Summary: "The War of the Worlds," by Wells G. The plot and analysis of "The War of the Worlds" by Herbert Wells

In this article we will consider the science fiction novel The War of the Worlds. Wells, a cult English writer of the late 19th century, wrote the work in 1897. Perhaps, this is the first work, which tells about the capture by aliens of the Earth. For its time it was an incredibly bold theme, but the courage of the author was adequately rewarded. The content and analysis of the novel will be presented below.

Prehistory

First, we'll figure out where the author got the idea to write such a work, and then we'll look at the summary (War of the Worlds). Wells closely followed the development of various sciences, including astronomy. Therefore, the discovery of 1877, which made Schiaparelli, did not leave him indifferent. The scientist, examining the surface of Mars, discovered a network of channels on the planet. Immediately arose the theory that they have an artificial origin. This hypothesis was well known, but later it was refuted.

This is what prompted Wells to think about the inhabitants of the planet-neighbor. Compared with the Earth, of course, Mars was losing, as its atmosphere was low, the surface temperature lower, etc. However, the writer suggested that during its existence the Martians reached unprecedented technical progress and surpassed the earthlings. Therefore, it is very logical to assume that they can decide to seize a neighboring planet, the conditions on which is better. During observations of Mars, astronomers noticed flares on its surface, which were probably the result of earthquakes. Hence the guess about creating a giant cannon.

A novel is simply a scientific assumption. But Wells was able to foresee some scientific and technical discoveries. For example, the creation of robots, aircraft construction, toxic gases, which will be used for the first time during the World War, etc.

Summary: "War of the Worlds" (Wells). String

The novel begins with the invasion of the Martians. A certain cylinder falls on the Earth. This is becoming an incredible event, people are trying to establish friendly contact with extraterrestrial guests. But the Martians have other plans. They are going to subordinate the Earth and its inhabitants to themselves. They begin to show aggression, not allowing any resistance. People try to resist them. But the artillery batteries are destroyed by heat rays.

The government calls on the entire population to leave London urgently. This is the only thing that remains in his power. All production stops, social order collapses, chaos sets in. People flee from the largest cities in the world, since the firepower of the Martians is concentrated precisely on large objects. In abandoned homes, crooked crooks rush out. Society is going crazy, people forget about morality and habitual values.

Priest

Quite a lot from the horror genre in the novel, this is confirmed by a brief summary. "War of the Worlds," Wells called this work his best creation, in many ways became a model for modern cinema and fiction. The description of the behavior of people over time has become a classic.

So, the narrative in the work is conducted on behalf of the narrator. He describes the arrival of aliens, the destruction of the welcome delegation carrying the white flag, and the evacuation of the urban population. In his wanderings he meets two people, on whom he pays attention.

The first was a priest, with whom they accidentally find themselves in a ruined house on the edge of a funnel left from a Martian cylinder. Through the break in the wall, the characters watch the aliens unload and install some mechanisms. A truly religious priest gradually begins to go crazy. At some point, he starts screaming and attracting the attention of the invaders. The Martian tentacles stretch into the house. The hero, wanting to escape, escapes and does not see how the priest's life ended.

The artillery theory

It is quite realistic to describe the alien grip of the Earth by Herbert Wells. "War of the Worlds," a brief summary of which is presented here, conveys the horror and desperation of a man who has nowhere to seek salvation.

The second in its path, our hero meets a sled artillery battery, which has lost its part. When he found his comrades, it turns out that the Martians finally defeated the human army. However, the artilleryman has already drawn up his own plan for saving mankind. The output is quite simple: you just need to hide deep under the ground, for example, into the sewer, and wait. After listening to his theory, our hero decides that there is some truth in it. They go down the drain through an underground passage, specially dug for it. The rain had time to rinse well the treatment facilities, and there was plenty of room here. The artilleryman assured that it would not be long before they could return the Earth to themselves. The only thing that is necessary, during this time to master all the secrets of military technology Martians.

People are still more than invaders. And among them there are necessarily those who can find a way to manage alien mechanisms.

Unflattering truth

Frankly and without embellishment depicts the human behavior and character of H. Wells ("War of the Worlds"). The brief content makes it clear that even at the brink of death some people can not act together. Soon it turns out that the plan of the artilleryman, maybe not bad, but he does not intend to realize it. The artilleryman himself is dangerous for those who survived. He turns out to be one of the marauders.

The narrator finds out by chance. Once he returns to their hideout, and the artilleryman, without recognizing him, does not allow him to enter other territory, since only two eaters will have enough food. It is also suspicious that he digs his way in the wrong direction for some reason. You can not get to the sewer from there. Yes, and do not really want to work with the creator of the saving plan. Almost all his time he spends on food and drink, which was extracted by other members of their group.

Return to London

The summary of the novel The War of the Worlds (Wells) makes you think about what a person can go to for salvation. The shortcomings of the "great plan" are quickly revealed. To implement it, it is necessary to exterminate the weakest. Overcome the aliens will only be a new strong breed of people. Women in the new way will be needed only for the birth of children. The narrator does not agree to live in such a future. He decides to leave everything and go to London.

Seeing what became of his hometown, the hero was horrified. From the population there were only a few drunkards wandering around the streets. Around everything is filled up with dead people. And over all this chaos there is a howl of extraterrestrial monsters. However, the narrator still does not know that this is the hope for the revival of mankind. He hears the death moans of the last Martians.

What happened?

To compose an idea of the novel will help even a very brief content. "War of the Worlds" (Herbert Wells) is considered a cult work, which everyone should familiarize with who wants to understand the mood of Europe of the late 20th century.

But back to the plot. About what happened, the hero is told by his brother, who witnessed all the London events. He begins his story from the end. People turned into real animals. Those who were stronger, gathered in gangs and robbed the weakest, selected their transport. Some tried to collect unwanted gold and jewelry. But soon people began to return to London. After that, much more became known about the Martians. Aliens work tirelessly, continuing to exterminate the survivors and collect cars all 24 hours. The Martians multiply by budding, so many human emotions are alien to them. Their main body is a constantly working, huge brain. It is these physiological features that made the Martians strong and ruthless.

The cause of the death of the newcomers was bacteria. On their planet, they long ago exterminated all harmful viruses, so they did not have any means of fighting infection.

Conclusion

A short summary ends. "War of the Worlds" (Wells here showed himself to be an optimist) ends with an inspiring note. The writer believes that eventually people will be able to learn the Martian technique and use it for good. Yes, and the invasion of aliens was only beneficial. People realized that their power is in unity. There is no need to fight each other when they can be threatened by an invader from another planet.

Analysis

The early works include the novel The War of the Worlds (Wells). A brief summary of the chapters makes it possible to make sure that this book was the first work in the world to speak of an alien threat. The novel made an incredibly strong impression on the public. In the work they saw criticism of colonial imperial England.

In his book, Wells raises a very important question about what can lead to the development of technology and the mind without spiritual evolution.