Quote 7
"Now, that bird," [Long John Silver] would say, "is, maybe, two hundred years old, Hawkins--they live forever mostly; and if anybody's seen more wickedness, it must be the devil himself. She's sailed with England, the great Cap'n England, the pirate. She's been at Madagascar, and at Malabar, and Surinam, and Providence, and Portobello. She was at the fishing up of the wrecked plate ships. It's there she learned 'Pieces of eight,' and little wonder; three hundred and fifty thousand of 'em, Hawkins! She was at the boarding of the viceroy of the Indies out of Goa, she was; and to look at her you would think she was a babby. But you smelt powder--didn't you, cap'n?" (10.18)
Here, the tales Long John Silver is spinning are all about his delightful parrot, Captain Flint. Silver uses his tales of derring-do to keep Jim Hawkins interested and to persuade Jim to sympathize with him. It's interesting, though: these tales are meant to distract and intrigue Jim, but they work on us, too. It's partly Long John Silver's gift with language that makes him so appealing to the reader, no matter the terrible things he does over the course of the novel.
Quote 8
"Doctor, I'm no coward; no, not I--not so much!" and he snapped his fingers. "If I was I wouldn't say it. But I'll own up fairly, I've the shakes upon me for the gallows. You're a good man and a true; I never seen a better man! And you'll not forget what I done good, not any more than you'll forget the bad, I know. And I step aside--see here--and leave you and Jim alone. And you'll put that down for me too, for it's a long stretch, is that!" (30.37)
Long John Silver doesn't fear any kind of battle, nor does he fear his fellow men. But he's afraid of exploring that final horizon, death – specifically death at the hands of the law. Does this suggest some kind of fear of religious judgment? We can't be sure, but we have some thoughts on the subject in our "Character Analysis" of the pirate crew.
Quote 9
"Now," resumed Silver, "here it is. You give us the chart to get the treasure by, and drop shooting poor seamen and stoving of their heads in while asleep. You do that, and we'll offer you a choice. Either you come aboard along of us, once the treasure shipped, and then I'll give you my affy-davy, upon my word of honour, to clap you somewhere safe ashore. Or if that ain't to your fancy, some of my hands being rough and having old scores on account of hazing, then you can stay here, you can. We'll divide stores with you, man for man; and I'll give my affy-davy, as before, to speak the first ship I sight, and send 'em here to pick you up. " (20.37)
Long John Silver is offering Captain Smollett a deal. (The Captain, of course, will have none of it.) We find this an interesting example of Long John Silver's unusual speech, which is a weird mix of slang and officialese. He promises to "clap" them somewhere safe or else to hail a boat and "send 'em here to pick you up." But at the same time, he also promises his "affy-davy" (affidavit, which means oath) to abide by any deal they strike. Long John Silver's language is a puzzle, just like his character: he's got this odd mix of highfalutin' words ("affy-davy") and slang ("clap") that makes it difficult to place him.