Class 12 English Lesson 4: Story: The Treasure in the Forest: Reference to the Context and Reference beyond the Text Literature Section

 

Reference to the context

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

A tropical Island is a region that is hot and surrounded by water and an ever-growing jungle of vines, trees, and darkness. The trees making a canopy of the jungle hide what lies underneath. There is no sound of an insect, bird, or reptile, no call of a human voice, only the steady rhythmical lap of the sea. In the story, the characters are moving in such a place. Thus, we came to know 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?

Evan and Hooker were more interested in receiving treasures and becoming rich and powerful in a short time. There is greed besides their thought of taking such a risk. Evan and Hooker killed the Chinaman and robbed the map of treasure because of his desire to live like a king. There is no sign of poverty or trouble in their life. Their family might have lived a good happy life. There is some reason Evan and Hooker 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, the narrator is racist because he treated his character unfairly. A racist is a person who is prejudiced against or antagonistic towards a person or people based on their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized. As in the story of ‘Father and his sons’, the farmer died after two days. The sons dug every inch of the land but could not find anything. They were advised to sow wheat in the field. They had a very good crop. The moral of the story is that hard work gives very good results. Like the story, "The Treasure in the forest", this story also, depicts the greed of humans for wealth. They would rather let their father die, but won't let go of the treasure, which is almost similar to Chang hi's death in our story.

Reference beyond the text

a.      Interpret the story as a mystery story.

The story ‘The treasure in the forest’ by HG Wells contains all the essential components of a good mystery. There are several different components to a mystery, including suspense, crime, a key witness, enigmatic settings, red herrings (misleading ideas) and other puzzle pieces. Characters, location, storyline, a problem, and a solution are all essential components of a mystery story. This story follows this spirit. Reader's curiosity and attention are concerned by a mystery story. This story is also well-written, with many twists and turns in the circumstances of the characters. This tale had its audience on the edge of its seats until the very end.

Evans and Hooker are suspected of the murder of Chang hi. The plot progresses forward as a result of the map's suggestions and the actions of the characters. The exciting location and the individuals' personalities are well described in the story. This story's readers get too interested in what happens next. All of this points to the story's status as a mystery. As it turns out, the deadly thorns were the primary cause of death for the individuals. Readers are kept on edge by the story's threatening setting in the woodland and the characters' tragic deaths.

Click for Mysterious Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_5n7URd2Gk 

 

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.

"The hidden Treasure' is the story that I have heard when I was a kid. In the story, there was an old father who had three sons who were all idlers and never helped the father. The father was very sad and worried. He tried his level best to mend the habits but did not succeed. Once he became very sick, he called his sons, all of whom reached his room. He asked them to sit down and listen carefully. “My dear sons, I'm weak and ill. There is a lot of money hidden in our fields but I have forgotten where I had buried it. Dig that fresher out after my death.” he said. The farmer died after two days. The sons dug every inch of the land but could not find anything. They were advised to sow wheat in the field. They had a very good crop. The moral of the story is that hard work gives very good results. Like in the story, "The Treasure in the forest", this story also, depicts the greed of humans for wealth. They would rather let his father die, but won't let go of the treasure, which is almost similar to Chang hi's death in our story.

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Click for Next Lesson:  https://limbuchandrabahadur.blogspot.com/2025/06/class-12-english-lesson-5-story-my-old.html