We get a look at the wonders and dangers of Jamaica in A Plague of Zombies Section 4. There’s also a set up of the things to come.
Lord John Grey is getting ready for bed in this chapter. He doesn’t wait for Tom to help him undress. It’s clear that he is wiped out from the traveling and the initial experience of Jamaica. There is still much more to come, though.
Breaking down A Plague of Zombies Section 4
The section starts with John getting to his room and undressing, without waiting for Tom. We all know how Tom would react to that. He’s so particular about John’s clothing—in fact, anyone’s clothing.
John takes in the beauty of Jamaica outside. There is the sound of distant thunder, but for now, the sea looks calm and beautiful in the night sky. However, there is a reminder of some of the dangers to come in this country. There’s a mosquito net around the bed, a reminder that the mosquitoes can cause harm. It’s easy to overlook the issues with malaria.
This isn’t the first time John has had the reminder of malaria. There was a moment in a previous book where he found out that a murder suspect was sick with malaria. He doesn’t want anything like that to happen to him.
His thoughts then move to the things to come. Cherry wants to visit the judge from the maroons’ case to see what actually happened there. Fettes would like to talk to the previous superintendent of the maroons to see what the case there was. It makes sense to divide and conquer to be honest, so I don’t blame them for wanting to split up. The sooner they can deal with this, the sooner John can get back to England.
And he wants to get back to England. He has thoughts of Jamie Fraser in this chapter.
The chapter ends with Tom coming in to prepare John for bed. I do love how Tom has stuck with John this whole time after the initial novella.
Could this chapter be used in a TV show adaptation?
If A Plague of Zombies was adapted, I could see this section being skipped over. There isn’t much going on that can’t be told to us in another part of the story. Plus, this is all internalized. We could see John walking into his quarters and seeing the netting—as a visual reminder for the viewers of the dangers. However, there’s no need to really go into the details of what Cherry and Fettes want to do. This could be kept for the dinner table scene from the previous chapter.
We have to remember how books and TV shows require something slightly different to get the story across. This is one of those cases where the chapter simply doesn’t work.
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