Escape of Long John Silver
Long John Silver's escape from the Hispaniola is the last and most characteristic act of the one-legged sea-cook, a silent, self-serving departure that closes his career as the novel's most formidable and ambiguous figure. After the treasure is recovered and the mutineers are defeated, Silver, who has already shifted allegiances more than once, slips away in a shore boat, taking with him a sack of coin worth perhaps three or four hundred guineas. His flight is not a dramatic confrontation but a quiet, calculated withdrawal, leaving the surviving loyal party—and the reader—to ponder the fate of a man who has been both villain and reluctant ally.
The Circumstances of the Escape
The escape occurs during the night after the Hispaniola anchors in a land-locked gulf in Spanish America, where the crew has put in for fresh hands before the voyage home. The doctor and the squire, taking Jim Hawkins with them, go ashore to pass the early part of the night, meeting the captain of an English man-of-war and enjoying a pleasant evening that lasts until daybreak. When they return to the ship, they find Ben Gunn alone on deck, who confesses with 'wonderful contortions' that Silver is gone. The maroon had connived at his escape in a shore boat some hours before, and he assures them he did so only to preserve their lives, which would certainly have been forfeit if 'that man with the one leg had stayed aboard.' Silver had not gone empty-handed: he had cut through a bulkhead unobserved and removed one of the sacks of coin, worth perhaps three or four hundred guineas, to help him on his further wanderings.
Silver's Character and the Escape's Significance
Silver's escape is the culmination of his lifelong pattern of self-preservation, a trait that has defined him from his first appearance. He is introduced as a 'clean and pleasant-tempered landlord' at the Spy-glass Tavern, but his true nature is revealed in the apple barrel, where he plots mutiny with the crew, and in his brutal murder of Tom, the honest sailor, whom he kills with a crutch and a knife. Throughout the voyage, he is a master of manipulation, using flattery and cunning to control both the mutineers and the loyal party. His escape, like his earlier actions, is marked by a refusal to face the consequences of his crimes. He has been threatened with hanging by Captain Smollett, who tells him, 'I'll see you all to Davy Jones,' and by Dr. Livesey, who as a magistrate has the power to prosecute. Yet Silver, ever the survivor, finds a way to slip away, leaving behind the very men he once led.
The escape also highlights the moral ambiguity of the novel's ending. The loyal party is 'pleased to be so cheaply quit of him,' suggesting a relief that borders on gratitude. Silver's departure is not met with pursuit or outrage but with a kind of resigned acceptance. This reflects the novel's complex treatment of justice: the pirates who remain on the island are abandoned to their fate, while Silver, the most culpable of all, is allowed to vanish. The narrator, Jim Hawkins, reflects that Silver has 'at last gone clean out of my life,' and hopes that he may 'still live in comfort' with his old Negress and the parrot, Captain Flint, though his chances of comfort in another world are 'very small.'
The Aftermath and Legacy
Silver's escape leaves a lasting impression on the narrative, serving as a reminder of the unpredictability of fortune and the limits of human justice. The treasure, which has cost the lives of seventeen men from the Hispaniola, is divided among the survivors, but Silver's share is taken with him, a final act of theft that underscores his unrepentant nature. His fate remains unknown, and the novel ends with Jim Hawkins haunted by dreams of the island and the parrot's cry of 'Pieces of eight!'—a sound that evokes the enduring mystery of Silver's fate. In the end, Silver's escape is not just a plot device but a thematic statement: in the world of Treasure Island, the most cunning and adaptable survive, regardless of their moral standing.
