The story begins when a pirate happens to come to Jim's house. There he is treated and receives medical treatment from the doctor. The doctor warns him not to drink rum, but the pirate refuses and drinks it anyway. The pirate dies awhile after he had received the black spot. The dead pirate's fellow pirates, who gave him the black spot, storm into Jim's house in order to get the chest. Jim escapes with the chest before the pirates could get to it.

Jim discovers that inside the chest was a map to buried treasure. He decides that he wants to go on a search for the buried treasure. So Squire Trelawney, he, and Doctor Livesey go in search a boat and a crew. They find their crew and start their journey to find the treasure. However, they accidentally recruit the pirates that were after the chest. During their voyage, Jim hears the cook, Long John Silver, talking to the pirates and then Jim finds out that there are pirates.

When they reach the island the pirates break of from the loyal seamen and go in search for the treasure. The seamen lose their ship and are forced to go on land. They have battles with the pirates and many men die. Jim kills two pirates in order to take back the ship. Then when Jim goes back on land he is captured by the pirates. Jim and the pirates go on a search for the treasure. When they get to the treasure they get ambushed by the loyal seamen, who have already dug the treasure and set a trap.

Then the loyal seamen travel to the boat and return to the mainland and live their lives.

Jim Hawkins is the main character in this story. He must learn who to trust and who not to trust. Captain Long John Silver is very deceiving and that leads to trouble for Jim. Jim likes Captain John Silver because he “made himself the most interesting companion” when Jim first meets him. Also, when he first meets John he believed the “innocence of Long John Silver.”

Jim realizes his mistake when he hides in the apple barrel. He hears Long John Silver talking about mutiny. Long John is “using the same words of flattery as he had used on me (Jim)” on the mutineers. However, Jim makes another mistake when he trusts Long John again.