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War Of The Worlds Literary Analysis

Decent Essays

In War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, the antagonistic colonizing Martians have the upper hand in technological advancements, yet they easily succumb to Earth’s resident microbes. As an allegory, the author connects the invasion of the Martians on Earth to British imperialism. The humans in this story, including our narrator, pose as the native aboriginals who lived peacefully in their countries unsuspecting of a coming threat posed by the Martians. Because of the alien’s laughable and abrupt end, the novel denounces British imperialists and their belief that they once stood as the pinnacle of world leaders. The author uses this comparison between the Martians and the British to critique colonialism and imperialism. Our conflict begins when …show more content…

If the author were instead celebrating the British colonial rule, he would have portrayed the aliens in a better light and allowed the ending to finish much more differently than it did. Instead, Wells chose to paint these able bodied ideal Europeans as “…something resembling a grey little snake...”(Wells, 21) to emphasize their deception and treachery. He also describes the Martians having a “…lipless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped saliva. The whole creature heaved and pulsated convulsively” (Wells, 21). Europeans portrayed themselves as an unattainable standard of perfection. Painting these invasive Martians as languid and frail only ridicules this idea of European colonists of being the epitome of the human race. Because the Martians feebly gave way to resident bacteria at the end of the novel, the author cites this as the end of colonialism and imperialism. From the quote cited below, the reader can interpret this as condemning the colonists for all the cruelty and pain they have inflicted on the New World. No matter how strong the colonists perceive themselves as, the native peoples will remain strong not by material advancements, but by

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