H.G. Wells’ Novel The War Of The Worlds Successfully Creates A
Thrilling Climate Of Terror Which Often Reflects Late Victorian
Insecurities. Discuss This Statement With Reference To The Purpose And
Craft Of The Author – 1994 Words
H.G. Wells’ novel “The War Of The Worlds” depends upon late Victorian
insecurities to generate a thrilling climate of terror. Wells feeds
off of the politics at that point in time, the ethics and beliefs of
his contemporaries and also the sense of false pride and arrogance
that white Victorians had considering that they were top of the
natural selection hierarchy. He produces this climate of terror not
only through the content of his writing, but by his use of language,
structure and imagery. Although the book may have seemed to have
created a successful climate of terror at the time, an argument can be
formed to oppose this view when bearing in mind the views and thoughts
of a modern audience compared to that of Wells’ generation.
Many of the themes in this book relate to Wells’ own time. The
Victorian Age in Britain lasted for most of the 1800s through the
early 1900s. It was a period of great empire and industrialization,
but along with that came hardships, particularly for the
working-class. Working conditions were poor and occupational hazards
were a part of life. Wells also drew on his background in science.
Natural selection and the conflict with religion were emerging as
strong issues.
At the time this book was written, Britain was undergoing an
industrial revolution that meant drastic improvements in technology in
science, altering people’s lifestyles and jobs. Wells feeds off of
these developments in science to the extent that he writes about
intellectually and ...
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... as frightening as a horror film,
mainly because you have no visual or audible aid in literature as you
do in film.
In conclusion, Wells does successfully create a climate of terror for
an audience of his generation and we must appreciate his influence on
science fiction literature and film in modern times. He not only wrote
an encapsulating novel, but also incorporated relevant political and
social issues of his contemporaries into his book. To relate to how
Victorians would have felt about this novel and its effect on society,
we could relate to a modern day equivalent of Martian invasion. A good
example of this is how modern day citizens currently feel about
terrorism. We all fear a large-scale war; we all fear terrorist
attacks, just as Victorians feared the world war and the narrator
feared the Martians and the end of the human race, as we know it.
Many people say that the metal of a man is found in his ability to keep his ideals in spite of anything that life can through at you. If a man is found to have done these things he can be called a hero. Through a lifelong need to accept responsibility for all living things, Robert Ross defines his heroism by keeping faith with his ideals despite the betrayal, despair and tragedy he suffers throughout the course of The Wars by Timothy Findley.
Due to the conventions included in the novel, this is a perfect example of a gothic novel. The novel evokes in the audience fear and anticipation of the novels plot. The 19th century audience would have been overwhelmed with terror whilst reading the novel as the atmosphere creates suspense and the pace of the novel is fast.
Woodcock, George. "Brave New World: Overview." Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.
“Brave New World,” is a novel written by Aldous Huxley where he explains that everything is based on a futuristic science which he claimed sprang forth from him because of his experience as “an ordered universe in a world of plan less incoherence” (River 4 1974). People seem to care more about temporal things rather than emotions. Technology also seems to be the most important aspect and everyone is affected by it in one way or another, whether if it is negative or positive. This does not necessarily mean that everyone is fully happy with technology because in a way they are all slaves to it. Another thing discussed in the novel is the lack of freedom. Due to a lot of technological development there exists this division in between people even before their birth that their fate has already been decided where subsist these casts such as Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas e.t.c. They are pushed away from freedom of choice and forced to live in a bubble of their own.
Brave New World, a novel by Aldous Huxley was written at a tine in history when war had ravaged much of the nation, Depression was blanketing society, and people’s wills were being put to the test. Science had become an overwhelming force for better or for worse. People had witnessed science saving and preventing millions of lives with vaccinations and such, but on the contrary, had also witnessed it kill with horrifying “factory-like” efficiency in WW I (the age of machine guns and chemical warfare). Brave New World is not intended to be a happy book, it is more Huxley’s way of describing what he believes is coming to us. He is basically saying, “This is our future”. Huxley’s writings are known for dealing with conflicts between the interest of the individual and the interests of society. Brave New World addresses this conflict in a fictional future (approximately 500 years into the future) in which free will and individuality have been sacrificed to achieve complete social stability.
The book, Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley, is a radical story that is interpreted as a potential caution to us, society, if we keep making poor life choices. In the novel, Huxley depicts a culture where people are programmed to live forever and forced to think that sex and drugs are. For them, the idea of having a family with a mother and a father is absolutely repulsive to think about. Even though some of Huxley’s thoughts are unrealistic, the meaning behind them can be seen today. Nowadays, the three ideas that are bringing us closer to the Brave New World true are the advancements in technology, an obsession to remain young, and the increasing rate of drug use.
H.G. Wells, author of mind blowing novel The War of The Worlds, used foreshadowing and both external and internal conflicts to show the theme those humans should not assume that they are the superior race. Wells was the author of more than 100 books, almost half of them nonfiction, published over a span of 52 years.
The Martians in the book The War Of The Worlds that was written by H. G. Wells were on the quest to Earth for resources to help them survive. At first landing and reading their spherical vehicles that were armed with both a heat ray gun and smoke gun, began to lay waste to mankind. Throughout the book, it is from the point of view of the narrator and what he experiences and sees on the Martians destruction of the world he knows. While Earth gives as much defense as they can, it cannot stand up against the great power of the Martians great vehicle’s destructive weapons. Towards the end of the book, mankind resorts to hiding in the shadows of this deadly terror and like the narrator, in a hole. Several days pass until the narrator comes out of his hole to see that the alien force has been eradicated by a bacteria that their body’s immune system was not able to save them.
device to use in this novel because it makes it real and also makes it
Influence Thomas Huxley, famous biologist and H.G. Wells' teacher, once said. that "We live in a world which is full of misery and ignorance, and the The plain duty of each and all of us is to try to make the little corner he can influence somewhat less miserable and somewhat less ignorant than it was before he entered it" (Zaadz). In other words, we all have the duty to leave the world a better place by leaving our influence on others. The. At some point in our lives, we've all had someone or something.
The nineteenth century saw rapid development and reform across the whole of the country; with the Industrial Revolution transforming life in Britain. For working class women life was an endless struggle of passivity and labour; as soon as they were old enough they worked on farms, in factories or as servants to the middle classes (Lambert, 2009). For women in general, life was oppressive; constantly overshadowed by the male gender who were considered dominant leaders. In a Victorian household, the male was head of the family; his wife and children respected him and obeyed him without question. This critical analysis of two nineteenth century novels - Hard Times by Charles Dickens and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, will discuss the representation of the two female protagonists in the context of the Victorian period and question whether they do indeed portray an endless struggle for survival and independence.
The time period after the war lead to a new world of literature. Preceding World War I, people viewed war as courageous and patriotic. The realities of World War I led the formally traditional
Orwell's economic views and opinions introduced are rarely in his literary works, he wrote many volumes of his political commentary, which is expressed in a totalitarian world. In "1984", his expressions on totalitarianism and controlled societies are very pessimistic and negative (Roback 127). Orwell's thoughts on technology were indifferent, he did not support it or go against it, all that mattered when technology came into the picture was who controlled it, (Roback 127). Orwell's views sync with the character in the book; Orwell's views and Smith's are the same and have the same standpoints on totalitarianism. Orwell’s "1984" creates a grim picture of humanity's existence within an extremely controlling totalitarian government.
When the time traveler thought of the future he made assumptions that would suggest that the in the future, society would act in a progressive manner. He believed that society would be free of disease, that the human species would be very advanced compared to the humans in his time, and that the human beings in this society would not know fear because of their advances in technology. These assumptions are soon proven false early on when the time traveler thought he “…had built the time machine in vain” (21). The Sphinx puts pressure on a progressive time by suggesting that society does not progress all the time but will eventually regress.
The Victorian Era in English history was a period of rapid change. One would be hard-pressed to find an aspect of English life in the 19th century that wasn’t subject to some turmoil. Industrialization was transforming the citizens into a working class population and as a result, it was creating new urban societies centered on the factories. Great Britain enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity at home and thus was extending its global reach in an era of New Imperialism. Even in the home, the long held beliefs were coming into conflict.