THE CHARACTERS
THE NARRATOR- He represents Morals and order in the face of death and destruction.
Throughout the story he does what he can to maintain his own sense of morality while the rest of the world is being torn apart by this invading force.
He even is reluctant to kill the clergyman while everyone else in panic is killing each other just to survive.
He tends to be scientific in the sense that he does what he needs to to survive.
Martians
They represent Imperialism
Their actions demonstrate they want to conquer and not compromise
They show no mercy what so ever to humans and seem to want to exterminate them.
They capture humans for food
Which shows the inhumanity of the imperialist.
ArtillaryMen
They of course are the military
They also show through the failure of the military to stop the martians that war is about fighting but also about mistakes commonly seen by military leaders which lead to loss of life and the only real safety is in being ready and avoid danger
Wells also depicts them as not taking war seriously enough when their Generals play cards to divide up London This is due to his views of World Peace.
Curate
The Curate of course represents Religion
Wells uses a negative idea of religion because Wells was both a Socialist and an Atheist. Socialists typically followed what Karl Marx saw in Religion which is that it wasn’t helping society. Wells shows this when the Curate loses him mind.
Think of a Curate as being an Assistant to a priest.
The Brother
The Brother represents the experiences of Human Civilization and how they regard such things
THEMES in the Story
Submission of Man- Wells uses the image of Aliens eliminating humans as a symbol of Men becoming dependent on machines this was a common fear duing the Industrial Revolution.
The Inhumanity of Imperialism- The Martians merciless killing is used as a criticism of the British Empire as it stretched to other lands all over the world.
The horrors of War- Throughout the story you have Soldiers thinking they can still win, people turning on each other for survival, and even the Narrator killing the Curate.
Continued
Science Issues- At the time this book was written Science vs Religion was in a big debate. It was even believed Religion and Science were against each other this is shown in the story when the Curate and the Narrator start arguing with each other. Wells was of the belief that Religion was somehow against Science.
SYMBOLS within the Story
The Pits- This is where the Aliens came from. It is also where they build their machines to begin their conquest. This represents the place where life begins and ends. It can also be interpreted as the beginning and end of a Dark Age.
The Martians- Described as Grey in appearance which is interpreted as being between white which is innocencse and black which is death Their appearance resemples an octopus which is a creature that lives in the deep dark ocean and is often seen as scary.
The Sun- When the sun sets the Martians begin their attack and they die off when the Sun rises representing the coming and going of an age or period of time.
_The pits
_The Martian
Plot Analyzed
The story is a criticism of what HG Wells saw in the British Empire at the time.
• THE BRITISH EMPIRE WAS AT ITS HEIGHT WITH COLONIES ON EVERY CONTINENT.
• LOCAL PEOPLE LIVING IN OR NEAR THE COLONIES LIVING UNDER COLONIAL RULE WHICH IS OFTEN UNFAIR AND EVEN VIOLENT.
_The british Colonialism
THE STORIES SUCCESS
In 1938 Orsen Wells made a radio broadcast of the same name. It was the first of its kind made to sound like a news broadcast
The radio broadcast came so unexpectedly that people actually believed the world was being invaded by Martians. It was this impact which creates a mythology surrounding Aliens as being monsters.
Depiction of Religion in the Negative
HG Wells also portrays religion in a negative light.
- The curate actually doesn’t try to give strength instead he creates the opposite “ Judgement day is here”
- The Curate becomes so histerical that the narrator in fact knocks him unconscious and allows the aliens to take him and doesn’t try to save him.
This depiction actually reflects HG Wells’ Socialists beliefs that religion really doesn’t help society but in fact creates fear and anxiety in the face of Danger.
This is of course only Wells’ view of Religion
Portrayed of the Military
Wells wsa very critical of the Military
- He believed that the military was really a joke that doesn’t take war seriously enough.
- 1. Its use of formation in battle
- 2. Beliefs in traditional means of war ( artillary, using machines creating better machines to kill better)
- 3. The use of military traditions and protocal in war where they proved useless.
A good example was the Franco-Prussian War and World War 1 where such ideas were used but just resulted in a longer and more bloody war. ( The Battle of the Somme in France)
_War as HG Wells saw ita