THE WAR OF THE WORLDS

H.G. WELLS

“We have learned now that we cannot regard this planet as being fenced in and a secure abiding place for Man; we can never anticipate the unseen good or evil that may come upon us suddenly out of space.”

H.G. Wells“The Father of Science

Fiction” Herbert George Wells (September 21st 1866-August 13th 1946); British author.

Best known was his work with science fiction, but also contributed contemporary novels, history, politics, and social commentary.

Wells worked as a teacher and studied the sciences before embarking on his writing.

The Victorian Age - Characteristics

The discoveries of science were a HUGE factor in the literature of the Victorian Age.

Stories reflect normal, daily life and practical problems; characters like you and I.

There is a moral dilemma; Victorians did not make art for art’s sake (beauty). They created art to send a moral message.

The concept of man in relation to the universe is major; evolution and Darwinism were heavy influences.

IDEALS! Great ideals like truth, justice, love, and brotherhood are emphasized by Victorian writers.

GENRE: Science Fiction Definition: Fiction dealing with the

impact of imagined innovations in science or technology, often in a futuristic setting.

Science Fiction is different from fantasy in that its imaginary elements are largely possible.

Characteristics: Based on scientific principles and

technology. May make predictions about life in the

future. Often deals with aliens or with life on

other worlds. Comments on important issues in society.

Examples of Science Fiction…

SUBGENRE: Invasion Literature Invasion literature refers to

works produced between 1871 and the First World War.

These stories aroused imaginations and anxieties about hypothetical invasions by foreign powers.

Invasion literature became recognizable in Britain in 1871 with The Battle of Dorking, a fictional account of an invasion of England by Germany.

H.G. Wells draws from The Battle of Dorking, but the invaders are aliens rather than men.

“Promised Horrors of the French Invasion” – a cartoon by Britain’s James Gillray

The War of the Worlds First published in 1898

Setting: small towns in the English countryside. However, there is a mass exodus from London.

Narrator: first-person narrator; the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, a philosopher whose writing is interrupted by the arrival of the Martians.

Conflict: MARTIANS ARE INVADING!

Themes to Think About… The possible submission of men LITERALLY: Martian Invasion SYMBOLICALLY: Men submitting to

machines (think about it-industrialization!!!!!)

The inhumanity of Imperialism Britain by this point had obtained

many colonies and they did not treat the natives as equals.

The horrors of war Science vs. Religion

Making Connections Many of the minor themes in this

book relate to Wells’s own time. Along with Empire and industry came

hardships, particularly for the working-class.

Wells draws upon his background in science.

Darwin’s idea of “natural selection”, or, survival of the fittest.

Orson Welles’s Radio Show

Orson Welles directed/narrated an adapted radio drama of The War of the Worlds as a Halloween episode.

The episode was presented as a series of simulated “news bulletins” depicting a Martian Invasion

Listeners who did not hear Welles’s introduction tuned in and believed this was happening; hysterical panic broke out.