I have done a little more research on the whole black spot characteristic, and I have found out a few things that I think might be helpful. First, I would like to remind you that the black spot is an actual black spot, not on their body, but it is given to them on a blank card that has nothing but a black spot on it. This may seem simple enough, but it turns out that the black spot is really a literary device that Stevenson invented. It is used to represent guilt and punsishment saying that something bad will happen or that pirate will have to give up their high ranking positions by will or by force! In the book, Billy Bones didn't die from the consequences of the black spot, but he died in fear of it, that's how powerful it was to pirates. Research also shows that Stevenson may have gotten the idea from what the actual caribbean pirates done; they used to hand out the ace of spades to any pirate who was know for being a traitor, that indicated that eventually, something bad would happen to them.
How would you react if you got the black spot and why? Would you try to hide it?
Bibliography: Black Spot (Treasure Island). 22 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Spot_(Treasure_Island).
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i had a feeling that the black spot wasnt something physical but that it meant something. I had a feeling that the black spot meant something bad was going to happen to that person who gets it, good thing you researched it.
ReplyDelete-chris
no chris the black spot is something physical, first time i herd what it was i thought it was an event that happens often hah. This is very interesting andrew
ReplyDeletewhen i read about the balck spot in the book i thought it was like an x marks the spot kind of thing, and really didnt go back and read over it. So this information just made me understand that passage so much clearer now.
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