passing the black spot—a circular piece of paper blackened on one side with the message "You have till ten tonight"—he departs with the same nimbleness with which he arrived. The shock of receiving the black spot causes Billy Bones to suffer a fatal stroke. Later, Pew leads a gang of seven or eight men to the inn to retrieve Flint's sea-chest. He commands them with a voice "louder and higher, as if he were afire with eagerness and rage," ordering them to break down the door and search the house. When they find the chest already rifled, Pew curses them and demands they find the boy and his mother, whom he wishes he had "put his eyes out." His fury at their failure leads to a quarrel, during which he strikes at them blindly with his stick.
Death
Pew's death is a direct result of his own violent nature and the cowardice of his comrades. When a signal from the hillside warns of approaching danger, the other buccaneers flee, leaving Pew behind. He taps up and down the road in a frenzy, groping and calling for his comrades by name—"Johnny, Black Dog, Dirk"—but they have deserted him. In his confusion, he takes a wrong turn and runs straight into the path of a group of riders, including revenue officers led by Supervisor Dance. The rider tries to save him, but in vain. Pew goes down with a cry that rings high into the night, and the four hoofs trample and spurn him. He falls on his side, then gently collapses upon his face and moves no more. He is stone dead.
Thematic Significance
Pew embodies the theme of disability as both a marker of villainy and a source of ironic vulnerability. His blindness is not a limitation but a tool of intimidation; he uses his disability to disarm others, as when he grips Jim's hand like a vise and forces him to obey. Yet his blindness also makes him dependent on his comrades, and when they abandon him, he is helpless. His death is a brutal illustration of the pirate code's lack of loyalty: the same men who followed his orders leave him to die. Pew's character also serves as a narrative device, delivering the black spot that sets the plot in motion and demonstrating the ruthlessness of the buccaneer world. His name, "Pew," is used by Long John Silver as a byword for a failed pirate who died a beggar, contrasting with Silver's own cunning and survival.
