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| Plot Summary of A High Wind In Jamaica |
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"A quarter century before _Lord of the Flies_, Richard Hughes published this chilling tale of children's amorality set in the early 19th century. The five young Bas-Thorntons live on the family's run-down sugar plantation in Jamaica until a slight earthquake, a hurricane, and the much more devastating (to them) death of their cat inspires their parents to send them back to England for school. But their ship is attacked by pirates off the coast of Cuba and the children (along with two creole neighbor kids) end up on the pirates' ship. Primitive drives and forces are unleashed in the kids, and the misunderstandings and mutual exploitations of the children and their captors (who come across as inept and innocent compared to the fierce machinations of the children) make for very black comedy indeed. Hughes used the new theories of Freud to rip the sentimental Victorian notion of the innocence of children. Not well known today, this book was voted one of the top 100 novels of the 20th century by Random House/Modern Library. (Someone should make a movie of it!)"
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of A High Wind In Jamaica |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story
- 19th century
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Wild kid(s)?
- acting savage/like animals
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
Profession/status:
- killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 7 (a good amount)
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- The Caribbean
Water?
Yes
Water:
- drowning
- sail boat
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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