Jim faces many struggles in Treasure Island. Some of the conflicts are emotional, like carrying on in the face of his father’s absence or dealing with the trauma of watching people die aboard the Hispaniola. The physical troubles that Jim faces are more central to the plot and revolve around the life or death nature of Jim’s journey.

At the start of the novel, Jim is given the task of watching out for Long John Silver, who is looking for Billy Bones, a sailor that arrives at the inn Jim’s father owns. Two unsavory characters visit Billy Bones, and Jim is the one who is threatened by these pirates. Jim, despite being threatened and hurt, still tries to warn Billy Bones. Billy dies of a stroke but reveals the location of a treasure map to Jim before he goes.

Jim then sets off on an adventure with some locals from Bristol and a ship's captain. Long John Silver pretends to be a cook to sneak onto the ship, and as a result, Jim has to struggle against the pirates Silver brings along. One day, when Jim is hiding in an apple barrel, he hears of Silver's plans for mutiny:

“It was Silver's voice, and before I had heard a dozen words, I would not have shown myself for all the world. I lay there, trembling and listening, in the extreme of fear and curiosity, for, in those dozen words, I understood that the lives of all the honest men aboard depended on me alone” (chapter 11).

Jim has to keep his wits about him but also let everyone know that there will be a mutiny. He then has to struggle against the odds to escape the ship without being captured, find the treasure, and outwit the pirates. He also at one point struggles against Israel Hand in hand to hand combat when he gets set adrift on a boat.

Jim Hawkins's struggles mainly relate to how he is an ordinary boy caught up in a dangerous, extraordinary situation. He lives a normal, quiet life with his mother (he recently lost his father, though this does not provide a great deal of emotional turmoil for him within the overall narrative) until adventure drops on his doorstep with the arrival of Billy.

Jim must deal with menacing characters who may or may not betray him throughout his journey, including the charismatic Long John Silver. Silver is both a father figure and an antagonistic force at times, making him an especially interesting problem for Jim to face.

Overall, Jim willingly takes up the adventure. He uses his resourcefulness to outrun and outwit his adversaries, since as a young teenage boy he hasn't much chance of physically overpowering the pirates.

By the end, Hawkins' struggles have made him a wiser, more mature person, adding a coming-of-age element to this adventure classic.

Jim Hawkins is the protagonist of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. During the story, he is an adolescent boy, enduring many hardships before he even starts on his adventure. The first struggle he faces is when the mysterious stranger, the seaman Bones, arrives at his father's inn, bringing menace and violence into his life. Next, Jim must cope with the death of his father, and the resulting economic uncertainty of his future.

After the discovery of the treasure map, Jim must make the difficult decision of whether to endure a dangerous and uncertain voyage or stay home, where he also may be threatened by pirates because of his knowledge of the treasure map. 

Once the voyage begins, his next struggle is dealing with the crew whom he discovers are an unsavory lot planning mutiny. Once they reach the island, Jim is caught up in struggles with the mutineers, and uses cunning to avoid being captured by them. He struggles to control and survive in the homemade boat, and then struggles against the pirates, even having to endure a knife wound. His final struggle is to return safely to England with a part of the treasure.