Q3 - The Characters

Bill Masen is the main character of the whole story. He is an ordinary man who was simply lucky enough to injure his eyes and have them bandaged so that he couldn't see the meteorite shower, the very sight that blinds more than half the population in England, and perhaps even the whole world.

To me, Bill is a character that I have come to like very much. He is a very logical thinker, and he can make intelligent choices. He also knows how to appreciate others most of the time, and he knows how to resolve conflicts. I especially liked how Bill was not apathetic enough to ignore others in pain, thus being an ethical human, but also that he was not the type of person to make bad choices because he was swayed by his emotions. In the situation where strictly emotional and ethical decisions were the only one made, survival would hardly be possible (the case of Miss Durrant). Yet, Bill still retained humanity inside him, and was not too strict or violent for survival (the case of Mr. Torrence).

Josella Playton is another important character in this story. She is an infamous author of a particular book. Bill rescues her from being captive a blind man, and she becomes his partner for survival. They develop a precious relationship, and later on become husband and wife.

Josella is quite brave and she thinks a few steps ahead most of the time. Very honest to her feelings and open about herself, Josella is a confident girl who comes from a rich family. She is the very motivation for Bill to live productively in this ruined world full of hazards. If Bill was the logical thinker who theorized several ideas accordingly through facts, Josella was a more emotional character who analyzed situations hopefully but only through assumption. I do not mean that Josella was illogical or too emotional, but I am showing the contrast between her and Bill to show how the two of them balance each other out.

Susan, a little girl that Bill picks up during his journey in search of Josella, is a fast learner and cunning survivor. Due to her loss of family members, especially caused by the fatal stings of the triffids, Susan uses her vengeance against triffids to destroy them when she has the chance. Susan is practically the only character in the book, other than the baby of Dennis and Bary Brent, who symbolizes the new generation. She is part of the generation to follow the blind adults; the generation that have their sight and can learn from their parents how to avoid making mistakes the adults made. In short, Susan and her generation are a symbol of hope: the hope of recovering the land that is now inhabited by triffids.

Another thing about Susan is that she meets Bill, and they both save each other from the grasp of loneliness. Both of them comfort each other during their search for Josella. In a devastating situation where the feeling of loneliness can lead to giving up and despair, the existence of Susan and Bill were of great help to each other.

Other than these three characters above, there are a number of characters who represent several different perspectives of life. There was Miss Durrant, who based lifestyle on Christian views that were strict and not practical. Her pride and stereotyped prejudice against some people was very ineffective for survival. On the other hand, there was Torrence. He represented something similar to military rule or Communism. His way of politics resembled feudalism in a vague way. Very much based on force and power, Torrence's way of governing was quite inhumane. The ineffectiveness of this system of rule was centered mostly on people with high ranks, thus only increasing difficulties for people in low ranks. As a result of this disagreeable political system, Bill and his group of people escape their former home and abandon Torrence. Other characters include the Coker (the cynical side of life), Beadley (the logical side of life that doesn't consider exceptions), the people who gave into death without finding hope, and so on.