The Moral Complexity of Our Fascination
(Follow the links to see each exhibit item.)

So, what is it about pirates that we like so much? Kester Brewin’s Talk at TEDxExeter in 2013 addresses this question. He believes that it is the rebellion of pirates which has drawn audiences in from the very beginning. The idea of sticking it to one’s government and taking the monarchy’s wealth for one’s own is an appealing idea for anyone–but something most people never actually do. We love pirates, therefore, because they do what we cannot. We are drawn to Jack Sparrow, for example, because he taunts and teases the British military as he constantly outwits them and gets away with his head held high.

However, if we want to sympathize with pirates who right the wrongs of wealth distribution, we cannot write pirates who also kill mercilessly and care only for themselves. Therefore, most modern depictions of pirates give them a softer side and make them more palatable characters. Even Long John Silver, a character who is famous for teetering on the line between good and evil, recently tends to be represented more on the side of good. In particular, SkyOne’s adaptation of Treasure Island (2012) gives us a Silver (brilliantly played by Eddie Izzard, of all people) who is truly a good man at heart, and just wants his piece of the wealth he has earned.

True, Izzard’s Silver is still a greedy thief who’s moral code doesn’t necessarily point due north. However, the film depicted certain other characters as being much more corrupt, making Silver seem better in comparison. Highlighting the idea that pirates’ appeal are their desire to redistribute wealth, the ship’s financier Squire Trelawney is depicted as a greedy, self-serving man of wealth. Trelawney’s Greed gives the audience the overall impression that the officers in this story are just as corrupt as the pirates, and those who deserve our sympathy are those who show care for other people (as Trelawney is clearly shown to have no such care).

While Silver wants the treasure just as much as Trelawney, and is shown to be willing to kill for it, he also shows a genuine love and concern for young Jim Hawkins. Silver’s Moral Code seems to place Jim’s safety higher than his own desire to get the treasure. Silver saves Jim’s life on more than one occasion, and proves himself willing to risk his own neck for Jim’s. This is enough to convince Jim to genuinely care about Silver as well, and save his life in return. When the ship heads back from the island, the two plan an escape for Silver before he is given a hang trial in Bristol. As Silver and Hawkins part ways, the conversation beautifully highlights the pair both as friends with shared experiences and values, and in a father/son-esque relationship as well.

If the audience hasn’t been brought around before then, that parting scene certainly gives us a Silver to love as much as Jim. However, we can assume that most viewers have already grown sympathetic to Silver long before. In this adaptation, as in many others, he is a fearless, swashbuckling figure who wants to get the wealth he is owed–but who deep down has a soft spot in his heart for Jim and will do anything to save him.