4th Story
The Treasure in the Forest
H.G. Wells
"The Treasure in the Forest" is a short story by H.G. Wells,
written in 1894. It is full of adventure, suspense, and a little horror.
The story shows what can happen when people become too greedy and ignore the
dangers around them.
About the Writer
H.G.
Wells (1866–1946) was a famous English writer, best
known for his science fiction. His stories often talk about human ambition, science, and the problems they can cause.
In this story, he moves away from science fiction to tell a lesson about greed and danger.
Characters
1.
Evans – One of the two treasure seekers. Evans is impulsive and
driven by greed. His carelessness leads to his fatal encounter with the
poisonous plants.
2.
Hooker – The more cautious of the two, Hooker tries to assess the
situation but is ultimately powerless to save Evans or himself.
3.
Chang-hi – The Chinese man who originally owned the treasure map. He
is killed by Evans and Hooker, but his knowledge of the trap indirectly leads
to the deaths of the two men.
Themes
- Greed
and Its Consequences –
Evans and Hooker’s desire for wealth leads to their demise, illustrating
how blind ambition can be self-destructive.
- Nature
as an Adversary –
The tropical forest, with its hidden dangers, serves as a reminder of
humanity’s vulnerability in the face of nature’s power.
- Moral
Retribution –
The deaths of Evans and Hooker can be seen as a form of poetic justice for
their betrayal and murder of Chang-hi.
Summary
"The Treasure in the Forest" by H.G. Wells is a
short story about two adventurers, Evans and Hooker, who set out to retrieve a
hidden treasure in a remote tropical forest. The story begins with the two men
rowing ashore after sailing to an isolated island, guided by a map they obtained
by killing a Chinese man named Chang-hi. As they enter the dense forest, they
are driven by the promise of wealth but are also uneasy, haunted by the memory
of Chang-hi’s sinister smile before his death. The oppressive heat and silence
of the forest add to their growing sense of unease.
Following the map’s directions,
Evans and Hooker discover the treasure’s location, marked by peculiar white,
spiky plants. Eager to uncover the gold, Evans begins digging immediately,
despite the strange appearance of the plants. In his haste, he pricks his
finger on one of the spines but dismisses it as unimportant. As the men unearth
the hidden treasure, Evans starts to feel weak and numb. The effects of the
poisonous plants quickly spread through his body, causing paralysis.
Hooker, realizing the danger too
late, tries to help Evans but can only watch as his companion succumbs to the
poison. In a desperate attempt to save himself, Hooker begins to feel the same
creeping paralysis as he inadvertently comes into contact with the plants. The
story ends with both men falling victim to the trap left by Chang-hi, who had
carefully protected the treasure with deadly plants, ensuring that anyone who
betrayed him would not live to enjoy their spoils.
The Treasure in the Forest serves as a
cautionary tale about greed and the consequences of deceit. Evans and Hooker’s
relentless pursuit of wealth blinds them to the dangers around them, leading to
their downfall. The hostile environment of the jungle, combined with Chang-hi’s
clever use of nature as a weapon, highlights the story’s central theme – which
nature and fate often conspire against those who seek to profit at the expense
of others.
Understanding
the text
Answer
the following questions.
a. Describe the
expository scene of the story.
The expository scene of The
Treasure in the Forest sets the tone for the story by immersing the
reader in an atmosphere of unease and foreboding. It opens with Evans and
Hooker rowing a small boat toward the shore of a remote tropical island. The
dense, silent forest looms ahead, creating a sense of isolation and danger. As
they make their way through the humid jungle, the men’s tense conversation
reveals that they obtained the treasure map by murdering a Chinese man named
Chang-hi. Evans recalls Chang-hi’s cryptic, mocking smile before his death,
hinting at the possibility of a hidden danger. This opening scene establishes
key elements – the characters' greed, the mysterious treasure, and the
foreshadowing of the peril that lies ahead – drawing the reader into a
narrative of suspense and inevitable doom.
b.
What does the map look like and how do Evan and Hooker interpret it?
The map in The Treasure in
the Forest is described as a rough, hand-drawn sketch, likely created
by Chang-hi, the Chinese man Evans and Hooker killed to obtain it. It is simple
yet cryptic, with markings indicating the location of the hidden treasure
within the dense tropical forest. The map shows a path leading inland from the
shore, with landmarks such as trees and rocks used to guide the treasure
seekers to the precise spot where the gold is buried.
Evans and Hooker interpret the map
with confidence, believing it to be accurate and straightforward. They follow
the directions carefully, eager to claim the treasure. However, they overlook
potential warnings and dismiss Chang-hi’s eerie smile as meaningless. Their
interpretation focuses solely on the reward, failing to consider the
possibility that the map might contain traps or hidden dangers – a fatal
oversight that leads to their eventual downfall.
c.
How did Evan and Hooker know about the treasure?
Evans and Hooker learned about the
treasure from Chang-hi, a Chinese man who had originally hidden it.
Chang-hi likely revealed the existence of the treasure through conversations or
indirect hints, sparking the men’s interest and greed. Driven by the desire to
claim the treasure for themselves, Evans and Hooker decided to kill
Chang-hi and steal the map that led to the hidden gold.
Although they succeeded in
acquiring the map, they overlooked Chang-hi’s cunning and vengeful
nature. Before his death, Chang-hi gave them a cryptic smile, suggesting
that he had anticipated their betrayal and had taken precautions to protect the
treasure. This foreshadowed the deadly trap that ultimately led to the demise
of Evans and Hooker.
d.
Describe Evan’s dream.
During their journey, Evan began to doze and saw a dream. Evan had a
dream about the treasure and Chang-hi. In the dream, they were in the forest
and saw a little fire where three Chinese men sat around it and talked in quiet
voices in English. Evans went closer and he knew that Chang-hi took the gold
from a h4ish galleon after shipwrecked and hide it carefully on the island. He
worked alone and it was his secret, but now he wanted help to get the gold
back. There was a battle and Chang-hi was brutally killed by them. He thought
that someone was calling him, so he suddenly woke up.
e.
What do the two treasure hunters see when they walk towards the island?
The two treasure hunters saw three palm trees, thick bushes and dim
white flowers at the mouth of the stream when they walk towards the island.
They also saw the dead body of Chinese man named Chang-hi which makes both of
them surprised.
f. In
what condition did the treasure hunters find the dead man?
When Evan and Hooker reached the place where the treasure was buried,
they saw a dead man lying in a clear space among the trees with a puffed and
purple neck and swollen hands and ankles.
g.
How did the treasure hunters try to carry gold ingots to the canoe?
The treasure hunters tried to carry gold ingots to the canoe with the
help of the coat of which one end of the collar catching by the hand of Hooker
and the other collar by Evan.
h.
How were Evan and Hooker poisoned?
Evan and Hooker were poisoned as a slender (thin) thorn nearly of two
inches length pricked in Hooker’s thumb and Evan rolled over him and both of
them crumpled together on the ground which made them suffered a lot.
Reference
to the Context
a.
How do you know the story is set on a tropical island?
The story’s setting on a tropical
island is conveyed through vivid descriptions of the environment.
H.G. Wells paints a picture of a dense, humid forest filled with lush
vegetation and an oppressive atmosphere. The island is portrayed as remote and uninhabited,
with the “stillness of the air” and the “steamy heat” evoking
the sense of a tropical climate. The forest is described as thick and
tangled, with white, spiky plants that thrive in the heat,
adding to the exotic and hazardous nature of the landscape.
Additionally, Evans and Hooker’s
arrival by boat and their journey from the shoreline into
the forest reinforce the sense of isolation typical of a tropical island. The
presence of hidden treasure and the mention of sailing to
this location further suggest the kind of adventure narrative often associated
with tropical, uncharted islands. These elements collectively establish the
setting as a dangerous and mysterious tropical environment.
b.
Why do you think Evan and Hooker took such a risk of finding the buried
treasure on a desert island?
I think Evan and Hooker took such a risk of finding the buried
treasure on a desert island because of their greed for wealth. They took it as
a challenge and the risks as rewards. They were also attracted by the fact that
it was the treasure left behind by a shipwrecked h4ish galleon which may cost
millions of dollars. So they became crazy about the treasure and took such a
risk of finding the buried treasure on a desert island.
c. Do
you think the narrator of the story is racist? If yes, what made him feel
superior to other races?
Yes, I find some sort of racist feelings in the narrator of the story
when he presents Evan and Hooker as superior to that of the Chinese man in the
story. In fact, a racist is a person who is prejudiced against or antagonistic
towards people based on their membership of a particular racial or ethnic
group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized. In the story, we find
the Chinese man was brutally killed by Evans and Hooker. When Hooker said to
Evans, “Have you lost your wit?”, it also reflects dominating nature of Hooker
over Ivan. Thus, many instances in the story state that the narrator of the
story looks like a racist.
d.
What do you think is the moral of the story?
The moral of the story is that peoples can do anything for money. They
can take any kind of risks for it. As in the story Evan and Hooker killed a
Chinese man brutally to get their way to treasure buried in the desert, people
can even take lives of other. It’s greed that is the disordered desire for more
than is decent, not for the greater good but one’s own selfish interest, and at
the detriment of others and society at large. Greed can be for anything but is
most commonly for money or treasures and power which is much more. At the end
of the story, Evan and Hooker both were poisoned. This shows that greediness
leads to the destruction. So we should not run behind the money and treasure,
rather than focus on our dreams and be happy with the things as much as we
have.
Reference
beyond the text
a.
Interpret the story as a mystery story.
The story “The Treasures in the Forest” is full of mystery. The story
has fine descriptions of its mysterious setting and characters. It has a fine
plot with various twists in characters’ situations.It’s hard for a reader to
predict what is going to happen next. The story is about two treasure hunters,
Evans and Hooker who seek to find the hidden treasures in the forest left
behind by a shipwrecked h4ish galleon. Some mysterious events are : Hooker
murder Chang-hi, a Chinese man to steal the treasure map. Chang-hi grins at
them when he gets murdered. They travel by canoe sailing towards the coral
island. However, neither of them understands the intention behind it. The
fearful surroundings of the forest and the final painful death of the
characters create a kind of suspense among the readers. The poisonous thorns
appear out to be the main cause of the death of the characters. All these
things prove this story as a mystery story.
b.
Treasure hunting is a favorable subject of children’s story. Remember a treasure
hunting story you read in your childhood and compare and contrast it with ‘The
Treasure in the Forest.’
One treasure-hunting story from my
childhood that comes to mind is The Swiss Family Robinson by
Johann David Wyss. In this classic adventure tale, a family is shipwrecked on a
deserted island, and they discover a wealth of natural resources, including
hidden treasure. As they explore the island, the family members embark on
various adventures to secure their survival and uncover the treasures of the
land, all while overcoming challenges and building a new life. The tone of the
story is hopeful and focuses on teamwork, resourcefulness, and optimism. The
treasure represents not just wealth but the rewards of hard work, ingenuity,
and family unity.
In contrast, The Treasure
in the Forest by H.G. Wells presents a darker and more cynical view of
treasure hunting. While both stories involve the discovery of treasure on a
remote island, the characters in Wells’ story, Evans and Hooker, are driven by
greed rather than survival or family bonding. Their betrayal of Chang-hi and
their rush to claim the treasure ultimately lead to their tragic deaths. Unlike
the resourceful, heroic spirit of the Swiss family, Evans and Hooker’s story
highlights the dangers of blind ambition and greed, offering a cautionary tale
rather than an adventurous journey. While The Swiss Family Robinson ends
on a hopeful note, The Treasure in the Forest shows how the
pursuit of wealth can lead to doom.
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