Crescent Island Essay Example

the lookout man crashed onto the cabin roof before tumbling down with the mast. Pale-faced and whispering "Pirates?!", Andrew spotted a colossal ship heading our way.

As cannons were firing, a fire broke out on the deck, causing panic among the crew. I quickly rushed to extinguish the flames and soon after, it was discovered that Captain Blewit was missing. Spotting a boat rowing away, Andrew exclaimed that the Captain had abandoned his crew. The ship sank while we made it to an island where the remaining survivors scattered and sought shelter in the woods. After finding a hiding spot, Andrew revealed that he had been part of the pirate crew that attacked us and had a map of the island with an X marking the location of a treasure. He called it Crescent Island and suggested that we could become rich by finding it. Andrew led me to a cave on the east side of the island where he believed "The Red Death" had hidden the treasure to prevent the government from discovering he had stolen from the state treasury.

"We need to hurry up if we want to recover the treasure before the pirates arrive," said Andrew. After digging hard for some time, we finally found a wooden chest. To my surprise, it was full of silver, gold, rubies, and diamonds. As we were leaving the cave with our sacks full of treasure, we heard the sound of a pistol being cocked. Captain Blewit appeared with his weapon aimed at Andrew's head and demanded that we hand over the treasure belonging to "The Red Death". Reluctantly, Andrew surrendered his bag and Blewit warned that any

blame for our loss would fall on us. He then turned to me and commanded me to do the same.

As Andrew sneaked up behind Blewit, the latter detected the presence and spun around, shooting a bullet that missed. Before Blewit could respond, Andrew struck him on the head, rendering him unconscious. To deceive the pirates from pursuing us, we left a bag by Blewit's side giving them the impression that he had taken the treasure. We hailed a passing ship by lighting a fire and took it back to England. We split the treasure in two and spent our lives happily and prosperously as wealthy individuals.

Commentary for creative readingThe creative reading piece, "Crescent Island," draws from the pirate genre and is influenced by the English literary classic, "Treasure Island." Both tales are narrated by young sailors - Jim Hawkins in "Treasure Island" and a sailor named Johnny in "Crescent Island." The title "Crescent Island" phonetically resembles "Treasure Island," allowing readers to quickly identify linking qualities through intertextuality.

The short story, narrated in the first person, uses visual and auditory imagery to engage readers. Alliteration highlights bad weather, like in the phrase "the wind blew wildly," immersing readers into the story. Onomatopoeia is used to create a sense of immediacy by allowing readers to hear sounds just as the characters do.

When creating characters in "Crescent Island," their descriptions gradually unfold through a sequence of information. For example, when introducing "The Red Death," a litany of detail is used to present him as formidable; he is described as "enormous" and wears a "red cloak" that conjures a menacing image of blood. The character's "Iron hook" also connects

him to the pirate genre, as it is a traditional feature of pirates. Character revelation is further achieved through direct speech, as demonstrated when Andrew's hot-headed and daring character is introduced through his use of interrogative speech: "What are you sleeping for? You clumsy oaf!"

"Crescent Island" incorporates many classic elements of pirate stories. The tale features pirates in the form of "The Red Death's" crew, and various ships such as "Captain Blewit's" ship and "The Red Death's" vessel. Additionally, there is an island with buried treasure, which is eventually recovered as in the tradition of "Treasure Island". The story also uses nomenclature to convey character traits such as Captain Blewit's name suggesting his failure as a captain. The goal of "Crescent Island" was to offer an entertaining and instantly recognizable pirate story in the same vein as "Treasure Island". To achieve this, the story incorporates many classic elements from the pirate genre.

The pirate genre has remained popular throughout time, with modern pirate literature resembling that of the nineteenth century. The portrayal of pirates as lawless and vicious criminals who embark on exciting adventures and find romance while amassing wealth has changed little over the past two centuries. Through analyzing and commenting on texts, this commentary has enhanced my skills in identifying distinct genre features and fully evaluating style, narrative, imagery, and character development.