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The Treasure in the Forest Class 12 Summary | Questions & Answers | Neb Compulsory English | H. G. Wells | Neb English Notes
The Treasure in the Forest by H.G. Wells
MAIN SUMMARY
The Treasure in the Forest by H.G. Wells
This short fictional story, "The Treasure in the Forest," is a suspenseful one that was published in the year 1894. It was written by an American writer, H. G. Wells.
We find the main theme in the story to be greed and its destructive results. It has presented the bitter reality that greed and power always corrupt human beings and invite destructive consequences in human beings' lives. The story has shown the concept that the end of greed is always destructive.
This story is about the ominous adventure of two English men and their search for Spanish treasure, who have become victims of their greed and power. There are three main characters in the story. Two of them are English men named Evans and Hooker, whereas one is a Chinese man named Chang hi.
When the story starts, we find Evans and Hooker in a small canoe. They were very close to the island. Both of them were on a whole-night voyage. They looked extremely tired and thirsty. Both were badly in need of water to quench their thirst at first. They had an old yellow-coloured map regarding the treasures of the island. It was blurred and creased due to much folding.
They discussed the map and fixed the location of three palm trees on the island as the exact location of the treasure. They got confused when they saw the sharp dots and even the writing on the map at the bottom.
Evans started dreaming on the boat about the treasure and the Chinaman Chang hi while Hooker was paddling the canoe. In Evans' dream, he saw himself and Hooker both in the forest. As they moved ahead, they saw three Chinesemen behind bushes sitting in front of a fire and talking about the treasure in quiet voices. Both of them came to know that Chang hi had once gotten a chance to hide the gold secretly on the island during a Spanish shipwreck. Chang hi had gotten the gold from the galleon and hid on the island alone.
A bit later, the dream of Evans changed all of a sudden. He saw himself catching the neck of Chang hi, who was furious. He even saw gold in huge portions. Later, he saw a terrible, monstrous form of Chang hi, who opened his eyes and smiled a terrible and mysterious smile. Chang hi called out his name, "Evans," in his dream. Evans's dream ended.
Hooker informed Evans about the three palm trees' location. They found the river inside the forest and quenched their thirst too. After getting down on the shore, they headed to the island, making their way with a big knife. Both of them stopped to see something behind the bushes. They found a dead body lying on the grass. Evans inspected the dead body by turning it. It was the dead body of a Chinese man.
While inspecting further, Evans found a shovel, lots of dirt, and a big hole in the ground just on the left side of the dead body. He saw three palm trees in front of his eyes and even the hole, and he ran towards them. Evans became so excited to see the bars of gold inside the hole. He jumped into the hole and found lots of yellow gold bars under his feet. He cried suddenly when a little thorn pierced him. Hooker seemed worried when he looked at the dead body of the Chinaman. Evans cried again due to a little thorn on his finger. Hooker didn't feel comfortable in those surroundings. He doubted both Chinaman's death and the untouched gold bars. Being fearful, he wanted to bury the dead body of a Chinese man. Later, he also jumped into the hole.
A bit later, Evans felt pain in his arms and neck. While carrying gold bars, Evans stopped after a few minutes of walking. Hooker tried to support him, but Evans denied him coming near and helping him. He asked Hooker to collect the gold and move. Evans trembled in pain and cried.
As Hooker picked up the last piece of gold from the ground, he also felt pain in his finger due to a tiny thorn. Now he realised the sharp dots on the map. The shape of the thorns is similar to Dyaks, a poison that the Chinese use in their blowing tubes. Hooker also felt pain in his hands, arms, and neck. He felt difficulty moving his fingers properly. He sat down and started shivering. In the silent environment of the forest, he thought about Chang's smiling face and saw a big white flower. He faced his deadly end.
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SHORT STORIES IMPORTANT QUESTIONS' SOLUTION PACK
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Treasure in the Forest by H. G. Wells
BEFORE READING
Answer the following questions.
a. Have you read any stories about treasure hunting before? If yes, what is its title?
Answer:
Yes, I have read a story about treasure hunting before. Its title is "Pirate Treasure Hunt."
b. Why do you think people take risk of treasure hunting?
Answer:
I think people take the risk of treasure hunting to become prosperous in their lives.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
Answer the following questions.
a. Describe the expository scene of the story.
Answer:
The expository scene of the story opens with the description of two tired and thirsty Englishmen and their surroundings in the sea. These two men have been presented in their small canoe near the beach of a tropical island. They can easily see the empty beach, the green forest, and the mountains of the island ahead.
b. What does the map look like and how do Evans and Hooker interpret it?
Answer:
The map looks quite old, like rough paper. It is yellow and creased due to much folding. The sketch on the map is not so clear. Evans and Hooker interpret it by pointing to the different locations on it. According to them, the beach, the forest, and the mountains on the map are just in front of them, which they are watching. The carved and twisted line on the map is the river where they can easily get cold and fresh water. According to them, the blue star's location is the exact spot of treasure where three palm trees are standing near the river, somewhere deep in the forest. They ignore the bottom dots, which look like pieces of glass or teeth. Finally, they consider the writing Chinese because the people whom they met in the forest were Chinese men.
c. How did Evans and Hooker know about the treasure?
Answer:
Evans and Hooker knew about the treasure through three Chinese men's quiet talks in the forest. Both Evans and Hooker were there in the jungle searching for something. They happened to see the Chinese men behind some bushes in the forest. The Chinese men were sitting in front of a fire and talking quietly about the treasure in an English accent. Evans and Hooker moved closer to them stealthily and heard their plan related to the hidden Spanish treasure.
d. Describe Evans's dream.
Answer:
Evans's dream was so strange and mysterious. He dreamt of it sitting on his boat, closing his eyes. He saw different things in his dream at once after closing his eyes. He saw himself and his friend Hooker in the forest, searching for something. They saw three Chinese men who were sitting in front of a fire behind some bushes and talking quietly about the treasure in an English accent. Both friends moved closer to them so they could hear them properly. They got some ideas related to Spanish treasure from Chinese men. Next, Evans saw himself catching the neck of Chang-hi. Chang-hi started crying with the pleading words 'No' and 'Please'. But Evans made him quiet. Next, he saw gold in huge portions. Finally, he saw Chang-hi again with his eyes wide open. Chang-hi appeared like a terrible monster with a tail. He smiled mysteriously and called out Evans's name.
e. What do the two treasure hunters see when they walk towards the island?
Answer:
The two treasure hunters see various things when they walk towards the island. Firstly, they see thick bushes and cut them to make their way ahead. Later, they see big white flowers, which they haven't seen before. Finally, they see the dead body of a Chinese man whose face is down on the grass.
f. In what condition did the treasure hunters find the dead man?
Answer:
While they moved carefully ahead, chopping thick bushes and big white flowers, they found the dead man. The dead man's body was in a miserable state. The face of the dead man was down on the grass. When Evans inspected the dead body, he found a Chinese man. The dead body's face was black and purple. It was about a month old.
g. How did the treasure hunters try to carry gold ingots to the canoe?
Answer:
They tried to carry gold ingots to the canoe with great difficulty. The coat was quite heavy due to the heavy gold bars. Both of them pulled the coat out of the hole, helping each other. They decided to take the gold home. Evans stopped and rested at first. Next, he dropped the coat, and the gold bars fell to the ground. They started trembling and feeling pain in their arms and necks. They failed to reach the canoe, along with the gold bars, at last.
h. How were Evans and Hooker poisoned?
Answer:
Evans and Hooker were poisoned due to their carelessness. They didn't have proper knowledge about the sharp dots on the map at the bottom. Evans was poisoned at first inside the hole while touching gold bars. He got poisonous Dyaks thorns in his fingers twice. Hooker got the same thorn in the ground while picking up the last gold bar. The poisonous thorns started showing their reactions. Both felt pain in their arms and necks. They trembled in pain and died at last.
REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT
a. How do you know the story is set on a tropical island?
Answer:
I know the story is set on a tropical island simply because of its setting. The story presents a tropical desert island far away from human habitation. The tropical island simply has a hot climate. Here in the story, we find an island with a hot climate. This island is located quite far away and is surrounded by the sea. The characters in the story are seen as tired and thirsty due to their whole-night voyage and the excessive heat in the island's region. Another feature of a tropical island is the rainforest. We can see the rainforest here in this story, where two characters find a river and quench their thirst with fresh, clean, and cold water. Here, thick bushes and big white flowers, which the characters see on their way, are mostly seen on tropical islands. All these things in the story reveal the fact that the story is set on a tropical island.
b. Why do you think Evan and Hooker took such a risk of finding the buried treasure on a desert island?
Answer:
I think Evans and Hooker took such a risk of finding the buried treasure on a desert island to be prosperous in their lives. Their economic status isn't good. They are poor treasure hunters, as mentioned in the text. They are seeking a glorious chance to improve their lifestyle. They feel so good to hear Chinese men's secret talks related to the treasure in a deep forest on a deserted island. They attack a Chineseman and snatch a map from him, bearing risks. They want to improve their poor conditions at any cost. Their greed for becoming rich and prosperous makes them undertake this venture.
c. Do you think the narrator of the story is racist? If yes, what made him feel superior to other races?
Answer:
By racist, we mean a person who believes that a particular race is superior to others and discriminates against other races. Yes, I think the narrator of the story is racist. After reading this story, I got the idea that the narrator has a feeling of racism. Here, the narrator has presented himself as superior while narrating the story and describing its events and characters. We find him addressing the characters in a very biassed manner. He has even discriminated against the characters according to their race while describing them.
In the story, he has addressed the characters by their racial or ethnic groups. He has introduced them to "two Englishmen" and "three Chinese men." Here, addressing the characters in this manner shows the narrator's pride in his race. He seems to have a dominating nature while describing them.
Next, he has even made a biassed comparison between two Englishmen and Chinese men. He has shown the superiority of Englishmen over Chinese men. Chinese men have been presented as people from marginalised groups. Both Englishmen kill an innocent Chinese man, Chang-hi, brutally. Here, the narrator has presented Englishmen's superiority over Chinese men.
The superiority of the narrator is seen in the story most of the time. His description seems quite biased. His narrating style is one of dominance, where he has discriminated against the characters in the matter of racism.
d. What do you think is the moral of the story?
Answer:
I think the moral of the story is the bad consequences of greed and power. The story presents the downfall of two Englishmen due to their greed and misuse of power. Both of them became victims of greed and power. Thus, we should not run after greed and power. Greed always invites destructive consequences in our lives.
REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT
a. Interpret the story as a mystery story.
Answer:
A mystery is defined as something that is a secret, something where there is no clear explanation, something difficult to understand or explain, or something unexplainable or unsolvable. The basic elements of a mystery story are characters, setting, plot, problem, and solution. Among these basic elements, we find a variety of aspects, which are: suspense, crime, witnesses, mysterious locations, red herrings, clues, investigations, etc. The story of a mystery arouses readers' interest and curiosity.
The story "The Treasure in the Forest" by H. G. Wells has all the basic elements of a mystery story. The story has fine descriptions of its mysterious setting and characters. It has a fine plot with various twists in the characters' situations. This story has kept all its readers in very suspenseful situations till its end. The readers of this story become too curious to know about the next events. We find the crime of murder of the character named Chang-hi by Evans and Hooker. The story moves along with the clues on the map and the characters' acts. The fearful surroundings of the forest and the final, painful deaths of the characters create a kind of suspense among the readers. The poisonous thorns appear to be the main cause of the deaths of the characters. All these things prove this story to be a mystery.
b. Treasure hunting is a favourite subject of children’s stories. Remember a treasure hunting story you read in your childhood and compare and contrast it with ‘The Treasure in the Forest.
Answer:
Treasure-hunting stories are so interesting to read. I also read a treasure-hunting story in my childhood. The story that I read in my childhood was in the cartoon version. The title of that story was "Sindbad and the Treasure Island." This story of treasure hunting is about the main character Sindbad's adventure on a mysterious island, where he has to face various fearful experiences. Now, I'm going to compare and contrast Sindbad's story with that of H.G. Wells's "The Treasure in the Forest." Some of the comparisons and contrasts are as follows:
1. Both stories are related to treasure hunting, and the sets of the stories are on islands.
2. The expository scene of "The Treasure in the Forest" opens with two characters, Evans and Hooker, in their small canoe in the sea, whereas "Sindbad and the Treasure Island" opens with Sinbad's adventure in the desert with his horse. Later, he makes his own boat to sail.
3. Hooker and Evans reach the island the next day of their voyage, whereas Sindbad reaches the island after three days and nights.
4. We find the search for water in both of the stories. Evans and Hooker get cold and fresh water in the middle of the forest and quench their thirst in the river, whereas Sindbad drinks water from a huge spring.
5. Evans and Hooker walk on the island for some time and see a dead body behind bushes, whereas Sindbad encounters various terrible skeleton ghosts and fights with them.
6. Evans and Hooker find gold inside a hole just on the left side of the dead body. They have a map, too. But Sindbad finds the treasure inside a mountain's cave. He also has a map related to the treasure.
8. Both Evans and Hooker die due to the poisonous thorns at the end of the story. They lose their lives. But Sindbad calls his friends at the end and takes away the treasure safely.
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