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The Treasure in the Forest by H. G. Wells: Summary | Questions and Answers | Class 12 English
The Treasure in the Forest by H. G. Wells
Table of Contents
GLOSSARY OF THE TEXT
The Treasure in the Forest by H. G. Wells
canoe (n.): a small, light, narrow boat, pointed at both ends and moved using a paddle
imperceptible (adj.): unable to be noticed or felt because of being very slight
obliterated (adj.): removed all signs of something, either by destroying it or by covering it so that it cannot be seen
exaltation (n.): a very strong feeling of happiness
unprovisioned (adj.): without supplies of food and other necessary things
ingot (n.): a piece of metal, usually in the shape of a narrow brick
silvered (adj.): looked white like silver
pidgin (n.): grammatically simplified language
galleon (n.): a large sailing ship with three or four masts, used both in trade and war from the 15th to the 18th centuries
exhume (v.): to dig out from the ground after it has been buried
wastrels (n.): a person who does nothing positive with his life; good for nothing
gibber (v.): to speak quickly in a way that cannot be understood
lagoon (n.): an area of sea water separated from the sea by a reef
tangle (n.): an untidy mass of things that are not in a state of order
implement (n.): a tool that works by being moved by hand
transverse (adj.): in a position or direction that is at an angle of 90° to something else
prospect (v.): to search for gold, oil, or other valuable substances on or under the surface of the earth
canopy (n.): a cover fixed over a seat or bed, etc.
incrustation (n): a layer of material, such as dirt or a chemical, that forms on something, especially slowly
sombre (adj.): dark and dull
shaft (n.): a beam of light
rosette (n.): an object or arrangement resembling a rose
swerve (v.): change or cause to change direction abruptly
prostrate (adj.): lying with the face down and arms stretched out, especially as a sign of respect or worship
moon (v.): to move or spend time in a way that shows a lack of care and interest and no clear purpose
spasmodically (adv.): related to a sudden involuntary muscular contraction
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT STORY
The Treasure in the Forest is a short fictional story that was written by the American writer H. G. Wells. It was initially published in the year 1894. This story has been taken from the collection "The Country of the Blind and Other Short Stories". This story of mystery is about the ominous adventure of two English men and their search for Spanish treasure, who become victims of their greed and power.
THEMES OF THE STORY
This is a suspenseful story that presents the theme of greed and its destructive results. This story has presented the bitter reality that greed and power always corrupt human beings and invite destructive consequences.
The writer of this story has kept all his readers in suspense till the end. He has shown the concept that the end of greed is always destructive.
MAIN CHARACTERS
There are altogether three main characters in this story. Two of them are English men named Evans and Hooker, whereas one is a Chinese man named Chang hi.
Evans and Hooker
Both Evans and Hooker are two Englishmen who set out for the Spanish treasure hunt in a forest on a desolate island. They are good friends with each other. Due to their crime and greed for the treasure, they have to lose their lives at the end of the story.
Chang hi
Chang hi is a Chinese man who hides the gold bars on the island from a Spanish shipwreck. He is also the victim of greed. He is killed by Evans because he has a map of the hidden treasure.
Other Chinesemen
They are the friends of Chang hi. They are seen with Chang hi in the forest. They are also brutally killed.
MORAL LESSONS
The Treasure in the Forest by H. G. Wells
The main moral lessons of the story "The Treasure in the Forest" are as follows:
▪︎ The path of greed and crime always leads to destructive results.
▪︎ We should be cautious most of the time. We must be prepared before going to achieve the expected outcome.
▪︎ We should make proper use of our minds in every situation of our lives.
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MAIN SUMMARY
The story starts with a description of the two Englishmen's activities and their surroundings.
Both men were close to the island. They could easily see the green forest and high mountains ahead. The beach ahead of them was empty. They seemed tired and thirsty due to their whole-night voyage and excessive heat. They wanted to find a river at first to quench their thirst. They stopped for a while on the sea and discussed in low tones, looking at a yellow-coloured old map. The sketch of the island on the map was blurred. It looked like rough paper that was creased due to much folding. It was in a fragmented state.
Hooker started telling Evans about the locations of the map, pointing his fingers at it.
Hooker informed him about the locations according to the sketch. He pointed to the spots and told Evans about the beach, forest, and mountains. He showed the location of the river on the map, pointing to carved and twisted lines where they could get cold water. Later, he pointed at the three palm trees' location and confirmed the blue star's place as the exact location of the treasure. He asked him to be careful. Evans wondered if he could find some marks at the bottom that seemed like glass or teeth. They got confused about those sharp dots and even the writing. They didn't care much about those dots. Hooker stated that the writing on the map is Chinese. They agreed, saying that they were the Chinese men.
They sat and looked towards the island quietly. A bit later, Hooker put the map back into his pocket quietly and started paddling. He was completely tired, but he kept on going. He needed water badly.
Evans was too tired. He sat in the boat with his eyes half-closed. noon was at the height of the heat. They were close to the beach and the treasure, but there was no excitement. Both of them were too tired. Evans needed urgent rest. He remained awake the whole night. He thought of various things in his mind. The need for freshwater, the motion of the body on the boat, and the sound of the waves made him sleep at the very same time. Just after closing his eyes, Evans started dreaming about the treasure and the Chinaman Chang hi.
He saw both of them in the forest during the night. They were searching for something. They saw a little fire through the trees. Both of them saw three Chinese men sitting in front of a fire and talking about the treasure in quiet voices. They were using an English accent. At first, Hooker heard their words. Both of them moved closer to hear them. Evans only got some ideas from their accent. He learned about the hidden treasure on the island from Chang hi. Once, Chang hi had a chance to hide the gold secretly on the island during a Spanish shipwreck. He had gotten the gold from the galleon and hid on the island alone. Chang hi wanted to take out the hidden gold with the help of his friends. He had a map related to the hidden treasure. For both poor Evans and Hooker, the story of Chang hi was so fine to hear. The dream of Evans changed all of a sudden. He saw himself catching the neck of Chang hi. Chang hi started crying and saying the words 'No!' and 'Please' time and again. But Evans took his map and made him quiet. Later, Evans saw the gold in huge portions. But in the meantime, he saw Chang hi, who opened his eyes and smiled a terrible and mysterious smile. Chang hi appeared like a terrible monster with a tail. Chang hi called out his name, "Evans."
Hooker made Evans awake, saying, "Evans, Evan's, you fool... When Evans opened his eyes, he found Hooker shouting. He found himself near the beach.
Hooker informed him about three palm trees in the forest. He told him that if they found the palm trees, they could easily find the treasure.
When Evans saw the river, Hooker told him about the possibility of palm trees' location near the river, deep in the forest. They were quite close to the treasure, next to some bushes.
Evans became so happy to see the river. Hooker started paddling the boat too fast. Soon their boat reached the river. They stopped their boat under a tree. After a few minutes, Evans put his hand into the river and took a drink of cold, clean water. He closed his eyes and expressed his intense happiness, saying, ‘This is good water.’ Hooker even smiled and drank too. After drinking water, they remained in the boat and rested. Hooker didn't want to go in the sun again. He wanted to remain there in the cool shadows. But Evans insisted that he move on in search of the treasure. Hooker filled up his bottle with cold water, and they started paddling their boat again. Soon, they reached the sea again. They arrived on the beach and got out. They pulled their boat onto the beach. Evans pointed towards the thick bushes and asked Hooker to move towards them. Hooker took out a big knife from his boat so that they could easily make their way ahead.
Both of them moved ahead, cutting thick bushes. There was so much cold. They decided to find the river again to find palm trees near the river quickly. They cut the big white flowers on the way ahead, but they didn't know the names of the flowers. Evans didn't care much about flowers. He was very concerned with the treasure. As they moved ahead, they stopped to see something behind the bushes. They moved ahead quite carefully. They found the dead body of a man behind the bushes. The dead man's head was down in the grass. When Evans inspected the turning-dead body, he found a Chinese man. The dead body's face was black and purple. The dead body seemed perhaps a month old. Evans found a shovel, lots of dirt, and a big hole in the ground on the left side of the body. When he looked up, he saw three palm trees. He quietly told Hooker about the palm trees, but Hooker didn't hear. Hooker also saw the hole and ran towards it. He saw gold in the hole and called Evans. Evans also came near the hole. He jumped into the hole after seeing the bars of gold. He saw yellow gold bars under his feet. When he touched the bars of gold, he cried. When he looked at his finger, he found a little thorn. He took out the thorn and cleaned the dirt from the gold bar. He found the gold bar heavy.
Hooker looked at the dead body of a Chinaman and became worried. He thought about the present circumstances. He doubted Chinaman's death and the untouched gold bars. But Evans made him quiet, saying that the snake might bite him or that he was ill. Evans asked to ignore Chinaman angrily. He took off his coat happily and put three bars of gold on its top. Evans again cried because of a little thorn on his finger. He became angry to see Hooker's worried face. He asked him to help him collect gold bars. Hooker kept on looking at the dead body of a Chinaman who looked like Chang hi. But Evans asked him to forget the dead body. Hooker wanted to bury the dead body, being fearful. Evans convinced him, saying that it wasn't Chang's body. Hooker felt too worried thinking about Chang hi. He started looking at his surroundings. He looked at the trees, the big white flowers, and again, the dead body. He felt quite a different cold in the warm forest. He felt himself quite far from his home. He doubted the dead body, whether it was smiling or not.
A bit later, Hooker also jumped into the hole and helped Evans. Evans smiled, but then he put his hand on his forehead. He felt pain in his arms and neck. Hooker thought the heat inside the hole was the cause of the pain. He took Evans' hand down from the forehead. Both of them filled the bars in the coat and came out of the hole, pulling the coat. Both of them decided to take the gold home. As they moved towards their boat, Evans stopped after a few minutes. He decided to take a rest there. Evans again got up and started to walk. But he stopped and dropped the coat. Some bars fell to the ground. His face was full of sweat. When Hooker asked him about his state, he stopped Hooker from coming close in a loud voice. He moved near the tree and stood against it. Hooker wanted to help him, but Evans denied him coming near. He asked him to collect the gold and move.
Hooker became quite worried. His tension increased. He didn't want to stay there alone in the forest with his sick friend. There was no way to get help. Nobody knew about their trip. He looked at his friend, Evans. He wasn't able to carry both his friend and the gold. He started to pick up the bars slowly. As he picked up the last piece, he felt pain in his finger.
He found a thorn on his finger, which was about two centimetres long. It was just like a tooth or a piece of glass.
In the meantime, Evans fell on the grass, crying loudly. Hooker became restless. Evans was crying in pain. His body was trembling. Hooker looked at his surroundings. He looked at all the trees, bushes, and big white flowers. He thought about the Chinaman’s body and looked again at Evans. He remembered the map, the sharp marks at the bottom of it, and the Chinese writing. Now, he realises the meaning of the map's marks and Chinese writing, which he couldn't understand earlier. The marks were the shape of the thorns. Those thorns were similar to Dyaks poison, which the Chinese use in their blowing tubes.
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He looked at Evans, but Evans was motionless. His eyes were open, but they did not move.
Hooker started sucking his finger hard, but in vain. He started feeling pain in his hands, arms, and neck. He was unable to move his fingers properly. He sat down. The forest was silent. He thought about Chang's smiling face. He looked at Evans’s body and then looked up. A little wind moved through the trees. From one of them, a big white flower fell and landed on the ground in front of him. He also started trembling with pain, and his death was quick.
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Sir Can you please begain exercises also
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