H.G Wells, “The War of the Worlds” – Technology and its Role in Our World by Preethi K.

I expected H.G Wells’ The War of the Worlds to come in a compact book, with a colorful comic illustration similar to modern science fiction novels and comic books. However, what I actually found was a book almost a foot tall, its title engraved in calligraphy, fit more for a collection of fairy tales than a novel about a Martian invasion. This old-world style shows just how innovative the genre of science fiction was at the time Wells wrote this novel. The War of the Worlds is a first-person narrative of two brothers’ perspectives as southern England is invaded by Martians, while “A Dream of Armageddon” tells the story of a dreamer recounting his dreams of a technological war in Capri to a stranger on a train. Both share a common thread of technology and its role in war and invasion. Apart from the text, the novel has illustrations between chapters by L. VanDamme and in text illustrations drawn by Alvim-Correa. What truly stood out to me was not the text but these illustrations themselves. Through the interplay of the portrayals of technology and people, it became clear to me we can better understand the role of technology within our society through the relationships between the characters in each story and technology.

The setting of The War of the Worlds is uniquely British. The brick and stone of the symmetric houses, the starkness of the countryside, and the bleak, gray covering of the illustrations create a porthole into post-industrial England. The landscape is important because it centers the story. This is not some fictional place, but rather somewhere we can recognize making the invasion even more invasive. The depiction of the Martians is a stark contrast from the representations of people. The foreign parts and robotic features of the Martians is completely different from the colonial garments and rural setting. People’s reaction to the Martians are shown as sheer terror, illustrating how the presence of this foreign technology within their day to day lives is truly an invasion. Although in illustrations of London there are modern technological elements seen in industrial buildings and factories, these technologies do not have the same effect on individuals like the Martians. The Martians are not only technologically different, but within the illustrations appear as though they have been plucked from their planet and placed in Surrey becoming a disruption in daily life. Through the portrayal of the Martians and the story’s landscape, Wells makes a statement on the influence of technology, making it clear that technology in a confined space such as a factory or workplace is useful, however when it permeates our everyday lives then we must start worrying.

Similarly, to The War of the Worlds, “A Dream of Armageddon” is written in an extremely scientific manner, bringing attention to the technologies of war. After reading The War of the Worlds, my reading focused more on the invasion aspect of “A Dream of Armageddon” and the role technology plays in the Dreamer’s life. The narrator’s familiarity with Capri transports the reader to the site of the dream, and we are immersed in the beautiful coves and sea of the location. However, as the dream continues, elements of war arrive and disrupt the peaceful setting making it a battleground. Through this battle the Dreamer is given the choice to remain with his lover and ignore the war around him or break his relationship based on the alien invasion of war technology. War and its technology become an invasion into the creation of relationships in the Dreamer’s life and it destroys something so naturally beautiful, the landscape of Capri. Both The War of the Worlds and “A Dream of Armageddon” contain disruptions created by technology. These disruptions inhibit people from peacefully living their daily lives, creating relationships with others, and preserving their natural world. These stories made me question when is too much? What is the point at which we say technology plays too great of role in our lives? Perhaps the only way to determine this limit, as Wells foreshadowed, is through a war or a Martian invasion.