NEB Grade 12 compulsory English 4th Story The Treasure in the Forest H.G. Wells

 4^th 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.