# Otto — A High Wind in Jamaica character guide

> Otto in A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Otto, III Otto

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A pirate crewman who coaches the Thornton children through a careful lie, Otto carries the nervous burden of a secret he doubts anyone can keep.

## Who they are

Otto is the pirate who must prepare the captured Thornton children to be handed off to a steamer bound for England, feeding them a cover story about rescue rather than piracy. His anxiety is the scene's engine: he watches Emily's gentle, unreadable stare and silently despairs that she cannot hold a secret for ten seconds, even as she agrees with unnerving ease. His awkward, tender handling of the children — and his failure to fully trust them — makes him the human face of the crew's precarious deception.

## Relationships

### [Captain Jonsen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/characters/captain_jonsen)

_professional_

Captain Jonsen commands Otto as a crew member, relying on him for practical tasks but sharing little personal connection.

### [Emily Thornton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/characters/emily_thornton)

_social_

Emily interacts with Otto as a crew member, often with a cool, unemotional demeanor that puzzles him.

### [Captain Jonsen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/characters/captain_jonsen)

_professional_

Captain Jonsen commands Otto as a crew member, relying on him for practical tasks but sharing little personal connection.

### [Emily Thornton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/characters/emily_thornton)

_social_

Emily interacts with Otto as a crew member, often with a cool, unemotional demeanor that puzzles him.

### [Emily Thornton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/characters/emily_thornton)

_social_

Emily interacts with Otto as a crew member, often with a cool, unemotional demeanor that puzzles him.

### [Captain Jonsen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/characters/captain_jonsen)

_professional_

Captain Jonsen commands Otto as a crew member, relying on him for practical tasks but sharing little personal connection.

## In the story

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/v)

The mate; tells the story of Parson Audain and the Bishop anecdote; shaves and puts on shore clothes as a gesture of defiance after being relieved at the wheel.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/vi)

Otto interacts with the children, sometimes playing the role of a caretaker. His demeanor is a mix of gruffness and hidden tenderness.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii)

Margaret follows him around the deck for a time after the incident.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii)

Teaches Emily knots, complains about Jonsen, and is mauled by the tiger during the forced duel.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/i)

Otto is haunted by the image of Margaret's face as she was thrown into the sea.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii)

Like Jonsen, he is preoccupied and rarely visits; Emily is slightly less fond of him than of Jonsen.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii)

At the wheel, laughs at the children's antics and later returns the slipper to Jonsen.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ix)

Otto interacts with the children in a rough but not malicious way, contributing to the strange normalcy of their situation.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/ii)

Observes Jonsen's erratic behavior, questions his plans, and helps with the schooner's disguise by sewing a patch on the mainsail.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii)

Instructs Emily and Margaret to lie about their capture, feeling anxious about whether Emily can keep the secret.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iv)

Remains sober with Jonsen, does not answer a question about a boy who broke his neck.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/iii)

Otto is imprisoned in Newgate along with Captain Jonsen and the crew.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/v)

Jonsen's lieutenant, also liked by the children.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/chapters/vii)

Bends over and kisses Jonsen's forehead before the execution.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/characters/otto
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_high_wind_in_jamaica_se/characters