The novel’s central theme revolves around concepts of loyalty and mutiny. Broadly speaking, the captain and his men represent the forces of loyalty, while the pirates represent the forces of rebellion. Accordingly, each party reaps the consequences of each quality. That is, the captain, the doctor, the squire, Jim, and the other honest men remain loyal to one another, to their country, and to their mission. As a consequence, most of these men survive the pirates’ attacks and discover and secure the treasure. In contrast, the pirates rebel against the ship’s rightful captain, against their duties as crewmen, and ultimately against their own elected captain, John Silver. As a consequence, the pirates fail to capture the treasure for themselves, and most of them die in the process. In this way, Treasure Island is a moral tale that teaches the virtues of loyalty.

This lesson is complicated by the fact that Jim rebels against his own crew twice. After Jim escapes from the stockade, he expresses feelings of guilt for abandoning his duties. He reflects, “I was a fool, if you like, and certainly I was going to do a foolish, overbold act” (210). When he meets with the doctor while held captive by the pirates, he tells him, “I have blamed myself enough; my life’s forfeit anyway” (298).