Recognition in the literary sense is the point at which a character understands his or her situation as it really is. This point in the plot occurs after Jim eavesdrops on Silver and his crew speaking about mutiny, he describes being overwhelmed by being responsible for "the lives of all the honest men aboard depended upon [him] alone" (99). From this point on the conflict of the novel changes from obtaining the treasure to extinguishing a mutiny or else die in the process. The rest of the novel revolves around the pirate crew and the loyal crew battling for the treasure.
Reversal
The point at which the action of the plot turns in an unexpected direction for the protagonists. There are various points within the novel where events take Jim Hawkins on a different path from what he was previously traversing. For instance, when Pew breaks into the Admiral Benbow looking for Flint's Fist it immediately falls on Jim to keep the treasure chest's contents from falling into the wrong hands, thus Jim takes the objects to Doctor Livesey and Squire Trelawney. From there a reversal occurs from Jim being just the son of an Inn keeper to a treasure hunter. This transition is one of the most obvious examples of the reversal of Jim's circumstances.
Later in the novel while on the Island Jim and the rest of the loyal crew's situation isn't looking very favorable until Jim recaptures the Hispaniola thereby reversing their situation for the better. This point in the novel also marks a reversal within Jim as well, by accomplishing this awesome task alone he has become a heroic young man rather than a helpful boy of the crew.