Q2 - The Settings

The Day of the Triffids is a story that happens in England. However, there is no sign of the England that we know. There are no crowds of people doing their shopping, no tourists taking pictures of magnificent buildings, and certainly no happiness or joy at all. England is transformed into a true dystopia that contains the most hideous sights: blind people scattered everywhere in the country as they scavenge for food, bodies that no longer have life in them in every district, a plague that leaves no survivors, and gruesome enemies called triffids.

This unfamiliar scene of decay and desolation is nowhere near anything that a person would associate with England. It was quite a disturbing setting, and I couldn't really find anything very beautiful about any settings in the book.

From the start of the story, we have distasteful sights covering the whole of London. Dead bodies and blind people fill the hospital that Bill was in. He goes to the streets only to discover even more victims of the whole catastrophe. London is turned into a great morgue in a short period of time.

Although the metamorphe of a familiar city to a world that is turned into a perfect dystopia was slightly disturbing, I did see that there were glimpses of the old England beauty left in some places. Even though the land is now a desolate, empty space that conceals evil that lurks in the shadows, the artificial and natural beauty of the region is still quite untouched. All the old beauty of England will slowly be buried under dust, time, and corruption.

There is a point in the story where Bill thinks about how he would never see the old England again. He also mentions how the city would be destroyed slowly through decay and collapse. It is a true statement, and it is a bitter one, too. Bill says that he is looking at the beginning of the end of London. It is true. That setting is what we see in the story.

These depressing settings relate largely to what the characters in the story feel strongly. This desolate nation that no longer has any feeling of community is a lonesome place. In the midst of a dying country full of threats and dangers, and with most people now alone, the need for society is strong. People can't live without each other.

Bill and Josella met each other, and therefore were able to not feel lonely. The existness of even one person that will be there for you can become enormous strength and hope. Bill searched for Josella because of that strong will to be with her: a person who he could love and be loved back by. Companionship is what is most desperately needed in this place that has been plunged into darkness and isolation.