The Day of the Triffids
-
What is "The Day of the Triffids" about?
The Day of the Triffids, a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by John Wyndham, is set in a world dependent on oil from triffids, plants that can grow to be seven feet tall, walk, and possess a lethal stinger. After a meteor shower blinds most of the population, biologist Bill Masen, who was in the hospital at the time of the meteor shower, meets Josella, another sighted survivor. Together, they join a group of sighted people who plan to create a new society. However, they are soon kidnapped and assigned to help a group of blind people survive by looting. As a mysterious illness decimates the population and triffids attack, Masen searches for Josella and eventually finds her living with blind owners in a house. Years later, they escape to the Isle of Wight, where a community has eradicated triffids.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who wrote "The Day of the Triffids" and when was it published?
The Day of the Triffids, a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, was written by English science fiction writer John Wyndham and published in 1951. The novel is set in London in a world that has become dependent on the oil produced by the recently introduced triffid plant. Triffids can grow to a height of 7 feet (2.1 m), walk on their roots, are carnivorous, and possess a lethal stinger.
Wyndham's book depicts lethal mobile plants that menace the human race and established Wyndham as a science-fiction writer.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are triffids in the story?
In John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, triffids are a newly introduced plant species that quickly becomes a global threat. These plants, standing at seven feet tall, possess the ability to walk using their roots and are carnivorous, equipped with a deadly stinger. Initially cultivated for their oil, the triffids' danger is unleashed when a meteor shower blinds much of the world's population, leaving the sighted few to contend with the aggressive plants and the collapse of society.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does most of the population become blinded in the novel?
In The Day of the Triffids, most of the world's population is blinded after viewing a spectacular meteorite shower. The protagonist, Bill Masen, is spared because he is in the hospital with his eyes bandaged after being stung by a triffid. After the meteor shower, he emerges to find society collapsed and the sighted forced to contend with a world overrun by triffids.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do the triffids threaten the survivors in the story?
In The Day of the Triffids, the triffids pose a multifaceted threat to survivors. As carnivorous plants capable of locomotion and possessing a lethal sting, they directly endanger human life. The collapse of society following a meteor shower that blinds most of the population exacerbates this threat, as the sighted survivors are left to fend off the triffids while also caring for the blind. The triffids' ability to adapt and thrive in the new world order further diminishes the survivors' chances, turning the environment itself into a hostile force.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What major themes does the book explore, such as survival and society?
The Day of the Triffids, a post-apocalyptic novel by John Wyndham, explores themes of survival and society following a global disaster. The story follows biologist Bill Masen in a world overrun by carnivorous plants called triffids after a meteor shower blinds most of the population.
The novel delves into how individuals and communities adapt when faced with collapse. Masen's journey highlights the struggle to survive against both the triffids and other humans seeking to control resources. The book further examines the formation of new societies and the challenges of maintaining order and cooperation in a world where the old rules no longer apply.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
The Day of the Triffids, post-apocalyptic science fiction novel that was created by English science fiction writer John Wyndham and published in 1951. Though it initially received only moderate acclaim, The Day of the Triffids later became a science fiction classic (as well as a low-budget movie in 1963) and a defining novel of the post-disaster genre.
The novel is set in London in a world which has become dependent on the oil produced by the recently introduced triffid plant. Triffids, however, can grow to a height of 7 feet (2.1 m), can walk on their roots, are carnivorous, and possess a lethal stinger. The action opens with biologist Bill Masen in the hospital, bandages draped over his eyes as he recovers after a triffid sting. It is the morning after the most spectacular meteorite shower the world has ever seen, but Masen discovers that the meteor shower blinded everyone who saw it. He meets Josella, another sighted survivor. Seeing a light atop the Senate House at the University of London, the pair go there and find a group of sighted people, headed by the Colonel and Michael Beadley, who plan to collect food, leave London, and begin a new society. The next day, though, a gang led by Wilfrid Coker breaks in and kidnaps sighted people, including Masen and Josella. Each sighted person is assigned a district of London and a group of blind people, and they are to survive by looting. Soon, however, a mysterious illness begins decimating the surviving population, and everyone is under attack by triffids.
Masen tries in vain to locate Josella and then returns to the Senate House, where he sees an address in Wiltshire written on a wall. He then encounters Coker, and the two take trucks and head to Wiltshire. where they find a splinter cell of Beadley’s group. Coker remains there, and Masen leaves, still searching for Josella. On his journey he finds a 10-year-old sighted girl named Susan who has lost her family to triffids, and he takes her with him. He finds Josella living in a house that she had told him about, together with the blind owners and another blind friend. Later Masen learns that the group in Wiltshire have all perished. Years pass, as Masen and Josella and the others survive by stealing food and fuel and fighting off the triffids.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
One day a helicopter arrives with news that Beadley has set up a community on the Isle of Wight, from which they have eradicated triffids. After another dramatic escape from another would-be dictator, Masen and Josella escape to safety on the Isle of Wight.
On the face of it, The Day of the Triffids seems to be a reasonably straightforward survival adventure, but it was the first of its time to anticipate disaster on a global scale. Wyndham predicts the technologies of biowarfare and mass destruction, offering a sophisticated account of Cold War anxiety that was well before its time in terms of its exploration of the psyche of individuals in the face of overwhelming social change.