Dawn
ENGL 3850-02N
Sci-Fi Lit
Dr. Coats

February 4, 1997

The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells, was very interesting, especially in its depiction of Mars. As a person from this day and age, when many of the beliefs about Mars that were previously held were disproved, it is quite funny to read about these beliefs and the time period in which they occurred. For instance, it is now known that there are no polar ice caps on Mars and in this book the melting of polar ice caps on Mars was the main reason that the Martians sought out Earth as a new place to live. Also, as said in class, the fact that they were so more intelligent than the people of that time period yet their machinery smoked and clanked as they worked on it even further signified the time in which the book was written.

The one passage that stood out for me was one in which a scene of panic was described as people were fleeing their homes. I could vividly see the horse carriage knocking down and rolling over the poor man who was trying to pick up his money from the ground. I could almost hear his back breaking as the wheels of the cart rolled over him. The most interesting part of it was when he bit the narrators' brother's hand so he could still try and get his money, even though he was practically dead. It was so interesting to read this reaction to the Martians. The people were in a state of true panic and I guess because I am a psychology major, I couldn't get it out of my mind.

Overall, this was a great read. I thought was somewhat slow at times, but overall it was faster going than any Dickens novel I have read. I could imagine how people must have been terrified of Martians after reading this book at that time. I can also understand, after reading this book, how the radio version of it scared so many. If Wells was trying to make his audience afraid of Martians, he did a very good job.

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