Necessity and Moraloty in The Day of the Triffids by Bill Masen

How would you respond to an apocalyptic situation where the structure and order of society has ceased to exist? In the novel The Day of the Triffids, Bill Masen, a patient at St Merryn’s Hospital in London, lacking the necessity of vision from a facial ‘Triffid’ sting, awakens to a world absent of normality. The majority of humanity has been permanently blinded by celestial comet debris and the Triffids have been liberated from their tethers, ambushing the vulnerable blind. A Triffid is a genetically modified plant with carnivorous eating habits and the ability to move. This novel was written by John Wyndham, which depicts a theme of conflict between necessity and morality which is important to the story in numerous ways. Necessity versus morality is the conflict that motivates the action, with events in the plot and the steadily increasing sense of narrative tension throughout the book all being defined by the tension between the striving to maintain a degree of human morality and the necessity to cast aside that morality in order to survive.

This theme has a profound effect on events, as there are two contrasting and opposing sides. There are the characters that see it as their duty to aid the people without vision for a short time. On the contrary there are people who choose to relocate so they can survive long-term. The latter option is the logical movement for people who consider, and are concerned about, the survival of humanity. There are conflicts, which are a result of the people with vision not conforming to the opposite cause, which has an impact on events. A reference in the text that reflects this is when Bill Masen witnesses this conflict near the University of London. He listens to Coker’s speech, the content argu...

... middle of paper ...

...is when Bill and Josella Playton have commandeered an apartment in London. Josella says, “I'm frightened-horribly frightened. Can you hear them-all those poor people? I can’t stand it.” This conveys the fact that Josella is aware that she could sustain a group of people affected by the comet debris, but she does not; as she is frightened by their desperate attempts to survive anything they can to survive. She is also aware that their attempts to help them would be in vain. She is conflicted, so she remains in her room, which induces tension. Narrative tension from events and characters gathers throughout this novel.

There is an intense conflict between requirement and ethics which intensifies throughout this novel. There is the logical movement, to move out and reproduce and then there is the option to stay and help the people in vain. Which side would you support?