A Series of Unfortunate Events: A High Wind in Jamaica

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Abstract

Literary prose provides a viable platform from which writers present a host of views to their audience. In A High Wind in Jamaica, Hughes explores a series of unfortunate events that the characters encounter. He also underscores various survival techniques that they explore to secure their wellbeing. Most adversarial events revolve around Emily, young girl of about ten years. Although her experiences are physically and mentally distressing, she devises distinct ways through which she overcomes them. In the long run, she is reunited with her family in London and even joins school.

Key Words: Unfortunate events, survival techniques, pirates, vessel, capture

A Series of Unfortunate Events: A High Wind in Jamaica

In most of their literary works, a significant percentage of novelists aim at presenting to the reader important information in the most effective ways. To attain this, they explore a host of literary devices and develop their plots with utmost coherence. The ideas that they present are in most instances reflective of the social and economic scenarios that are apparent in their respective settings. Just like other renowned novelists, Richard Hughes has explored various themes in his literary works. Among these are the aspects of morality and survival that he has explores at length. Notably, the manner in which his characters face their challenges offers useful insights regarding effective survival techniques. In his A High Wind in Jamaica, he uses his characters to inform the reader about various survival techniques that can be explored in the face of adversity. Although most main characters are children with limited capacities who experience a series of unfortunate events, they adopt suitable survival techniques that enable them to address relative challenges with ease.

To begin with, the novel is set just after the emancipation of slaves. The society at this point in time is experiencing dynamic technological transformations. When the hurricane destroys homes, parents make the vital decision of returning to their homes. In this regard, the massive destruction of the hurricane makes the parents to seek an alternative place of residence outside the Island. They are mindful of the wellbeing of the future generations and believe that children should not be left to perish. It is for this reason that they decide that their children should be ferried to England (Hughes 31). This is a sustainable survival technique that safeguards the wellbeing of both current and future generations. At this time, it is the most viable especially considering that steamers and sailing ships are readily available to transport the children.

The second unfortunate event that sets the pace for exploration of viable survival techniques pertains to the seizure of the Clorinda by pirates. This occurs shortly after Captain Marpole leaves with the children for England. The pirates threaten to shoot the captain if he does not disclose the location of the ship’s safe. Certainly, the life of both captain Marpole and that of the children is endangered. Thinking that the children have been murdered, the captain decides to flee the scene (Swinnerton 6). This is another survival technique that enables him to safeguard his wellbeing. In addition, the captain writes a letter to the Thornton’s informing them about the murder of the children. Likewise, this letter would enable the latter to take any security action that would be within their reach in order to secure the ship.

The third unfortunate event faces Emily, one of the children. This occurs when captain Johnsen approaches her with romantic advances. Being a child of about ten years, she is psychologically traumatized as this amounts to sexual harassment. Notably, she is “frightened by the look in Johnsen’s eyes when he tries to reach her” (Johnson 6). However, Emily gains courage and bites the captain’s hand in order to protect herself from the evil that would probably ensue. This is atypical of most children of this age. According to Waksler, Emily at this point understands and appreciates the moral implications of her experience,

She had an extraordinary vivid, simple sense, that child, of Right and Wrong-it almost amounted to a precocious ethical genius. Every action, her own or any one else’s, was immediately judged good or bad, and uncompromisingly praised or blamed. She was never in doubt. (73.)

The fourth unfortunate occurrence befalls the captain of the Dutch vessel who is transporting wild animals. He is captured by the pirates and physically tortured. In particular, he is tied up and left in custody of Emily. In this respect, Harold argues that the very capture by pirates is both physically and emotionally tormenting (24). From a psychological point of view, persons who undergo such experiences tend to suffer immense psychological problems. This is because their safety is always at stake. This can be used to explain why they experience post traumatic stress disorder after the experiences. In most cases, they seek medical counseling services that enable them to appreciate their experiences and live normal lives. Although the captain of the ship transporting wild animals tried to communicate with Emily to free him, relative efforts were unsuccessful. Arguably, the efforts to communicate to Emily were aimed at safeguarding his survival.

The fifth unfortunate event involves the death of the Dutch captain. In this scenario, the author successfully exhibits two distinct survival techniques that were assumed by each character. After the Dutch captain had done all he could to communicate to Emily without success, he saw a knife and tried to reach for this. Emily becomes terrified and screams. Unfortunately, nobody hears the screams. Logically, the screams were aimed at drawing the attention of the rest of the group who would probably rescue her (Harold 24). Seeing that her life was in danger, Emily decides to save her life by stabbing the Dutch captain to death. The decision that Emily takes at this point is uncommon amongst children of her age who tend to be vulnerable. By injuring Emily, the Dutch captain was trying to secure his wellbeing. Nonetheless, his efforts were fruitless as Emily managed to stab him severally before he could achieve his goal. The crews mistake the murderer to be Margaret. They decide to throw her overboard but she is rescued.

This leads to the sixth unfortunate event. In this case, Margaret is made to pay for the murder that she did commit. Arguably, this is a survival technique that is adopted by Emily. In this regard, she remains quiet while Margaret is being implicated falsely. However, the pain that Margaret experiences as a result is immense. According to Johnson, this could have contributed in different ways to her insanity (6). From a psychological point of view, this experience culminated in an undesirable state of shock that had adverse effects on her mental wellbeing. This is a classic exemplification of vulnerability of children who face relative challenges.

The seventh unfortunate event is demonstrated when the children successfully reach London and are reunited with their families. Seemingly, they do not have clear memories regarding the occurrences in the sea. They are unable to recount the events are have only ‘partial memories of the traumatic experiences they were exposed to’ (Swinnerton 6). Margaret is insane and cannot therefore testify against the pirates. It is for this reason that Emily is chosen to testify. Nonetheless, she does not give a detailed report regarding the death of the Dutch captain. Seemingly, this is a survival technique because it prevents her from being punished. In the long run, the pirates were executed by the court. However, the evidence employed by the court in this case was not credible.

From a legal point of view, evidence presented by a child is inadmissible in the court of law. The situation is further compounded by the fact that the child was not asked any questions for clarification of the evidence. Inherent subjectivity was to a great extent contributed to the fact that Emily broke down in tears when giving evidence. Although the pirates deserved to be punished, it is important for such punishment to have been based on solid, credible and objective evidence. This is particularly because the implications of the punishment were immense. From this consideration, there execution was an unfortunate event.

Regardless of being children with limited abilities, Hughe’s main characters devise viable ways to successful deal with the challenges they encounter. At the beginning of the novel, the parents decide that their children be taken to England after a destructive hurricane. The vessel transporting the children is captured by the pirates along the way. Fearing that the children could have been murdered, captain Marpole flees from the scene of capture. He however informs the parents of the children about the presumed murder. However, the children were not murdered and they undergo various distressing situations in the hands of the pirates. As it has come out from the study, Emily is the most directly affected as besides surviving attempted rape, she survives attempted murder too. Margaret is mentally tormented when she is implicated by the crew for the murder of the Dutch captain. At the end of the novel, the pirates are executed. She is saved by the pirates after she had been thrown overboard. Nonetheless, the execution is ‘unfortunate’ because it is not based on credible evidence.

Works Cited/ Annotated Bibliography

Harold Cohen. The drama desk addenda. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 1 (1943), 24. Print.

In his contribution to the Pittsburgh Post Gazzette, Harold analyzes briefs the reader about the major themes in Hughe’s A High Wind in Jamaica. Notably, these revolve around the heroism that is exhibited by all the characters. In this review, he notes that all characters exhibit their unique heroic traits. These according to him enable them to address the challenges that they encounter with ease. Undoubtedly, this information is useful for the study because of its exploration of the survival techniques that the characters adopt.

Hughes Richard. A high wind in Jamaica. USA: NYRB Classics, 1999. Print.

In his review, Hughes coherently provides the experiences of children who get captured by the pirates. Together with Emily, Margaret and the rest undergo distressing experiences in the hands of the pirates. The novel, upon which the research question is based, provides the basement for review. It was considered important for this study because it provides useful background information about the study.

Johnson William. The adolescent hero: A trend in modern fiction. Twentieth Century Literature, 5 (1959): 3-11. Print.

This study details the trends of American and English writers with respect to exploring adolescent characters. He recognized that increasingly, writers are exploring the talent of young characters by making them heroes as well as heroines in their text. He makes special reference to Hughe’s A High Wind in Jamaica and shows how the protagonist exemplifies heroism. This allows him to underscore how Emily, together with the other children survive amidst glaring adversity. For this reason, this text was considered relevant for the study under review.

Swinnerton Frank. Books: Novel changes its name for British readers; Innocent Voyage soon to be reprinted. The Chicago Tribune 1. (1926): 6

In his report to the Chicago tribune, Swinnerton indicates that there are changes in Hughe’s initial novel. He cites that its title has been change in order to suit the needs of the English audience. In this, he provides an insightful review of the novel and appreciates the fact that the current edition captures the occurrences of the original copy. Just like the primary text, this report provides important information regarding the background of the study. It is for this reason that it was considered useful for the study.

Waksler Frances. Studying children: Phenomenological Insights. Human Studies, 9 (1986): 71-82

Wakser offers an in depth analysis of use of children in American novels. He draws from psychological studies and highlights the influence that child characters have on the success of literary novels in the market. He does this in light of Hughes novel and explains the relative plot in detail. He terms the novel a literary classic and attributes its success to the exploration of the potential of child characters like Emily and Margaret.