The+War+of+the+Worlds+Study+Guide

The War of the Worlds CHAPTER ONE: THE EVE OF THE WAR 1. From what perspective is humanity viewed? 2. What qualities in the Martians make them dangerous to humanity? 3. What effect does it have on the novel to have an ordinary, unamed narrator, not technically trained and often far from the center of activity? 4. What irony is created by the topic of the series of papers he is writing? 5.How is Ogilvy's first reaction to the movement of the cylinder top ironic? 6. What error do the first reports of the landing make? 7. What methods does Wells use to make these events on Horsell Common seem realistic? 8. What is a Gorgon, and why might Wells have chosen to compare the Martians to one?

CHAPTER TWO: THE FIGHTING BEGINS 1. What is the significance of the pun **"fishers of men--fighters of fish"**? (Hint: see Matthew 4:19) 2. What act of realistic cowardice does the narrator commit in the last part of the chapter? 3. What is the eventual fate of the landlord in the later chapter?

CHAPTER THREE: IN THE STORM In what way does the shape of the cylinders reflect the form of their creators?

CHAPTER FOUR: MORE DESTRUCTION 1. What is unusual about the sound of the attack the narrator is caught in? 2. How is the clergyman interpreting the attack of the Martians?

CHAPTER FIVE: IN LONDON 1. At this point, the narrator switches to  events in London  , told second-hand through the experiences of the narrator's brother. Can you think of reasons that Wells chose not to continue with the same first-person narrative technique? 2. What prevents many Londoners from immediately reacting to the Martian invasion?

CHAPTER SIX: DEFEAT **EXIT SLIP**
 * COME UP WITH TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER AND THE ANSWERS**

CHAPTER 7: PANIC IN LONDON 1. What evidence is there that panic is overriding civilized behavior in this flight from  the Martians? 2. How does the brother rescue a lady, and what is the consequence to himself? 3. In what ways does this scene contradict our usual expectations of a hero saving a lady in distress? 4. When the brother is giving advice  to Miss Elphinsstone toward the end of the chapter about escaping their pursuer, how does he avoid the stereotyped "kill or be killed" dilemma which plays so great a role in fiction?

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE " THUNDER CHILD  " What effect might the constant repetition of specific place names  have had on Wells' first readers?

CHAPTER NINE: THE EARTH UNDER THE MARTIANS **(ENTRANCE TICKET)**
 * COME UP WITH TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER AND THE ANSWERS**

CHAPTER TEN: THE DAYS OF IMPRISONMENT Why so you think Wells refers to the death of the clergyman in the narrative in indirect and passive ways>

CHAPTER ELEVEN : THE MAN ON PUTNEY HILL 1. Does the killing of the clergyman haunt the narrator? Explain 2. What is the attitude toward human beings  ? 3. What convinces the narrator that the artilleryman is crazy? 4. How does the behavior contradict his words? 5. What is the function of the artilleryman in the novel?

CHAPTER 12: WRECKAGE 1. Why does the narrator know nothing of the next three days? 2. How does the rest of the world respond to England's plight? 3. Why is the narrator so upset by learning that Leatherhead has been destroyed? 4. What technological side-benefit have humans derived from the invasion? 5. What is ironic about the paper he finds on his desk? 6. What effect would it have had on the novel to develop his reunion with his wife more fully, in traditional fashion?

EPILOGUE 1. Why is it significant that no Martian bacteria were ever discovered? 2.When a planet is "in conjunction" it is at the closest point in its orbit to Earth. What do you think of this theory? 3. What long-term hope does the possibility of travel hold out for humanity, according to the narrator?