Questions About A High Wind in Jamaica

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Can anyone recommend any other books, fiction or nonfiction, which describe children under 10 as well as 'high wind'?

LobZig What about Lord of the Flies by Golding? Not all of them were in age under 10 but still the book rests on children psychology and social behaviour

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What about Margaret? Do we know why she was even in this story? More a cipher than a character, she barely appears in Jamaica, then separates from the other children and disappears into the hold of the schooner, turns up again from time to time, then ends up mute and presumably insane in the end. Is her alienation from the group related to her age, on the cusp of adolescence? Does Emily know what happened to her?

slauderdale I wonder if the author is implying that, because Margaret is no longer in the "child" camp, she is less able to cope than the children. She doesn't "i…moreI wonder if the author is implying that, because Margaret is no longer in the "child" camp, she is less able to cope than the children. She doesn't "innocence" as a protection, and she sees Horrors that they don't. And experiences some that they don't as well: probable rape/molestation, illness, "contempt" from the crew, and then attempted murder when she is thrown in the ocean and nearly drowns.

It may also be a contrast in two individuals' responses to trauma: how Margaret comes out of it and how Emily does.(less)

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Cricket Muse Hughes has captured well how a child copes with trauma. I don’t see Emily as a psychopath. I see her more as suffering PTSD. Reading Lord of the Flies…moreHughes has captured well how a child copes with trauma. I don’t see Emily as a psychopath. I see her more as suffering PTSD. Reading Lord of the Flies helps point out how children drop civility when exposed to a life of no boundaries—ships full of lawless men or an island with no adults. Both authors captured the coping mechanisms of not having ground rules to corral their tendencies toward savagery. Once Emily was again living with societal boundaries she adjusted.(less)

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