Abstract:Treasure Island is Robert Louis Stevenson's first novel. John Silver is one of the central figures in the whole story. Although he is not a positive character, he plays an important role in the story. Just as one coin has two sides, he was a complex and changeable figure. The previous studies focus on the study of this novel’s social effect, such as anti-Orientalism, postcolonial research of ethics and dualism. But analysis of the John Silver’s character and the reasons for the formation was little.

 This paper is to explore the dual character of Silver from the perspective of pragmatism on the purpose of helping reader understand the theme more easily and being instructive to the researches on the novel in the future.

Keywords:  Treasure Island   John Silver   the dual character   pragmatism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Robert Louis Stevenson-1

1.2 Treasure Island －His Representative Work-1

1.3 Focus and Significance-2

Chapter Two Literature Review-3

2.1 Pragmatism-3

2.2 Previous Studies-3

Chapter Three Analysis of John Silver's Character from Pragmatism-5

3.1 John Silver’s Complex and Changeable Character in the Story-5

3.2 John Silver’s Five Defections in the Story-5

3.2.1 The First Defection When They Approach the Island-5

3.2.2 The Second Defection When the Sailors Blame His Wrong Decision-6

3.2.3 The Third Defection When They Get the Map-6

3.2.4 The Forth Defection When They Find the Treasure Is Gone-7

3.2.5 The Fifth Defection When They Start to Go Back-7

3.3 Analysis on Silver’s Dual Character from the Perspective of Pragmatism-7

3.3.1 The Happiness Oriented Principle Reflected in Silver-7

3.3.2 The Realistic Principle Reflected in Silver-8

3.3.3 The Utilitarian Principle Reflected in Sliver-8

Chapter Four Conclusion-10

References-11