Answer TWO of the
following...
Q1: Given what we know of
the "future" (for 1898), how are these chapters prophetic of modern
warfare? What trends and ideas was Wells
capturing that would come to fruition in the first decades of the 20th century?
Q2: In general, does
English civilization fall or triumph in retaliation to the Martians? In what
way do English values either stand firm or crumble away in the face of a
superior invader? Consider the
narrator's remark, "Did they grasp that we in our millions were organized,
disciplined, working together?"
Q3: What purpose does the
Curate serve in the novel? How does his
reaction to these terrible events represent turn-of-the-century feelings about religion/establishment figures in general? You might also consider how the narrator reacts to him in
particular.
Q4: How does the narrator
try to understand the Martians' purpose and origins? What prevents him--and his society--from
seeing their true threat and intentions (especially when the reader divines
them much quicker)? What might this say
about late 19th century English society?
2.) I almost find that quote from the book to be ironic, considering the mass of confusion and desolation the vast majority of the people are causing. Many of them aren't acting as an organized or disciplined body of people, but, rather, are acting solely for themselves and their loved ones. However, the Martians are acting with precise coordination amidst the "battle." They even stop to retrieve the machinery of a fallen comrade amidst their extermination to regain composure and fix the problem. This does not mean that all of the humans are working in an uncoordinated group, but it's hard to say that the millions, as a whole, were acting together at all. The values of the civilization begin to crumble when an "every man for himself" mindset sweeps across the cities. Instead of helping those that fall, they are either run over or trampled to death (albeit, some do stop to help, such as the brother). The propriety of well-to-do people is thrown at the window as haggard and dirty faces take the place, and a greedy man was no less greedy in the streets amidst the chaos. So, that particular line in general, is almost laughable. The narrator has no idea what exactly is going on or just how unorganized the vast majority of the people are being (aside from all moving in one direction - away).
ReplyDelete4.) The narrator tries to understand their purpose and origin in a humanlike way. He does not understand that the terms he prescribes to them only comes from his native language on his planet. The way the Martians view things are inexplainable to him because they regard things with a different system of communication and have a higher order of thinking. He is prescribing earthly definitions to otherworldly beings and machinery. The attitude with many of the people here seems to be that, even if it is bad right now, we will win eventually. However, a lot of them are leaving the fighting up to other people. They aren't seeing the reason behind the Martian's motives because they all seem so steadfast in looking out for themselves and "their" world that it couldn't possibly be extermination because they don't see the use of their beautiful things and world being taken from them.
Mason Horanzy
ReplyDeleteQ2: Due to the Martian invasion, English society begins to crumble. The daily routine in which so many people take comfort in has begun to disintegrate. At this point in time, the British Empire prided itself on being the pinnacle of the civilized world, and especially for being more civilized than the countries that they have conquered. In what could be considered a turn of extreme irony, the British Empire has become one of the countries that they have forcibly conquered. They are now experiencing the chaos that they may have once caused in a different culture. Although the human race triumphs in the end, they now know what is feels like to be vulnerable instead of the invulnerable.
Q3: The Curate seems to be too acceptant of the invasion. He feels that the Martian invasion is just a form of fate, and that the Martians themselves are workers of god. The narrator, however, does not agree with the Curate. This could be an analogous jab at the way religion enables the acceptance of terrible scenarios as punishment for sin, even if the sin is unknown. The Curate is able to almost brush off the invasion by believing that is must be part of God's plan, but at the same time feels that humans have somehow deserved this punishment. Based on the narrator's reaction to the Curate's panic, I think we can safely assume the the narrator is not a very religious man as he does not sympathize with the Curator. He states that he begins to understand the Curate's position, but never openly agrees with him.
Q1: Eerily, the story is indicative of a new type of warfare that would come to fruition in World War I. The Martians use chemical warfare, which the narrator refers to as "black smoke." It kills everything it touches, much like the mustard gas that would be used in WWI. He also describes the tripods moving through the countryside and destroying everything in sight. Less than 20 years later, soldiers witnessed the approach of hulking tanks. This type of warfare was completely unheard of until the "war to end all wars."
ReplyDeleteQ3: The Curate is a negative representation of religion. Instead of holding fast to his faith in a time of trouble, he becomes hysterical; he runs about shouting that the Martians are "messengers of God," but he doesn't really understand why they have been sent because he did everything he was supposed to do. The narrator, on the other hand, is rational and calculated in his response. He understands that the Martians are only elevated to a godlike level because of religious superstition. The narrator's indifference toward the Curate's ramblings show a general distaste for fallacies.
Q2: I think that the quote is quite funny when you really look at how most everyone is acting when the invasion begins and throughout. The English Empire is literally falling apart completely. Once they were faced with something they could have never been prepared for, they just go into a frenzy instead of dialing back and trying to combat the Martians in the best way possible. It really shows how unorganized they truly are.
ReplyDeleteQ3: The Curate is kind of a metaphor for established religion in general that seems to always have it figured out until something goes wrong. A lot of people during the time period were already turning their backs on the very strict Catholic church as well as authority that seemed corrupts. So this aspect of the story seems to be purposefully pointing a finger to those who don't, for lack of better words, practice what they preach. The curates response to the invasion is a direct opposite of the narrator, who is not concerned with putting a label on the Martians. He doesn't care to say why they are here, he just wants to remedy the situation all together.
These chapters are certainly getting into a type of modern day warfare. Even in today’s time we use tanks, air warfare, as well as chemical warfare. In the time this book was written this was never seen before. The Martians invented this new type of warfare and it was devastating. I think it is very interesting how he could see all of this. I certainty think that his book helped create the future of warfare. I think people read his book and thought of ways this could actually be utilized in the modern era. Then it only began to get worse as we because more acquainted with these types of wars. I think he foresaw a terrible future, but not as terrible as it truly is.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think the English civilization falls at the Martians coming to earth. They do not stick together in any type of fashion. It is everybody for themselves. People are only concerned with getting away. I don’t even think they really care to fight them. I think they just want to flee. That is what all the officials did. They got out as fast as they could and left their country for dead. When adversity came they fell to their knees. They had no idea what to do because they were always the one winning. They did not know what it was like to fight against somebody more intelligent.