Summary of The Treasure in the Forest by H.G. Wells | Class XII English Note (Exercise)

Lesson: 4

The Treasure in the Forest by H.G. Wells

H.G. Wells (1866-1946) was an English writer. He was best known for science fiction novels. His science fiction novels are The Time Machine (1895), The Wonderful Visit (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), The First Men in the Moon (1901) and The Food of the Gods (1904). His short stories are collected in The Stolen Bacillus (1895), The Plattner Story (1897), and Tales of Space and Time (1899) and The Country of the Blind and other Short Stories (1911. This story is taken from the collection The Country of the Blind and other Short Stories.

Characters:

Evans and Hooker, two British treasure hunters

Themes:

greed, danger, betrayal, and the consequences of unchecked ambition

‘The Treasure in the Forest’ is a menacing adventure story in which two English men search for Spanish treasure, allowing greed to get the better of their awareness. The story shows how power and greed corrupt human beings.

Summary

Two English men, Evans and Hooker, are approaching an island on their canoe in the scorching sun. Hooker is in the front of the canoe. He studies the land carefully. On his knee there is a map they stole from a Chinaman, named Chang-hi whom they murdered. Chang-hi had discovered the treasure left behind by a shipwrecked Spanish warship. He dug it up and reburied it elsewhere, at a location revealed by his map. The map is folded so much that it is badly creased.

Evans and Hooker observe the map very carefully. The writing of the map is Chinese. They are puzzled by a part of the map, covered with little dashes pointing in every direction. They discover the spot indicated on the map. After beaching their canoe, they move into the interior of the island through the forest.

They soon find out the pile of stones just as the map says. Next to the pile of stones, there lies a dead Chinaman who had evidently himself been looking for the treasure. They can see some half-exposed gold bars in the hole he had been digging. They assume the dead Chinaman to have been one of Chang-hi’s friends, who claimed the treasure for himself.

Evans hurriedly moves to the hole. He bends down in the hole, and, clears off the soil with his bare hands. He quickly pulls one of the heavy masses out. As he does so a little thorn pricks his hand. He pulls the thorn out and lifts the gold bar. He takes his jacket off and spreads it on the ground. He lifts two or three gold bars onto it. He finds that another little thorn has dug into his skin.

They carry the load together. When they have gone about hundred yards, Evans’s arms start to ache. They put the coat down. Evan becomes sweaty and begins to tremble. Hooker rearranges the gold bars on the jacket after Evans collapses. He too feels a thorn prick. He thinks of the little dashes in the corner of the map. He realizes that the meaning of the little dashes on the map. The thorns are just like those that the native Dyak tribe poisons and uses in their blowing tubes. The story ends as Hooker lies dying alongside the still-shaking body of his companion.

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

a. Describe the expository scene of the story.

The expository scene of the story is set in the beginning when Evans and Hooker are in a canoe approaching an island. The description sets the scene with vivid imagery of the bay, the virgin forest, and the distant mountains.

b. What does the map look like and how do Evan and Hooker interpret it?

The map is a rough, creased, and worn piece of yellow paper. It shows the outline of the bay, a river, and a clump of palm trees. There are dotted lines and Chinese writing on the map. Evans and Hooker interpret it as a guide to the location of the treasure. The dotted lines and Chinese writing puzzle them.

c. How did Evan and Hooker know about the treasure?

They knew about the treasure from a group of Chinamen who found it on the island in a Spanish galleon.

d. Describe Evan’s dream.

In his dream, he sees the moonlit trees, a little fire burning, and the three Chinamen talking in pigeon-English. He envisions the treasure and sees Chang-hi's face, first keen and furious, then fearful, treacherous, and pitiful. In the dream, Chang-hi threatens him, and the dream turns unpleasant as he imagines heaps of gold turning into a roaring furnace.

e. What do the two treasure hunters see when they walk towards the island?

They see the strange trees, tall grass, flowers and plants, a heap of stones and a blue-coloured Chinaman lying face down when they walk towards the island.

f. In what condition did the treasure hunters find the dead man?

They found a dead Chinaman lying his face down.

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 in a stretcher type of structure using Evans’ jacket.

h. How were Evans and Hooker poisoned?

Evan and Hooker were poisoned as the thorns pricked their hands while collecting the gold.

Reference to the context

a. How do you know the story is set on a tropical island?

Evans and Hooker were approaching the island on a canoe. The sun was shining very brightly, and the air was filled with warm moisture. The sea was blazing with light. Two English men, Evans and Hooker, are approaching an island on their canoe in the scorching sun. In this way, it can be said that the story was set on a tropical island.

b. Why do you think Evan and Hooker took such a risk of finding the buried treasure in a desert island?

Action of the story takes place during Victorian times at the peak of the British Empire. The idea of the British was seeking new land to colonize, obtain resources and slaves. However, this wasn’t the purpose of Evan and Hooker, but to obtain the lost Spanish treasure for self- gain.

c. Do you think the narrator of the story is racist? If yes, what made him feel superior to other races?

I think the narrator of the story is racist. Throughout the story there are hints of racism with comments like ‘the life of a Chinaman is scarcely sacred like a European.’, and ‘All Chinamen are alike.’

d. What do you think is the moral of the story?

The story shows a moral of what goes around comes around. Evans and Hooker killed a Chinaman and they get killed in the end. Furthermore, they saw a dead man by the poisonous thorns, yet they never stopped to think how this could have happened, causing them to get killed.