Arrrrrrrr!

I'm back to work after a week's break. And in my 19th Century Children's Lit class, we're reading Treasure Island, which has me thinking about pirates. Yesterday in class, many of the female students informed me that they really didn't like because female are largly absent. The males, however, said that they liked it because pirates are just "cool." I conceded that I like it as well because pirates are "kick ass," and Johnny Depp, of course, proves it. Is it passe to be in like with Johnny Depp? But really the point that the narrator of Treasure Island makes is that the pirating life and the lust for treasure is dangerous at best, even deadly. Yet, it seems to me that we, as readers, don't really take that away from the book. I mean, by the end of it all, we still think pirates are kick ass, and we still appreciate adventure. Ok, I want to make a plug for the Muppets Treasure Island movie, which I really love. Tim Curry plays Long John Silver, which is brilliant. Oh and another thing about Treasure Island: it represents what is best about the boys' adventure novel.