Black Spot (Treasure Island)
The Black Spot is a literary device invented by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island (serialized 1881–82, published as a book in 1883).
In Treasure Island
In the book,
The words on the back of that black spot were taken from the
It was around about the size of a crown piece. One side was blank, for it had been the last leaf; the other contained a verse or two of Revelation—these words among the rest, which struck sharply home upon my mind: "Without are dogs and murderers." The printed side had been blackened with wood ash, which already began to come off and soil my fingers; on the blank side had been written with the same material the one word "Depposed".[3][4]
Origins
The origin of Stevenson's Black Spot might be in the historical tradition of Caribbean pirates of showing an ace of spades to a person condemned as traitor or informer. The card was putting the person dangerously "on the spot", as the ace bears a single pip.[5][6]
In other works
The Black Spot appears in other works of popular culture, chronologically:
- 1911: In the story "M.R. James, the runes of the title are likened to the black spot because they bring death to the bearer.
- 1930: In the novel Swallows and Amazons the pirate captain Uncle Jim (James Turner, also known as Captain Flint) receives the Black Spot from Nancy, a member of his crew.
- 1933: In the film Gabriel Over the White House displeased racketeer Nick Diamond draws a Black Spot on some notepaper during a meeting with John Bronson, an activist for the unemployed. Bronson says, "I get you, Diamond. But you can't put a million men on the spot."
- 1938: In the film Algiers Regis draws the ace of spades when forced to cut the deck. Carlos calls this drawing of the black spot "very bad luck".
- 1946: In the Joy in the Morningthe character Boko Fittleworth commiserates about Stilton Cheesewright, stating "I did think that the black spot had finally passed into Stilton's possession."
- 1948: The Shirley Jackson short story "The Lottery" describes the use of the black spot to select the annual victim of ritual human sacrifice.
- 1964: In the Harlan Ellison short story "Lonelyache" the protagonist Paul has a recurring nightmare in which a different young, good-looking man comes to kill him or "tip him the black spot".
- 1969: In A Pirate Utopia the pirate lord Olaf is given the black spot by Leonard as he had tortured some people without permission.
- 1986: In the Stephen King novel It the doomed "Negro nightclub" is named "The Black Spot".
- 1990: "The Black Spot" is mentioned by a convict at the end of an episode of "The Bill" (series 6, episode 71, "Where There's a Will".[7] in reference to another convict who has been marked to be killed no matter where he is.
- 1996: In the feature film Muppet Treasure Island the black spot is marked on a piece of paper handed to Billy Bones, who calls it "a pirate's death sentence". When Long John Silver is later given a black spot on a Bible page, he swiftly turns the situation to his advantage.
- 2000: The video game Skies of Arcadia presented players with a black spot, a message from a bounty hunter that they would soon be hunted down and killed.
- 2002: MMORPG created by Three Rings Design, uses the term "Black Spot" to refer to a temporary way to silence rude and disruptive players.
- 2002: In Disney's animated film Treasure Planet, the Black Spot is metaphorically depicted as a black hole that the crew of the R.L.S. Legacy encountered, Mr. Arrow was consumed by it when Scroop cut out his lifeline.
- 2006: In the Disney feature film Krakencan track; in the film, the black spot appears as a large black boil-like swelling on the palm of his hand.
- 2006: In the Asylum adaptation Pirates of Treasure Island the Black Spot appears as it did in the original novel.
- 2007: In the CBS reality television show Pirate Master the black spot is given by the captain to the three contestants that he nominates to be voted off.
- 2008: The album Murder By Deathincludes the song "The Black Spot", with the lyric: "The black spot, I never thought I'd be the one givin' it to you."
- 2009: The pirate-themed power/folk metal band Alestorm featured the Black Spot in their song "Chronicles of Vengeance" on their second album Black Sails at Midnight.
- 2011: "The Curse of the Black Spot", the third episode of Series 6 (Season 32) of Doctor Who, takes place on a pirate ship, and the black spot appears on the palm of anyone sick or injured, causing a supernatural seductress known as The Siren to hunt them down.
- 2011: The Kate Beaton comic collection Hark! A Vagrant has a pirate receive a black spot from another before he is shot for pointing out that Stevenson invented the practice.
- 2012: In "Idiots Are People Three", season 6 episode 3 of the TV series 30 Rock, Jack Donaghy hands Criss (Liz Lemon's new boyfriend) a black spot while telling Liz he is Officially Disapproving of Criss (with no "H" and two "S"). He later presents Criss with a gold star following his marriage to Liz Lemon.
- 2016: In "Chapter XXVIII", season 3 episode 10 of the TV series Black Sails, Billy Bones uses a black spot to intimidate traitors in Nassau.
- 2016: The naval-themed Tempest expansion to the 4X video game Endless Legend introduces a mechanic that rewards the player for attacking the armies of an empire marked by a Black Spot.
- 2017: In the WIB Optimist Project Akshay Mathur the Black Spot is given to his team to indicate work to be done.
- 2018: The JT Music channel of Rooster Teeth released the Sea of Thieves themed rap Booty Bound that refers to a black spot being given to any pirate who fails to find the treasure being searched for.[8]
- 2020: The Journey's End update for the video game Terraria adds an item called The Black Spot, which when used grants the player a rideable flying pirate ship mount.
Notes
- ^ The fullest description is in chapter 29 of the book, where the narrator describes still having Silver's Black Spot in his possession.
References
- ^ Robert Louis Stevenson. "3-4". Treasure Island. Billy Bones receives the spot - chapter 3
- ^ Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure Island. Long John Silver receives the spot from Morgan - chapter 29
- ^ SparkNotes. SparkNotes: Treasure Island. SparkNotes on Treasure Island - [1]
- ^ Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure Island. Words on the black spot - chapter 29
- ISBN 9781550024616.
- ^ Scoott, Brian H. "All kinds of Trivia". All About Stuff. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- The Bill (series 6) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWvFaOGA1WU
- ^ JT Music (2018). Booty Bound. Rooster Teeth.