''Escape to Last Man Peak'' is a popular Jamaican
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
written by Jamaican author
Jean D'Costa
Jean Constance D'Costa (born 13 January 1937) is a Jamaican children's novelist, linguist, and professor emeritus. Her novels have been praised for their use of both Jamaican Creole and Standard English.
Early life and education
Jean Constance ...
. First published in 1975, it chronicles the adventure of ten orphans who embark on a dangerous journey across
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
in search of a new home, after a deadly
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
epidemic
An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics ...
kills the caretakers of their orphanage and propels the country into a state of anarchy and desolation.
Containing elements of
social science fiction
Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropolo ...
, the text examines genuine
human nature
Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...
in conditions of chaos and despair, and explores how determination and self-will can help people achieve the unthinkable. While narrated in
standard English
In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
, the
dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
is written in Jamaican
Creole (see
Jamaican Patois
Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English wo ...
). The novel was a standard text for English courses for first- or second-year high-school students, although it is now used less frequently. The novel is considered one of Jamaica's great works of fiction.
Plot
At the beginning of the novel, the
narrator
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...
, 11-year-old Nellie Atkins, as well as nine other children at the Sunrise Home Orphanage (Jimmy; Pauline; Sylvia; Wuss Wuss; Gerald; Frankie; Myrna; Pet and Precious) are informed by a
policeman
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
that the
matron
Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies.
Etymology
The chief nurse, in other words the person ...
of their
orphanage
An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
has died in the hospital from the pneumonia epidemic (referred to as "the sickness") that is raging through the country. Afraid that they will be made to work in a
labour camp
A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...
, the children are at first desolate; however they later learn that 11-year-old Wuss Wuss, a shy
albino
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.
Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
boy, is the secret owner of a house and a very large
plot of land
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ot ...
on the other side of the island called Last Man Peak, where he once lived with his grandfather.
Gathering the remains of food, clothing and other resources that they have left, the children skulk from the orphanage before dawn the following day. They first visit their neighbor Mr. Henry, who lives about half a mile away, and he explains that his wife has died, and that he has also caught the virus. He entrusts his large
Alsatian-
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
mix Bess to Jimmy with commands for her to "guard" and follow Jimmy. After a tearful goodbye, the children set off to their other remaining friend, the old Teacher Mack. Teacher Mack gives the children useful advise on how to travel, and the route they are to take, and repeatedly cautions them to avoid being seen by others.
After the children leave Teacher Mack, they trudge onward through fields and forest lands, and at nightfall, sleep in an old deserted hut by the path. During the night, Nellie and Jimmy hear footsteps outside and realize that someone has seen them; however, Bess' barking chases the assailants away. The following day, the children hear the sounds of drumming and singing, and are soon approached by a group of mysterious people dressed in white robes. The group, which is really a
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
that believes that
sacrificing children can prevent/cure the sickness, attacks the children. While the children eventually escape, Bess is stabbed at the neck (although the wound is shallow as her collar deflected the knife's impact), and Wuss Wuss is injured. Later, the children face more danger when a woman begins to shoot at them with a rifle.
Increasing threats of human confrontation force the group of children to forge a path along a more hilly and shrubbery terrain. Someone then notices that Bess is missing, and the group begins to contemplate whether it is safe to even continue on the journey. While resting near a ravine, Wuss Wuss claims he hears a baby crying, and is determined to go into the ravine to investigate. There they discover Bess, a donkey, a small boy of about seven years old, and a baby all partially submerged in a pool at the bottom of the ravine. Wuss Wuss acts at once, and with the help of Nellie and Pauline, saves the two children from drowning, and the group is reunited with Bess. The following day, the children are surprised to meet a friendly
Rastafarian
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...
and self-proclaimed
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
named Isaiah at
Brown's Town
Brown's Town is one of the principal towns in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica.[Brown's Town](_blank)
In 1991, it ...
,
Saint Ann
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come ...
, and he, along with his neighbors Mr and Mrs Jarrett, offer the children refuge for a day. They hold a feast for the children, which the entire community attends, and they hail the children as a sign of "better things to come". On their departure the next day, Isaiah and the Jarretts give the children food and water for the next stage of their journey, and two calves, as a Christmas gift.
At Goodhope, a town located a few miles from Last Man Peak, the children learn that a dangerous gang, known as the "Goodhope Boys", who have been looting and attacking and people, are living in an old abandoned hotel by the side of the road. As the group deduces, it would be dangerous to steal past the hotel, since they may be discovered and followed to as far as Last Man Peak, and would never feel safe from future attack. However, Gerald formulates a plan that he believes will ensure the group's safe passage to Last Man Peak. In the pitch dark of the night, while the Goodhope Boys prepares to sleep, the older children masquerade themselves in glowing, scary outfits, and with Bess and the animals, perform a strident, eerie song and dance on the front lawn. Believing the raucous to be the work of ghosts, the Goodhope Boys flee their home in terror.
The next day, on
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
, approximately two weeks after the children of Sunrise Home began their journey, they reach their destination.
Characters
* Nellie Atkins
* James "Jimmy" Anderson
* Myrna Campbell
* Ronald
* Pauline Jenkins
* Franklyn "Frankie" Phipps
* Prince "Wuss-Wuss" Jones
* Sylvia Chin
* Gerald Lambert
* Teacher Mack
* Mr. Henry
* Petisha "Pet" and Precious King (twins)
* Andrew "Fudge" George
* Bess
Background and theme
D'Costa is a linguistic scholar who specializes in Caribbean language and
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
, and the language dynamics of ''Escape to Last Man Peak'' has received praise from various critics. While the narrative of ''Escape to Last Man Peak'' is written in
standard English
In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
, the
dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
of the story is indicative of the
Jamaican creole
Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English wo ...
. Reviewer Francis M Shim has praised D'Costa for her use of language in her stories, and has stated that "the language is boldly Jamaican, with all the dialogue passages being in the dialect." This has the effect of positively affirming the Jamaican identity, and providing a story to which the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
student can immediately relate. In ''Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook'',
Daryl Cumber Dance
Daryl Cumber Dance (born January 17, 1938) is an American academic best known for her work on black folklore.
Biography
Daryl Veronica Cumber was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Allen and Veronica Bell Cumber. She attended Ruthville High School in ...
writes, "In ''Escape to Last Man Peak'' one recognizes a successful attempt to normalize a situation in language long seen as problematic for the Jamaican child and to put it into perspective. D'Costa's style moves easily between the prose and the narrative passages— a relaxed and flexible rendering of educated local usage— and the dialogue ranging from broad vernacular to English, showing only slight Creole interference."
[Cumber Dance, ''Fifty Caribbean Writers'', p. 162.]
References
External links
*
Escape to Last Man Peak' at
Longman Caribbean catalog.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escape To Last Man Peak
Jamaican novels
Novels about orphans
1975 novels
Novels set in Jamaica