The War of the Worlds story
A first-person narrative of both an unnamed protagonist in Surrey and of his younger brother in London as southern England is invaded by Martians.
17 total · 1 choice · 5 major · 11 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| attack from outer space by a genocidal enemy | choice | The story follows a first hand account of a dramatic Martian invasion of England, and by extension the Earth. |
| facing an invading force | major | The British forces resisted the Earth invading Martians as best they could. |
| facing an overpowering adversary | major | The Martians came out of nowhere and reduced what was the world's most powerful state to ashes in no time. |
| imperialism | major | The Martians invading Earth has been interpreted as a commentary on British imperialism. |
| Martian extraterrestrial | major | The Earth invading Martians were described as being betentacled giant heads about four feet in diameter. |
| the horrors of war | major | The narrator describes all the various miseries that result from England being invaded by an overpowering, and merciless military force. |
| alien point of view | minor | The narrator pointed out that the Martians were likely to be just as disgusted at our way of feeding as the people in the story were of theirs. Note that the Martians fed by injecting the blood of both humans and animals directly into their veins. |
| atrocities of war | minor | The Martians indiscriminately killed English civilians by the scores. |
| brother and brother | minor | The Narrator's younger brother, an unnamed medical student, was among the group of refugees fleeing London. |
| chemical weapons | minor | The Martians used a strange black smoke to kill English city dwellers by the scores. |