Who is He and what did happen?

Question

"He was only once crossed, and that was towards the end, when my poor father was far gone in a decline that took him off." 

 

Who is "he" in "he was only once crossed" and what does that line mean?

"that was towards the end?" WHICH? what does towards the end means?

what does far gone means and what does took him off means and this time, him means who?

 

Answer 1

The line comes from Chapter 1 of Treasure Island. The line can be more easily understood in the context of what becomes before and after it. "He" in this case refers to a lodger at the inn of the narrator's father. The "crossed" refers to a story he is about to tell, in which someone crosses (stands up to) the lodger.

"...towards the end" is unclear from a quick skim of the chapter, but likely alludes to the end of the narrator's father's time at the inn, or to the end of his father's life, or the end of the lodger's stay.

"...far gone" and "took him off" refers to the narrator's father, and his physical and/or mental deterioration, and possibly, death.

Answer 2

The word he in this case is referring to a male that the narrator knows. We do not know how the narrator knows or the narrator's connection to him, only that narrator is aware of who the person is. The line "he was only once crossed" can mean different things depending on your personal experiences. One way that the line could be interrupt is that this man is not someone you want to mess with. He the kind of guy, who's way you don't want to get into. Though it appears that one person had tried to get the best of this guy in the past but it didn't go well for him ( the guy who tried the man in the first half of the sentence). "That was towards the end" means that man that is being referenced at the beginning of the sentence was coming towards the end of a moment in his life, when he was crossed by someone.  "Far gone' means that there was no helping him. "Took him off" means he was no longer sound of mind. The him they are referring to his the narrator's father. Once again, this also based off I interrupted the text. Someone else might understand it differently. 

Answer 3

The passage you're referencing is from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and it contains some older, more formal language, so let's break it down:

1. "He was only once crossed…"
2. He refers to Billy Bones, also known as "the captain," an old pirate staying at the inn owned by the narrator's family.
3. Only once crossed means that only once did someone go against his wishes or challenge him.
4. "...and that was towards the end…"
5. Towards the end refers to the final days of Billy Bones' stay at the inn, close to the end of his life.
6. "…when my poor father was far gone in a decline that took him off."
7. Far gone in a decline means the narrator's father was very ill and weakened from a sickness that worsened over time.
8. Took him off means that this illness ultimately caused his death. Here, he refers to the narrator's father, not Billy Bones.

So, the line says that Billy Bones was rarely defied or challenged during his stay, except once, near the end of his life and when the narrator's father was near death. Those classics will get you every time! Great question.

Answer 4

The sentence is not correct.  The phrase "took him off" is a verbal phrase which means "he was removed from something"  Such as "We took him off the plane", meaning we removed him from the plane.  There are two parts to this sentence.  The first is "He was only once crossed"  The second is different because of the word "and".  That means that something else happened either at the same time, or after, before, during, etc...

 

The only thing we know is that "He" is a male.  Also he was mad ("crossed" has two meanings--at an intersection or becoming mad. We know nothing else about this male except when he became mad--it was after a person's father became ill.

 

"Towards the end" means near the end of the time period.  For example "towards the end of the test".

 

Far gone is a verbal phrase.  This means a preposition and verb together that have special meanings.  NOT actual meanings.  In this case "far gone" means too late for something to happen.  Example, "he was far gone from his injuries"  Meaning he could not be saved.  The injuries were too bad.

 

Christopher B. Kuch, PhD.