As I read it today, I was pleased to come across the word foolhardiness. I never really thought about the relevance of my favorite quote, "The is folly and foolhardiness on the one side and daring and calculation on the other" to the story of Treasure Island, but it does fit well.
After "Captain" Billy Bones dies, Jim and his mother run to a neighboring home (not many hundred yards away) looking for help to defend the Admiral Benbow Inn from Captain Flint's crew. Noone will help them. Everyone they ask is afraid, the most they gain is someone to run to the local magistrate (Dr. Livesey). Well, Jim's mother makes a speech:
She would not, she declared, lose money that belonged to her fatherless boy; "If none of the rest of you dare," she said, "Jim and I dare. Back we will go, the way we came, and small thanks to you big, hulking, chicken-hearted men. We'll have that chest open, if we die for it. And I'll thank you for that bag, Mrs. Crossley, to bring back our lawful money in."It was after this speech that the word got mentioned:
and of course they all cried out at our foolhardinessWell, one man's foolhardiness is another's daring. As we all know this risk paid off greatly for the Hawkins clan.
After reading a description of Jim Hawkins, I feel silly for not noticing the similarities between him and a young British naval officer of Napoleonic Wars ;)
4 comments:
This is the kind of thing that makes me want to run up onto somebody's Yacht with a scimitar and cry "Avast!".
Hopefully I will not get the reaction Orlando Bloom got.
then I would recommend using a cutlass ;)
Cutlass...or cut-less?
...or Kutless
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