The Day of the Triffids

   The Day of the Triffids, is a novel written by John Wyndham and first published in 1951. Due to its somewhat gruesome subject matter and the elaborate wring style, it would be more appropriate for intermediate to advanced readers, ages 13 and upwards.

 

    The Day of the Triffids is a science fiction novel. It focuses on the theme of survival, while providing a rather bleak view of the future. In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Bill Masen, a biologist, wakes up in his hospital bed after having been splashed with plant poison, only to find out that, thanks to his bandages, he is one of the few lucky people who have retained their eyesight after a green meteor shower. Apart from the loss of their eyesight, humans are faced with another, deadly threat: the triffids, huge, mobile, carnivorous plants which used to be the objects of Bill's observations. Triffids roam about the city, ready to fling their lethal stings. Bill, along with a few others, who are able to see, must now employ their resourcefoulness to rescue the rest of humanity. Yet, disagreement amongst the survivors concerning the new type of social order which must prevail, and other challenges which arise along the way, make this task even harder.

Wyndham creates a fantastical, but believable setting, of a future shaped by a present-day scientic possibility that has been realized(Galda,2012). The deadly triffids of the novel were supposedly bioengineered in the USSR. Wyndham's characters are also well-developed and through their interaction and disagreements, the author is able to portray human nature from various standpoints.

After having my students read this book I would ask them the following questions:

1)Why do you think John Wyndham wrote this novel? Do you think he wanted to point to certain actual dangers?

2)Which character was the most appealing to you? Why?

3)What would you have done if you were one of the seeing survivors in London after the meteor shower?

A motivational activity could be to ask my students to provide, in short, their own version of what happened after the meteor shower. Another activity would be to ask them to draw a triffid, based on the description in the book.

This is a book that I, personally, read in my teenage years and really loved. It is, of course, a rather difficult book for young readers because it also contains political and social overtones. But I still think that teenagers would enjoy this novel because it is intelligent as well as exciting. I would not recommend it, though,
to a particularly sensitive teenager.





John Wyndham (1903-1969) was an English science fiction writer. Many of his works were set in post-apocalyptic landscapes. The well-known author Stephen King has expressed his admiration for Wyndham' s work.

Other works include:

The Chrysalids(1955)

The Outward Urge (1959)

Galda, C. &. (2011). Literature and the Child Seventh Edition . Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing . 

Wyndham, John. (2003). The Day of the Triffids. London: Penguin.