Boekverslag : John Wyndham - The Day Of The Triffids
De taal ervan is Engels en het aantal woorden bedraagt 1616 woorden.
De taal ervan is Engels en het aantal woorden bedraagt 1616 woorden.
Title
The day of the Triffids (1951)
Author
John Wyndham
My own story
Bill woke up, but there was something wrong. He does not hear the usual things like the traffic and the nurses. He lay in the hospital and he had something with his eyes. So he wears a bandage around his head and he could not see a thing, but now he also hears nothing. He thought it was around 8 o'clock so usually he got his breakfast now or at least a nurse who washed him, but now there was nobody. He thought about the comets the nurse told about it and everybody saw it except Bill. Finally after hours he took of his bandages and with luck he can see! Suddenly a doctor came in. He was blind and jumped out the window. He does not want to live blind in this world. Bill came in the ward and everybody was blind in there or they were dead already. (Bill = William Mason) Bill went to a bar to drink, but when he came in the bartender was also blind. He told Bill about his wife and children; they already dead so the bartender killed himself. Everybody in the street was blind or already dead.
William Mason usually worked with triffids. Triffids are plants just like sunflowers, but the triffids has a sting and it was deadly. The triffids eats people when they are rotten. The most important thing is that they can walk. The people can control the triffids but now they broke out and the people are blind so they couldn't handle it anymore. Triffids were used for the oil. One day William was stung and he survived, but after several weeks he was stung again and now he had to go to the hospital and it was critical if he could see again.
Bill walked around the streets. He is hungry, but he does not want to steal. He would feel guilty if he do that. It is a sad world now; almost everyone is drunk. There was a woman with a child and the child can see. With the child the woman tries to live further. Suddenly Bill met a woman who can see. It was Josella Platon. She used that night sleeping pills so she did not see the comets and that is why she is not blind. They went to Josella's home and when they got there the father of Joselle was dead already. He was hit by a triffid. A triffid came to them and hit Bill, but he had his hand before his eyes so he was not blind yet. (Walter said sometimes: "I tell you, a triffid's man is in a damn sight better position to survive than a blind man)
Bill and Josella armed themselves with guns and they ''bought'' new clothes. That night they had dinner together and they talked about what to do next. Meanwhile their were several people who killed themselves because they can not handle with this. Bill and Josella went to an apartment and they consider to leave the town, but they saw a light from the University Tower. They planned to go there next morning. Josella told that she is a writer and she wrote two books: "Sex is my Adventure" and "Here the Forsaken". Bill and Josella did not know what to do. Helping the blind people or helping themselves.
They went to the University Tower to look for people that may be made that light last night. And yes there were people and they can see. They want to make a group to help the blind people. So Bill and Josella got a job. Bill gave Triffid-guns and also food. The Colonel wants to know everything about Bill and Josella. There was a meeting with several speakers and also several solutions to help the blind people. Finally there was said that blind girls must have babies, because the babies were able to see in this world and that is what they need now. Bill was in love with Josella, so he does not want to have a baby with some other girl, but Josella said he must do that. Bill did not like it but finally he admitted that it would be the right thing.
The men must have several women.
Bill lay in his bed when he heard a bell. It was not a normal bell, it was a fire-bell. Everybody was yelling that there was a fire. Bill ran downstairs, but he tripped and fell down on the floor. When he woke up he had a terrible headache. He had been kidnapped! A man came in, he had tea and rum with him. His name was Alf. Now Bill had to do things for Alf. Bill got a group of ten blind people and he had to help them to find food. He could not escape, because he was wearing handcuffs and there were watchdogs. The blind people gave Bill a woman, so that he had someone to love. But every day he thought about escaping, because he wants to see Josella, but what he does now is the right thing and he knew that. One day he escaped and he went to a house. There were several people in the house. He stayed with them. There were triffids, but in the house they were save. The main problem was that there was a lethal disease, so next morning everybody was sick except Bill. He left the house with a pistol and a knife.
He was afraid to be alone. He went to Westminster to find Josella. On his way he asked people if they had seen Josella and yes they had, but she was already away. She was also not at the University Tower, but there was an address. She seemed to be in Tynsham Manor. Bill sat in the garden when he heard footsteps. He took his gun and looked who was there. It was Coker, Alf's boss. Coker told Bill he quit his job and he now wants to help Bill to find Josella and the rest of the group. So they went together to look for them. After a time they came in Tynsham, it was a Christian group. There Bill and Coker find a part from the University group. Bill went to the head of the Christian group, it was miss Durrant. First she did not want to tell where the rest of the group was going to, but after a short time she told they went to Bedminster in Dorsel.
The next morning Bill and Coker left the Christian group and went to Dorsel. On their way to Dorsel they saw dead animals. Not one, but hundreds of them. It was so cruel. Suddenly a man was yelling at them. It seemed there were triffids with him. The triffids became more and more aggressive.
Bill and Coker came in Dorsel, but there was nobody, except one man (Stephen Brennell). He pointed a gun on them and shot Bill right over his head. Bill yelled they were good people. The man thought that Bill and Coker were from a gang and that they would take their food. It was not only one man. He had a companion (a woman) and a sort of radio-man. These three people would come with them, so now they travel with 5 people. They armed themselves with flame-throwers.
They split up and went all to an other area. After several hours they would be come together again. From the time everybody left Bill began feeling alone again. He saw people who did not exist. He heard voices, but there were no voices at all. He kept looking for Josella, but he did not find her and so he went back. Coker was the only one who find someone. It was a woman (Mrs. Forcett). She can cook and is familiar with triffids. Then they tried to look by helicopter, but that was also useless.
They hoped that the American would come and save them, but everybody knew that that was impossible. Everybody, except Bill, want to go back to Tynsham to start a new world there. There were people who can see, but Bill want to find Josella first. So Bill went further and the rest of them went to Tynsham.
Bill went on and came in New Forest. The place was filled with triffids. There was a little girl sitting with her brother. He was dead. Bill went to her and took her with him. It was Susan and she called the triffids things.
The world was cruel. Bill tried to be as realistic as possible to Susan, but it is very hard for him to tell what is going on in the world. That night Susan saw a light and told it to Bill. Bill wants to go there immediately. When he came there he saw it was a woman. It was Josella!!! They now were at Shirning Farm. Here was a small group of people. Bill's first intention was to go to Tynsham. Finally he did not do it. Most of the people in this group were blind, but they can help each other very well. They use a rope to find the way back home for example. In the farm were six people: Bill, Susan, Dennis, Josella, Joyce and Mary. Bill had to go to Tynsham to tell Coker that they were at Shirning Farm. So he went to Tynsham, but when he got there he saw nobody. He thought that illness had driven them away.
Home - Contact - Over - ZoekBoekverslag op uw site - Onze Boekverslagen - Boekverslag toevoegen