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''New Day'' marks Jamaican writer V. S. Reid's first novel published in 1949. On its release, Reid’s fictional and historical narrative was well received by the literary audience and “caught hold of people’s imagination in a kind of way that () couldn’t imagine would happen in Jamaica.”〔Reid, V. S. (1 May 1986), “The Writer & His Work: V. S. Reid". Edited transcript of a talk given by Vic Reid in the Caribbean Seminar Series of the Faculty of Arts at the Mona Campus of the U.W.I.〕 Unprecedented in its use of Jamaican vernacular as the language of narration, ''New Day'' stands as the first Jamaican novel to apply this stylistic device, according to Mervyn Morris.〔Morris, Mervyn. “Introduction” to V. S. Reid’s ''New Day''. Caribbean Writers Series 4. Kingston & London: Heinemann, 1973.〕 Reid had employed the Jamaican dialect as a springboard for creating a distinctive literary variant and for achieving a greater depth in the English language.〔Cooke, Michael G., “V. S. (Vic) Reid”, ''Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 125: Caribbean and Black African Writers'', second series. Detroit: Gale Research, 1993, pp. 256-60.〕 Reid was motivated to write ''New Day'' by his discontentment with how the leaders George William Gordon and Paul Bogle of the Morant Bay Rebellion (1865) were depicted in the foreign press; by reworking as characters in his novel those who had been negatively portrayed as rebels, he aimed to refute what he viewed as unfair misrepresentations of history.〔 The Morant Bay uprising also provided the historical backdrop for a number of works written by Reid's literary counterparts, most notably fellow Jamaican writer Roger Mais. Mais's play ''George William Gordon'' also functioned to repair the historical figure Gordon, who had been portrayed as a villain in prevailing narratives of colonialism, as a martyr and hero for Jamaican nationalism. ==Plot summary== ''New Day'' recounts the story of Jamaica's first outcry against the English Crown rule that cemented a socio-economic and political framework of oppression three decades post-emancipation. The novel is framed as the aged narrator John Campbell's account of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 and the series of uprisings and negotiations that finally culminates in the creation of the New Constitution in 1944. Recognized for its particular approach to the historical novel, the narrative opens with the elderly narrator John Campbell reminiscing of his family and country's long-standing history over the course of 79 years, as he lies awake on the eve of Jamaica's Constitution Day and his memory refuses to elude him. The narrative quality of ''New Day'' is evident when the aged narrator transitions from past-tense into present voice as old Campbell struggles to recall the events of the past (“remember I remember”).〔Reid, V. S. ''New Day''. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949.〕 The protagonist John Campbell, of both African and European descent, is a member of a family that has risen to greater standing with each generation. Since the abolishment of slavery, Campbell explains that the large estates in Jamaica have ceased to function. Many droughts devastate the island and the state of the poor population only worsens. Anger and resentment grow towards the Governor's administration and the wealthy land-owners, in turn sparking the Morant Bay Rebellion. John's older brother Davie Campbell, whom John idolizes, joins forces with the Jamaican radicals of Stoney Gut. The British open fire on and kill forty men from Stoney Gut and Morant Bay. The rebels kill 40 militiamen in retaliation. Although John's father, Pa John Campbell, is a peaceful and devoted Christian, he and all of his family, excluding John and Davie, are eventually killed by the time the English stop the reign of terror that Governor Eyre deemed to be the solution to the rebellion. Subsequently, John escapes with Davie and Lucille Dubois, the girl who marries Davie. The three proceed to live on a small cay until the English have stopped hunting them. It is not James Creary, son of Lucille and David, but their grandson Garth Creary who assumes leadership in the struggle. Garth, a wealthy lawyer and businessman, is ultimately responsible for executing the series of propaganda, lawsuits, strikes, and negotiations that eventually pave the way for a new Jamaican constitution. The new political day is celebrated on the morning following old John Campbell's long and restless night. Jamaica's partial self-government gives way to the country's "New Day".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New Day (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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