Student Question
Can you summarize "The Valley of Spiders" by H. G. Wells?
Quick answer:
"The Valley of Spiders" follows three pursuers tracking escaped slaves through an unnaturally still valley. One rider notes the lifelessness of the landscape until they encounter a mad dog fleeing from a massive swarm of spiders. The spiders engulf the group, causing chaos and disorientation, resulting in the death of one horse. Afterwards, they spot smoke, which they suspect indicates the location of the escaped slaves.
The story opens with three "pursuers" trying to track down a group of
escaped slaves. They happen upon an eerie and desolate valley. In fact, one of
the riders contemplates for a long time that the valley has an unnatural
stillness about it. The rider longs to see a beast or tree that seems alive,
but for a long time, he only observes the landscape, which seems to be almost
painted.
Soon, his wish is granted, as the travelers see a mad dog running away from
something, completely ignoring the riders. They then find the source of its
panic—a gigantic mass of spiders that completely engulfs the group and
disorients their sense of what is real. One of the horses dies in the
confusion, and thereafter, the group sees a trail of smoke in the sky that they
believe might signal the runaway slaves.
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