This was my first time reading The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells; I had been exposed to it before in the form of the Tom Cruise film, but that hardly counts. Obviously, the book went much deeper into certain philosophical ideas and provided a lot of material with which to base discussions on social science. And an added bonus: no Tom Cruise.
The first thing that really jumped out at me in The War of the Worlds was the fact that H.G. Wells seemed to have some powers of precognition when he wrote the story. Now, keeping in mind that he wrote the story at the turn of the 20th century, it was pretty surprising to me how progressive some of his ideas are (trying to ignore the bit of Antisemitism that he exposes--see the end of chapter 16 in Book 1) and how some of what he writes seems to be a prediction for the future. Firstly, he highlights a female character that was very progressive for the time period. The young lady that the narrator's brother meets up with is first seen trying to fight off three men who are trying to steal a carriage from her and her sister-in-law. She fights back with a whip and a revolver. Wells's illustration of such a heroine is pretty enlightened for the end of the 19th century.
Aside from Wells's modern take on the female character, he also provides some insights that are almost spooky in their foresight. For example, the whole premise of the book seems to plainly anticipate the coming of the two World Wars. One statement at the end of chapter 11 sums this up well: "Never before in the history of warfare had destruction been so indiscriminate and so universal." Many of the passages in which Wells describes the desolation and carnage that the Martians created are oddly reminiscent of descriptions of the post-World War landscape in the most hard-hit countries.
Aside from Wells's seemingly precognitive ideas, his novel is also a good comment on the general feelings of self-assuredness and dominance that mankind has had for ages. The narrator often highlights the faith that people have in humanity's strength and ability to overcome any foe. One of the first things that the narrator comments on after seeing the Martians is that they are sluggish and couldn't possibly pose much of a threat if it came to a fight. He still holds this opinion even after a large number of people are killed by the heat ray. The narrator eventually realizes that humans are not all-powerful, but he leaves us with an interesting point at the end of the book. He comments on the possibility of a return of the Martians and if mankind will be prepared or if they will, again, take their security in the universe for granted.
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I found Jackie’s comments on "The War of the Worlds" compelling. I had not considered how socially progressive Wells’ inclusion of a strong heroine character was for his time. His progressiveness is most evident when the reader comes across his use of “man” for all humanity, as was common during the late 19th century. This heroine is also given a name, “Miss Elphinstone” and this is significant because few characters are referred to in the book with their actual names. One wonders why he chose to give her one. Perhaps he is recognizing that women are equally fit to be competitive in the eyes of social Darwinism, a view I am not sure Herbert Spencer would agree with. No doubt Spencer’s political views were given voice through the character of the artilleryman. Maybe Wells is mocking social Darwinism by providing the only context, one of insanity and far removed from our present reality, for which Spencer’s theories make absolute sense. Just a thought…
ReplyDeleteI also remember thinking how perfectly he described the future world wars; it was a bit creepy. Another thought that occurred to me is that this book is really the precursor to most alien invasion movies – almost like how Dante’s “Divine Comedy” established our conception of hell. I could not help thinking of countless other works while reading this book, such as the movie “Signs”and “Mars Attacks!” without thinking ‘where’s the copyright permission?’