the war of the worlds critical essay

“The war of the worlds” written by the English writer H.G Wells in 1898, is a Sci-Fi novel where the
author showcases the experiences of a man referred to as “the narrator”. The narrator along every
character in the novel is faced with a Martian attack. The Martians prove themselves to be far more
intelligent with equipment and weapons far more complicated than the humans can ever imagine,
this forces the humans under immense pressure to survive. H.G Wells demonstrates this through the
themes of war, death, loss, human arrogance, and survival.

During The war of the worlds a prominent theme is the theme of loss. H.G Wells shows us how this
affects the narrator and his wife on page 61. “My wife stood in the light of the doorway, and
watched me until I jumped up in the dog cart.” a few lines later the narrator then stated, “I was a
little depressed at first with the contagion of my wife's fears.” This shows us that the narrator and
his wife felt depressed and fearful for each other, This is mainly due to the narrator and his family
temporarily detaching and losing each other with the risk of being killed by the Martians. This shows
us that the theme of loss is explored throughout the war of the worlds.

H.G Wells generates another theme in the novel which is the theme of human arrogance. This is
shown at the beginning of the book when the narrator states that “And we men, the creatures who
inhabit this earth, must be to them at least as alien and lowly as are the monkeys and lemurs to us”
what the narrator is trying to explain here is that the aliens/Martians look down on humans the
same way we look down on monkeys and lemurs. This shows human arrogance because we view
humans as the superior mammals of the whole universe and humans look down upon monkeys,
lemurs, and other animals, but the twist here is that we are now looked down upon by greater
intelligences. H.G wells also uses the word “lowly” to compare humans with the Martians which
shows us the humans are lower in importance compared to them. With evidence H.G wells
successfully demonstrates the theme of human arrogance.

Another theme that H.G Wells successfully builds is the theme of Power. This is when the narrator
compares humans on earth to contents on a petri dish in chapter one. “Perhaps almost as narrowly
as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a
drop of water.” This quote shows a comparison on how the Martians view us humans on earth. The
word choice of “transient creatures” and a “drop of water” shows us how the Martians view us as
short-lasting creatures that aren't powerful and don’t matter, this further illustrates the theme of
power of the Martians against the humans in this novel.